Manual Assembly Lines

A manual assembly line is a production line that consists of

workstations where assembly tasks are performed by human
workers.
 Products are assembled as they move along the line.

 At each station, a portion of the total work is performed.

 The common practice is to "launch" base parts onto the

beginning of the line at regular intervals.

 Each base part travels through successive stations and workers

add components that progressively build the product.

Manual Assembly Lines

 A mechanized material transport system is typically used to

move the base part along the line.

 However, in some manual lines, the product is simply moved

manually from station-to-station.

 The production rate of an assembly line is determined by its

slowest station.
Manual assembly line is still an important production system
throughout the world in the manufacture of automobiles, consumer
appliances, and other assembled products made in large
quantities. Examples are Automobiles, Dishwashers, Dryers,
Electric motors, Furniture, refrigerators, Telephones, Power tools,
Personal computers etc.

1
 Factors Favoring Manual Assembly
Lines

 Demand for the product is high or medium.

 The products made on the line are Identical.

 The total work required to assemble the product can he divided

into small work elements.

 It is technologically impossible or economically infeasible to

automate the assembly operations.

Assembly Workstations

A workstation on a manual assembly line is a designated location

along the work flow path at which one or more work elements are
performed by one or more workers.

The work elements represent small portions of the total work that
must be accomplished to assemble the product.

Some workstations are designed for workers to stand while other

allow workers to sit.

2
 Typical Assembly Operations Performed on a MAL
 Application of adhesive  Snap fitting of two parts
 Arc welding  Soldering
 Brazing  Spot welding
 Cotter pin applications  Stapling
 Insertion of components  Stitching
 Press fitting  Threaded fastener
 Riveting applications

Manning Level
For manual assembly line, the manning level of workstation is the
number of workers assigned to that station. It is denoted by Mi,
where i = 1,2,…, n; and n = number of stations on the line.

The generic case is one worker per station.

In cases where the product is large, such as a car or a truck,

multiple workers are often assigned to one station, so that Mi > 1.
The average manning level of a manual assembly line is simply
the total number of workers on the line divided by the number of
stations; that is,
w
M=
n w = number of workers on the line
n = number of stations on the line

3
 Manning Level
This simple ration becomes complicated by the fact that manual
assembly lines often include more workers than those assigned to
stations.

These additional workers, called utility workers, are not assigned

to specific workstations.

They are responsible for:

 Helping workers who fall behind,

 Relieving workers for personal breaks, and
 Maintenance and repair duties.

Manning Level
Including the utility workers in the worker count, we have
n
wu +  w i
i=1
M=
n
Wi can be a fraction if a worker is shared between two stations.

4
 Work Transport Systems

There are two work transport systems:

1. Manual systems
2. Mechanized systems

Manual Work Transport Systems

In manual work transport, the units of product are passed from

station-to-station by hand.

Two problems result from this mode of operation;

Starving: It is the situation in which the assembly operator has

completed the assigned task on the current work unit,
but the next unit has not yet arrived at the station.

Blocking: In this situation the operator has completed the assigned

task on the current work unit but cannot pass the unit to
the downstream station because that worker is not yet
ready to receive it

5
 Problems with Manual Transport Systems
To mitigate the effects of these problems storage buffers are
sometimes used between stations.

 In some cases, the work units made at each station are collected
in batches and then moved to the next station.

 In other cases, work units are moved individually along a flat

table or unpowered conveyor. When the task is finished at each
station, the worker simply pushes the unit toward the downstream
station. Space is often allowed for one or more work units in front
of each workstation.

 But it can result in significant work-in-process, which is

economically undesirable.

Mechanized Work Transport

Powered conveyors and other types of mechanized material

handling equipment are widely used to move units along a manual
assembly line.

Three major categories of work transport systems in production

lines are:
1. Continuous transport.
2. Synchronous transport, and
3. Asynchronous transport.

6
 Continuous Transport
It uses a continuously moving conveyor that operates at constant
velocity.

The conveyor usually runs the entire length of the line. However, if
the line is very long, such as the case of an automobile final
assembly plant, it is divided into segments with a separate
conveyor for each segment.

