Abstract: Optimized workforce configuration plays important roles in design and operation of product assembly lines. Considering the characteristics of complex product assembly lines,such as multiple and intricate serial and parallel processes,as well as shared workforces within teams,the optimal allocation of workforces is modeled as a two-dimensional bin packing problem. An improved Best-Fit Decreasing (BFD) optimization algorithm is thus proposed to achieve satisfied workforce allocation scheme through sorting,placing,updating,inspecting,repeating,and judging steps. Furthermore,a software system for rapid modeling,simulation,and optimization of production lines based on the commercial Plant Simulation package has been developed,which automatically matches both the basic information of the production line and the optimized workforce allocation results with the simulation models,thereby improving the efficiency of production line modeling and simulation. Taking an industrial product assembly line as an example,the effectiveness of the optimization algorithm is verified,ensuring high utilization of workforces and enabling rapid simulation of the assembly line.

Key words: assembly line, workforce configuration, bin packing optimization, production line simulation