Using Rework Station for Minimizing Cycle Time in Assembly Line Balancing: Effects of Rework Rate and Station Position

In assembly lines, rework stations are generally used only for reprocessing of defective products. However, the use of the rework station only for this purpose reduces the utilizations of the resources available in the station, especially if the defect rate of the assembly line is low. In this study, a mixed-integer programming model is developed to minimize the cycle time considering the usage of the rework station as a standard workstation. Using the developed model, we take into account locating the rework station in different positions, not just at the end of the assembly line as well as different defect rates in the assembly line. The performance of the model is tested on various samples in the literature