Modeling and numerical analysis of line-cell conversion problems

In this paper we define a line-cell conversion problem that has been reported as a new technical innovation in Japanese industry, and we construct a mathematical model to describe it. By numerical analysis of the model based on simulation experiments, we gain insight into line-cell conversion problems, such as (1) how many cells should be formatted, (2) how many workers should be assigned in each cell, and (3) how many workers should be rested...