Workforce planning and allocation for mid-volume truck manufacturing: A case study

A case study for the short-term workforce planning and allocation for labour-intensive transfer lines is addressed. Trucks are assembled on a serial line, and they show large differences in the processing times at each station. These differences are due to the assembling options provided to the customers. Given the assignment of operations to stations, we have to find a loading sequence for the products, worker allocation and a floater time allocation to minimize the whole labour costs at the line. We develop a solution approach for this problem and, in particular, discuss the necessities and implications by considering a rolling planning horizon. Especially, when planning for a number of subsequent shifts, we have to model the time interdependencies carefully. The results of the numerical studies show that relevant savings can be achieved by using an advanced planning system.