Continuous Transport
Continuous transport can be Implemented in two ways:
1. Work units are fixed to the conveyor, and
2. Work units are removable from the conveyor.

 In the first case, the product is large and heavy (e.g.,

automobile. washing machine) and cannot be removed from the
conveyor. The worker must therefore walk along with the
product at the speed of the conveyor to accomplish the
assigned task.

 In the case where work units are small and lightweight, they can
be removed from the conveyor for the physical convenience of
the operator at each station. Another convenience for the
worker is that the assigned task at the station does not need to
be completed within a fixed cycle time.

7
 Continuous Transport
This flexibility is allowed each worker to deal with technical
problems that may be encountered with a particular work unit.

However, on average each worker must maintain a production

rate equal to that of the rest of the line. Otherwise, the line will
produce incomplete units, which occurs when parts that were
supposed to be added at a station are not added because the
worker runs out of time.

Synchronous Transport
 All work units are moved simultaneously between stations with
a quick, discontinuous motion, and then positioned at their
respective stations.

8
 Synchronous Transport
 Synchronous transport is not common for manual lines, due to
the requirement that the task must be completed within a
certain time limit. This can result in incomplete units and
excessive stress on the assembly workers,

 Despite its disadvantages for manual assembly lines,

synchronous transport is often ideal for automated production
lines.

Asynchronous Transport
 In an asynchronous transport system, a work unit leaves a
given station when the assigned task has been completed and
the worker releases the unit.

 Work units move independently rather than synchronously.

 At any moment, some units are moving between workstations,

while others are positioned at stations.

 With asynchronous transport systems, small queues of work

units are permitted to form in front of each station. This tends to
be forgiving of variations in worker task times.

9
 Analysis of Single Model Assembly
line

The assembly line must be designed to achieve a

production rate Rp sufficient to satisfy demand for the
product.
Assuming the plant operates 50 weeks/yr, then the
required hourly production rate is given by

Da
Rp =
50SH

Rp = required production rate (units/hr)

Da = annual demand for the single product (units/yr)

10
 Analysis of Single Model Assembly
line

From this production rate we need to calculate the cycle

time (min/cycle) Tc, which is the time interval at which the
line will be operated
60
Tc =
Rp

But the cycle time must take into account the reality that
some production time will be lost due to equipment failure,
power outage, quality problem, and labor problem.
As a consequences of these losses, the line will be up and
operating only a certain proportion of the total shift time,
and it is referred as line efficiency E

Analysis of Single Model Assembly

line

Because of this lost time the cycle time should be reduced

to meet the demand
60E
Tc =
Rp

Typical values of E for a manual assembly line are in the

range 0.90 – 0.98.

11
 Analysis of Single Model Assembly
line

From this cycle time Tc, the ideal cycle rate for the line is:

60
Rc =
Tc
Rc = ideal cycle rate for the line (cycles/hr).
This cycle rate Rc must be greater than the required
production rate Rp because the line efficiency is less than
100%.
Rp
E=
Rc

Analysis of Single Model Assembly

line

The total time of all work elements that must be performed

on the line to make one unit of the product is called work
content time Twc.
It is useful to compute a theoretical minimum number of
workers that will be required on the assembly line to
produce a product with known Twc and specified production
rate Rp.
The number of workers on the production line:

WL
w=
AT

12
 Analysis of Single Model Assembly
line

WL = workload to be completed in a given time period

AT = available time in the period
Workload: It is the hourly production rate multiplied by the
work content time of the product.

WL = RpTwc

60ETwc
=
Tc

Analysis of Single Model Assembly

line

The available time AT = 1hr * the proportion uptime

AT = 60E

60ETwc Twc
w= 
60ETc Tc

Since, the number of workers must be an integer

Twc
w  Minimum Integer 
Tc

If one worker is assumed per station, then this ratio also

gives the theoretical minimum number of workstations.

