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Line Balancing

A flow line can be divided into elemental tasks. Each of these tasks will require a
specified time to complete. It also has a sequential relationship with other tasks in the
flow line. In order to ensure that the line is run efficiently, efforts have to be made to
balance the line.
Flow line
balancing
It is the assignment of sequential work activities into work
stations in order to gain a high utilization of labour and
equipment, and therefore, minimize idle time. Compatible
work activities are combined into approimately equal time
groupings that do not violate the order !or precedence" in
which they must be done.
#he line is balanced when the operation time per worker per unit
is the same. $ractically, a line cannot be perfectly balanced, so
idle time will occur.
#he speed of a flow line is limited by its slowest operation !the
bottleneck".
Applications In the continuous manufacturing industries such as automotives,
electronics or assembly operations.
A technique applied to assembly lines to achieve %I#.
#he lines are associated with &product layout', where
components of products are refined or assembled as they passed
through work centers, and finally become a completed product.
A designated number of work elements are performed at each
work center.
#he times to perform work elements are derived from work
measurement studies. #he period allowed to complete operations
at each station is determined by the cycle time !or tact time".
(
Objectives of Line Balancing
( #o minimize the total amount of unassigned or idle times at the work station.
) #o eliminate bottlenecks, ensuring a smoother flow of production.
* #o determine the optimal number of work stations and operations in each
station.
+ #o maintain the morale of workers since the work content of the different
workers will not be of great difference.
, #o maimize the manpower utilization by minimizing the idle times of the
operators.
- #o minimize intermediate stock or work.in.progress !zero inventory or /ust.in.
time concept".
0 #o improve the quality and productivity of the assembled products.
1 #o reduce waste of production and delay.
JIT Assembly Lines & Wastes
%I# assembly lines require the conscious effort in eliminating or reducing wastes.
2aste is a non.required by.product in a transformation process, and is defined as
&anything other than the minimum amount of equipment materials, parts, space and
time, which are absolutely essential to add value to the product.'
Types of Wastes of Pro!ction & Assembly
( 3verproduction. - $rocessing or methods.
) 2aiting or delays. 0 4asic motions.
* 5ovements or transportation. 1 Ecess manpower.
+ Inventories or work.in.progress. 6 Ecess materials.
, 7efects or re/ects. (8 9pace.
)
"teps For Line Balancing
( Construct the precedence diagram if not given.
) 7etermine the cycle time required.
* 7etermine the theoretical minimum number of work stations required. #his is
done by adding up all the task times and dividing the total by the cycle time.
+ 9elect either the :ilbridge ; 2ester method or the <ank $ositional 2eights
5ethod to allocate task elements to each work station.
, Each work station should not eceed the cycle time determined earlier. =se a
table, setting out the work stations from left to right.
- =se the >ongest 3peration #ime !>3#" rule? select the task with the longest
operation time net. Consider adding to the station any task whose time fits
within the remaining time for that station.
0 Ensure that the sequencing is in order, even for the task elements in each
station. $recedence relationships may interfere with assigning two tasks to the
same workstation.
1 Ensure that the restrictions or constraints for the flow line are adhered to.
6 Analyse the balanced flow line to improve efficiency and to reduce idle times.
An efficient balance will minimize the amount of idle time.
(8 Calculate the idle times, and hence the balancing loss !balancing delay" or line
efficiency.
Ass!mptions@
( 5ethod improvements have been completed to define the methods and to
determine the sequence of operations, and work measurement done to
standardize the times taken. A<easonable allowances have been taken into
account in calculating the standard times.B
) All the workers can do any of the tasks assigned.
* 5achine downtime and materials downtime are not taken into account.
*
Factors Affecting Line Balancing & Problems
#nco!ntere
( #here are constraints in operations in terms of size of machines, location, space,
/igs and fitures, building structure, etc.
) #he workers in the line have great variations in level of skill and aptitudes for
certain /obs. #hus, it is difficult to synchronize the time.
* 9ome work content cannot be broken down further into elements.
+ >ong machining times can become bottlenecks.
, #he design of parts, shape and size of materials may pose constraints !e.g.,
bulky materials".
- 9pecial processes, such as electroplating, curing and baking by batch, have
fied sequences.
0 >ong set.up times.
1 9mall production volumes do not /ustify the use of line balancing.
$ilbrige & Wester %et&o
#he precedence priorities are set by columns from left to right.
'an( Positional Weig&ts %et&o
#he positional weight of each element is calculated by adding the durations of the other
elements that follow the element chosen.
After calculating all the elemental positional weights, arrange them in a table according
to their rankings, from highest to lowest.
#he assigning of task elements to the work stations follows the ranking order.
5ore time consuming than the :ilbridge ; 2ester 5ethod. #his is because the
positional weight of each element has to be calculated and after that all the weights
randked.
In most cases, the results of both methods are the same.
+
Line Balancing #fficiency) *
It is a means of measuring the degree of balance for each process time in a flow line
operation. It is the percentage of available work station time that is used productively.
Efficiency, C D output E input D total task time E AFo. of stations G Cycle timeB
Balancing Loss or +elay
#he inefficiency of the flow line is the total idle times of the flow line A D ! ( H C" (88
I B.
,ycle Time
#he length of work time, or operating time, that a product is available at each work
station is the cycle time. It is the amount of time available for a worker at a work
station to complete his work. It determines the maimum time allowed for any
operation with the required output.
It is also the time interval at which completed products leave the production line once it
is operating at full capacity. If the time required at any station eceeds that which is
available to one worker, additional workers have to be added to the station.
Cycle time, C# D !available time per period" E !output units required per period".
D production period E production volume.
#he ideal or theoretical number of workers needed is the product of the actual worker
time it takes to complete one unit and the number of output units required, divided by
the available time.
Ideal no. of workers D J t E C#,
2here J t D sum of actual worker time required to complete ( unit.
#he available time is the total working hours less the assignable break.times and
allowances.
2hen available work time at any station eceeds that which can be done by one
worker, additional workers !or robots" must be added to that station.
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