Line Balancing..

Purpose is to minimize the number

of people and/or machines on an
assembly line that is required to
produce a given number of units

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Line Balancing Example

EXAMPLE
Green Grass’s plant manager just received marketing’s latest
forecasts of fertilizer spreader sales for the next year. She
wants its production line to be designed to make 2,400
spreaders per week. The plant will operate 40 hours per week.

a. What should be the line’s cycle time or throughput rate per

hour be?
Throughput rate/hr = 2400 / 40 = 60 spreaders/hr
Cycle Time = 1/Throughput rate= 1/60 = 1 minute = 60 seconds

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Line balancing Example continued:
Assume that in order to produce the new fertilizer spreader on
the assembly line requires doing the following steps in the order
specified:

Work Time Immediate

Description
Element (sec) Predecessor(s)

A Bolt leg frame to hopper 40 None

B Insert impeller shaft 30 A
C Attach axle 50 A
D Attach agitator 40 B
E Attach drive wheel 6 B
F Attach free wheel 25 C
G Mount lower post 15 C
H Attach controls 20 D, E
I Mount nameplate 18 F, G
Total 244

b.What is the total number of stations or machines required?

TM (total machines) = total production time / cycle time = 244/60 = 4.067 or 5

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Draw a Precedence Diagram
SOLUTION
The figure shows the complete diagram. We begin with work
element A, which has no immediate predecessors. Next, we add
elements B and C, for which element A is the only immediate
predecessor. After entering time standards and arrows showing
precedence, we add elements D and E,
and so on. The diagram simplifies
D
interpretation. Work element F, H
for example, can be done B 40
20
anywhere on the line after 30 E
element C is completed. 6
However, element I must A
F
await completion of 40 C
25
elements F and G. 50
I
18
G
Precedence Diagram for
Assembling the Big Broadcaster 15

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Allocating work or activities to
stations or machines
 The goal is to cluster the work elements into
workstations so that
1. The number of workstations required is minimized
2. The precedence and cycle-time requirements are not
violated
 The work content for each station is equal (or
nearly so, but less than) the cycle time for the line
 Trial-and-error can be used but commercial
software packages are also available

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 Finding a Solution

 The minimum number of workstations is 5 and the

cycle time is 60 seconds, so Figure 5 represents
an optimal solution to the problem

D
H
B 40
20
30 E
6
A
F
40 C
25
50
I
18
G
15

Firtilizer Precedence Diagram Solution

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Calculating Line Efficiency

c. Now calculate the efficiency measures of a five-station

solution:

t 244
Efficiency = (100) = = 81.3%
nc 5(60)

Balance delay (%) = 100 – Efficiency = 100% - 81.3% = 18.7%

Idle time = nc – t = 5(60) – 244 = 56 seconds

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A Line Process

 The desired output rate is matched to the

staffing or production plan
 Line Cycle Time is the maximum time
allowed for work at each station is
1
c=
r

where
c = cycle time in hours
r = desired output rate

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A Line Process

 The theoretical minimum number of

stations is

t
TM =
c

where
t = total time required to
assemble each unit

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A Line Process

 Idle time, efficiency, and balance delay

Idle time = nc – t

where
n= number of stations

t
Efficiency (%) = nc (100)

Balance delay (%) = 100 – Efficiency

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Solved Problem 2
A company is setting up an assembly line to produce 192 units
per 8-hour shift. The following table identifies the work
elements, times, and immediate predecessors:

Work Element Time (sec) Immediate Predecessor(s)

A None
40

B A
80

C D, E, F
30

D B
25

E B
20

F B
15

G A
120

H G
145

I
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Solved Problem 2

a. What is the desired cycle time (in seconds)?

b. What is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
c. Use trial and error to work out a solution, and show your
solution on a precedence diagram.
d. What are the efficiency and balance delay of the solution
found?