13
 ‘w’ is the theoretical minimum number of workers.
 Achieving this minimum value in practice is impossible
because above equation ignores several factors.
 These factors tend to increase the number of workers
above the theoretical minimum value.
 Those factors are
1. Repositioning losses
2. The line balancing problem
3. Task time variability
4. Quality problem

Factors influencing ‘w’

Repositioning losses: Some time will be lost at each station

for repositioning of the work unit or the worker. Thus, the
time available per worker to perform assembly is less than
Tc.
Line balancing problem: It is virtually impossible to divide
the work content time evenly among all workstations. Some
stations are bound to have an amount of work that requires
less time than Tc. This tends to increase the number of
workers.
Task time variability: There is inherent and unavoidable
variability in the time required by a worker to perform a given
assembly task. Extra time must be allowed for this variability.

14
 Factors influencing ‘w’

Quality problem: Defective components and other quality

problems cause delays and rework that increase the
workload.

Repositioning losses

Let us define:
Tr as the repositioning time which is the time required
each cycle to reposition the worker or the work unit or both.
Assume that Tr is same for all workers.

Tsi as the service time which is the remaining available time

to perform the actual assembly task at each workstation.
Where i is used to identify the station.

Tsi = Tc - Tr

15
 Repositioning losses

Service time will vary among the stations because the total
work content cannot be allocated evenly among stations.
There will be at least one station at which Tsi is maximum,
called bottleneck station which establishes the cycle time
for the entire line. It should hold following condition:

Max Tsi   Tc - Tr for i  1, 2,..., n

For simplicity, let us use Ts to denote this maximum

allowable service time, that is

Ts  Max Tsi   Tc - Tr

Repositioning losses

At all stations where Tsi < Ts worker will be idle for a portion
of the cycle time as shown in the following figure.

16
 Repositioning losses

When the maximum service time does not consume the

entire available time (Tc - Tr), then this means that the line
could be operated at a faster pace than Tc.

In this case, the cycle time Tc is usually reduced so that

Tc = Ts + Tr

Repositioning losses reduce the amount of time that can be

devoted to productive assembly work. These losses can be
expressed in terms of an efficiency factor called
repositioning efficiency.
Ts Tc - Tr
Er = =
Tc Tc

Line Balancing Problem

 The line balancing problem is concerned with assigning

the individual work elements to workstations so that all
workers have an equal amount of work.

 Two important concepts in line balancing are

1. the separation of the total work content into minimum rational work
elements
2. the precedence constraints that must be satisfied by these
elements.
 Based on these concepts, the performance measures for
the solutions to the line balancing problem are evaluated.

17
 Minimum Rational Work Elements.

 A minimum rational work element is a small amount of

work having a specific limited objective, such as adding a
component to the base part or joining two components.

 A minimum rational work element cannot be subdivided

any further without loss of practicality.

 The sum of the work element times is equal to the work

content time; that is,
ne
Twc =  Tek
k=1

Minimum Rational Work Elements.

Tek = time to perform work element k
ne = number of work elements into which the work content time is
divided i.e. k = 1, 2,…, ne

 The service time Tsi (task time) at station i is composed of

the work element time that have been assigned to that
station; that is,
Tsi =  Tek
ki

 Service must add up to the work content time:

n
Twc =  Tsi
i=1

18
 Minimum Rational Work Elements.

 Different work elements require different times, and when

the elements are grouped into logical tasks and assigned
to workers, the station service times Tsi are not likely to be
equal.

 because of the variation among work element times, some

workers will be assigned more work, while others will be
assigned less.

Precedence Constraints

 There are restrictions on the order in which the work

elements can be performed. Some elements must be
done before others.

 These technological requirements on the work sequence

are called precedence constraints, which complicate the
line balancing problem.

 Precedence constraints can be presented graphically in

the form of a precedence diagram. Work elements are
symbolized by nodes, and precedence requirements are
indicated by arrows connecting the nodes. The sequence
proceeds from left to right.

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 Precedence Constraints

3 7 9

4 8 11 12

10
2

Measures of Line Balance Efficiency.

