Fuzzy expert system for ergonomic assembly line worker assignment and balancing problem under uncertainty

In the era of Industry 5.0, there is a significant gap in addressing ergonomic risks and imprecise task times in manufacturing systems. This study aims to fill this gap by extending the ergonomic assembly line balancing problem with worker assignment. It employs a novel two-phase framework combining a constructive heuristic for feasibility with a unique ergonomic assessment method developed through a fuzzy expert system. Validated using 96 synthesized numerical instances, the proposed method addresses the scarcity of fuzzy and ergonomic-oriented data in benchmarks. Then, computational results are thoroughly analyzed to evaluate the method's performance and identify potential areas for further research. The proposed optimization method provided high-quality solutions with a majority demonstrating low ergonomic risk and high worker safety, contributing to an overall improvement in ergonomic conditions. The integration of fuzzy expert system and advanced optimization techniques yields a robust framework for achieving a safer and more efficient manufacturing environment.