SOLUTION
a. Substituting in the cycle-time formula, we get

1 8 hours
c= = (3,600 sec/hr) = 150 sec/unit
r 192 units

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Solved Problem 2

b. The sum of the work-element times is 720 seconds, so

t 720 sec/unit
TM = = = 4.8 or 5 stations
c 150 sec/unit-station

which may not be achievable.

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 Solved Problem 2
c. The precedence diagram is shown in Figure 7.6. Each row in
the following table shows work elements assigned to each
of the five workstations in the proposed solution.
Work Immediate
Element Predecessor(s)
D A None
25 B A
C D, E, F
D B
B E C
E B
80 20 30 F B
G A
F J
A H G
15 115 I H
40 G J C, I
120
H I

145 130

Figure 7.6 – Precedence Diagram

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Solved Problem 2 D
25

B E C
80 20 30
J

A F 115

40 G 15 I
H
120 130
145

Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time

Station Candidate(s) Choice
Time (sec) Time (sec) (c= 150 sec)
S1

S2

S3
S4

S5

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Solved Problem 2 D
25

B E C
80 20 30
J

A F 115

40 G 15 I
H
120 130
145

Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time

Station Candidate(s) Choice
Time (sec) Time (sec) (c= 150 sec)
S1
A A 40 40
110
B B 80 30
120
D,
D 25 5
E, F 145
S2 E,
G 120 30
F, G 120

S3 E,
E 20 10
F 140
S4
F,
H 145 5
H 145
S5 F,
I 130 20
I 130

F F 15 5
145
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Solved Problem 2

d. Calculating the efficiency, we get

t 720 sec/unit
Efficiency (%) = nc (100) =
5(150 sec/unit)

= 96%

Thus, the balance delay is only 4 percent (100–96).

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In class - Example
A plant manager needs a design for an assembly line to
assembly a new product that is being introduced. The time
requirements and
immediate Work Element Time (sec)
Immediate
predecessors for the Predecessor

work elements are A 12 ―

as follows: B 60 A
C 36 ―
D 24 ―
E 38 C, D
F 72 B, E
G 14 ―
H 72 ―
I 35 G, H
J 60 I
K 12 F, J
Total = 435

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In class - Example
Draw a precedence diagram, complete I, F, J, and K

Work Time (sec) Immediate

Element Predecessor A
A 12 ―
B 60 A
C 36 ― B
C
D 24 ―

E 38 C, D
F
F 72 B, E
D E K
G 14 ―

H 72 ― J
I 35 G, H
G I
J 60 I

K 12 F, J

Total = 435
H

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In class - Example

If the desired output rate is 30 units per hour, what are the cycle
time and theoretical minimum?

1 1
c= = (3600) = 120 sec/unit
r 30

t 435
TM = = = 3.6 or 4 stations
c 120

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In class - Example

Suppose that we are fortunate enough to find a solution with

just four stations. What is the idle time per unit, efficiency, and
the balance delay for this solution?

Idle time = nc – t = 4(120) – 435 = 45 seconds

t 435
Efficiency (%) = nc (100) = (100) = 90.6%
480

Balance delay (%) = 100 – Efficiency = 100 – 90.6 = 9.4%

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In class - Example

Using trial and error, one possible solution is shown below.

Work
Elements Idle Time
Station Assigned Cumulative Time (c = 120)
1
2
3
4
5

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In class - Example

Using trial and error, one possible solution is shown below.

Work
Elements Idle Time
Station Assigned Cumulative Time (c = 120)
1 H, C, A 120 0
2 B, D, G 98 22
3 E, F 110 10
4 I, J, K 107 13
5 A fifth station is not needed

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Managerial Considerations

 Pacing is the movement of product from

one station to the next
 Behavioral factors such as absenteeism,
turnover, and grievances can increase after
installing production lines
 The number of models produced
complicates scheduling and necessitates
good communication
 Cycle times are dependent on the desired
output rate

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