Team-oriented assembly system design: A new approach

A new design methodology for team-based assembly systems is presented in this paper. Team-oriented assembly (TOA) systems support the objectives of modern assembly systems, while creating a more satisfactory working environment. Each team is defined as semi-autonomous with well-defined responsibilities. Design parameters are: number of teams, precedence relationship between them, team size, and work content of each team. The problem-solving approach is product oriented and based on assigning Bill of Material(BOM) elements to reams. Performance measures are introduced, and a hierarchical design approach which consists of two stages is presented.