A solution approach to the disassembly line balancing problem in the presence of task failures

In this paper, we discuss the disassembly line balancing problem in the presence of task failures (DLBP-F). There are precedence relationships among disassembly tasks and the tasks must be completed within a given time, determined by the demand in a given period. However, if a task (or more than one task) cannot be performed because of some defect, some or all of the remaining tasks may be disabled due to the precedence relationships among tasks. This may result in various complications in the flow of workpieces on the disassembly line, e.g. early-leaving, self-skipping, skipping, disappearing and revisiting workpieces. We discuss these complications and highlight their effects on the disassembly line. The problem is to assign tasks to workstations such that the effect of the defective parts on the disassembly line is minimized. This paper presents a solution procedure to the DLBP-F. An example is provided to illustrate the approach.