Focusing on a basic printed circuit board (PCB) assembly line configur
ation characterized by very long set-up times, we examine two scheduli
ng methods that can significantly reduce the set-up. Both methods - th
e Grouped Set-Up (GSU) method that has been recently introduced in the
literature and the Sequence Dependent Scheduling (SDS) method, which
has not been studied in this context - are based on component commonal
ity among PCB types. Using the typical traditional scheduling method a
s a benchmark, the GSU and the SDS methods are compared in terms of th
ree performance measures: line throughput, average work-in-process (WI
P) inventory level, and implementation complexity. Guidelines for sele
cting the most appropriate method for a given production environment a
re proposed. The analysis is illustrated using real data from a typica
l production line.