 Because of the differences in minimum rational work

element times and the precedence constraints among the
elements, it is virtually impossible to obtain a perfect line
balance.
 Measures must be defined to indicate how good a given
line balancing solution is.
 One possible measure is balance efficiency, which is the
work content time divided by the total available service
time on the line:

Twc
Eb =
wTs

20
 Measures of Line Balance Efficiency.

 The denominator gives the total service time available on

the line to devote to the assembly of one unit.
 A perfect line balance yields a value of Eb = 1.00.Typical
line balancing efficiencies in industry range between 0.90
and 0.95.
 The complement of balance efficiency is balance delay d,
which indicates the amount of time lost due to imperfect
balancing.
wTs - Twc
d = 1 - Eb =
wTs

 A balance delay of zero indicates a perfect line balance.

Worker Requirement

 Following are three factors that reduce the productivity of

manual assembly line.

1. Line efficiency
2. Repositioning efficiency
3. Balancing efficiency

 Together they comprise the overall labor efficiency on the

assembly line; defined as:

Labor efficiency on the assembly line = E  Er  Eb

21
 Worker Requirement

 Using this measure of labor efficiency, we can calculate a

more realistic value for the number of workers on the
assembly line
R pTwc
w  minimum Integer 
60 EEr Eb
60 E
Rp 
Tc
Twc T
w  minimum integer   wc
Er EbTc EbTs

Worker Requirement

 The trouble with this relationship is that it is difficult to

determine values for E, Er and Eb before the line is built
and operating.

 Despite that, the equation provides an accurate model of

the parameter that affect the number of workers required
to accomplish a given workload on a single model
assembly line.

22
 Example

A small electrical appliance is to be produced on a single model

assembly line. The work content of assembling the product has been
reduced to the work elements listed in following table. The table also lists
the standard times that have been established for each element as well
as the precedence order in which they must be performed. The line is to
be balanced for an annual demand of 100.000 unit/yr. The line will
operate 50 wk/yr, 5 shifts/wk. and 7.5 hr/shift. Manning level will be
one worker per station. Previous experience suggests that the uptime
efficiency for the line will be 96%, and repositioning time lost per cycle
will be 0.08 min. Determine:

a) total work content time Twc

b) required hourly production rate Rp to achieve the annual demand,
c) cycle time Tc
d) theoretical minimum number of workers required on the line, and
e) service time Ts, to which the line must be balanced.

Breakup of Twc into Work Elements

No Work Element Description Tek (min) Preceded by

1 Place frame in work holder and clamp 0.2 -
2 Assemble plug, grommet to power cord 0.4 -
3 Assemble brackets to frame 0.7 1
4 Wire power cord to motor 0.1 1,2
5 Wire power cord to switch 0.3 2
6 Assemble mechanism plate to bracket 0.11 3
7 Assemble blade to bracket 0.32 3
8 Assemble motor to brackets 0.6 3,4
9 Align blade and attach to motor 0.27 6,7,8
10 Assemble switch to motor bracket 0.38 5,8
11 Attach cover, inspect, and test 0.5 9,10
12 Place in tote pan for packing 0.12 11

23
 Precedence Diagram

3 7 9

4 8 11 12

2
10

Line Balancing Algorithms

 The objective in line balancing is to distribute the total

workload on the assembly line as evenly as possible
among the workers

 This objective can be expressed mathematically in two

alternative but equivalent forms:
w
Minimize wTs  Twc  or Minimize  (Ts  Tsi )
i 1
 Subject to:

1.  Tek  Ts .
ki
2. All precedence requirements are satisfied.

24
 Line Balancing Algorithms

There are three line balancing algorithms:

1. Largest candidate rule,

2. Kilbridge and Wester method,

3. Ranked positional weights method.

These methods are heuristic, meaning they are based on

common sense and experimentation rather than on
mathematical optimization.

In each of the algorithms, we assume that the manning level

is one,

Largest Candidate Rule

In this method, work elements are arranged in descending

order according to their Tek values.

Once the list is developed following three steps are required.

Step-1

Assign elements to the worker at the first workstation by

starting at the top of the list and selecting the first element
that satisfies precedence requirements and does not cause
the total sum of Tek at that station to exceed the allowable Ts.
when an element is selected for assignment to the station,
start back at the top of the list for subsequent assignments.

