Fuzzy Fatigue Model for Ergonomic Design of Assembly Lines Under Uncertainty

In the context of Industry 5.0, the significance of prioritizing ergonomics within manufacturing systems cannot be overstated. This paper introduces an innovative methodology, the Fuzzy Ergo-ALDP-F, which extends the traditional Ergonomic Assembly Line Balancing Problem (Ergo-ALBP) into the design stage to address imprecise task durations and ergonomic risks effectively. This approach encompasses a two-phase framework, integrating a constructive heuristic with fuzzy logic. The first phase focuses on ensuring feasibility, while the second phase is dedicated to finding the ergonomically optimum solution among all feasible options. Our research enriches the existing knowledge by incorporating a fuzzy extension of Potvin’s fatigue model. It is worth noting that integrating fuzziness in fatigue evaluation across tasks, workers, and assembly lines is a novel and pivotal aspect of our work. This study is rooted in the fundamental recognition that, in the long term, work-related injuries and ergonomics-related issues can impose substantial costs on production systems. Moreover, in the design phase, various types of uncertainty relating to operational aspects and ergonomics can significantly impact the optimization model. Consequently, this paper makes substantial progress in the research landscape by synergistically addressing the critical intersection of ergonomics, uncertainty, and assembly line optimization, significantly contributing to the ongoing pursuit of a safer and more efficient manufacturing environment and underlining its broader implications within the field.