25
 Largest Candidate Rule

Step-2

When no more elements can be assigned without exceeding

Ts, then proceed to the next station;

Step-3

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the other stations in turn until all
elements have been assigned.

Example

Work Element Tek (min) Preceded by

3 0.7 1
8 0.6 3,4
11 0.5 9,10
2 0.4 -
10 0.38 5,8
7 0.32 3
5 0.3 2
9 0.27 6,7,8
1 0.2 -
12 0.12 11
6 0.11 3
4 0.1 1,2

26
 Example

Station Work Element Tek (min) Station Time (min)

2 0.4
5 0.3
1
1 0.2
4 0.1 1.0
3 0.7
2
6 0.11 0.81
8 0.6
3
10 0.38 0.98
7 0.32
4
9 0.27 0.59
11 0.5
5
12 0.12 0.62

Workstations

Eb = 4.0/5(1.0) = 0.8

27
 Kllbridge and Wester Method

 It is a heuristic procedure that selects work elements for

assignment to stations according to their position in the
precedence diagram.

 The Kilbridge and Wester method provides a superior line

balance solution than the largest candidate rule

 In the Kilbridge and Wester method, work elements in the

precedence diagram are arranged into columns.

Kllbridge and Wester Method

28
 Kllbridge and Wester Method

 The elements can then be Work Column Tek Precede

Element (min) d by
organized into a list
2 I 0.4 -
according to their columns,
1 I 0.2 -
with the elements in the
3 II 0.7 1
first column listed first.
5 II 0.3 2
4 II 0.1 1,2
 Elements in a given 8 III 0.6 3,4
column are presented in 7 III 0.32 3
the order of their Tek value; 6 III 0.11 3
i.e., the largest candidate 10 IV 0.38 5,8
rule is applied within each 9 IV 0.27 6,7,8
column. 11 V 0.5 9,10
12 VI 0.12 11

Kllbridge and Wester Method

 Once the list is established, the same three-step

procedure is used as before.
Statio Work Element Column Tek (min) Station Time
n (min)
2 I 0.4
1 I 0.2
1
5 II 0.3
4 II 0.1 1.0
3 II 0.7
2
6 III 0.11 0.81
8 III 0.6
3
7 III 0.32 0.92
10 IV 0.38
4
9 IV 0.27 0.65
11 V 0.5
5
12 VI 0.12 0.62

29
 Solve problem 5.12

Ranked Positional Weights Method

 In this method, a ranked positional weight value (call it RPW for

short) is computed for each element.
 The RPW takes into account both the Tek value and its position
in the precedence diagram.
 RPW k is calculated by summing Tek and all other times for
elements that follow Tek in the arrow chain of the precedence
diagram.
 Elements are arranged into a list according to their RPW value,
and the algorithm proceeds using the same three steps as
before.

30
Ranked Positional Weights Method

Work RPW Tek (min) Preceded by

Element
1 3.3 0.2 -
3 3 0.7 1
2 2.67 0.4 -
4 1.97 0.1 1,2
8 1.87 0.6 3,4
5 1.3 0.3 2
7 1.21 0.32 3
6 1.0 0.11 3
10 1.0 0.38 5,8
9 0.89 0.27 6,7,8
11 0.62 0.5 9,10
12 0.12 0.12 11

Ranked Positional Weights Method

Statio Work Element Tek (min) Station Time

n (min)
1 0.2
1
3 0.7 0.9
2 0.4
4 0.1
2
5 0.3
6 0.11 0.91
8 0.6
3
7 0.32 0.92
10 0.38
4
9 0.27 0.65
11 0.5
5
12 0.12 0.62

31
 Eb = Twc/nTs = 4/5*0.92 = 0.87
 Tc = Ts + Tr = 0.92 + 0.08 = 1.0
 Rc = 60/Tc = 60/1 = 60 parts/hr.

 This is a better solution than the previous line balancing

methods.
 It turns out that the performance of a given line balancing
algorithm depends on the problem to be solved.
 Some line balancing methods work better on some problems,
while other methods work better on other problems.

32