Line balancing

Designing Product Layouts Line balancing

Introduction
Manual assy line consists of a sequence of work stations Assy tasks are performed by human workers At each station, a portion of the total works is performed on each unit A mechanized material transport system is used to move the base part along the line until it is gradually transformed into final product

Work transport system

Manual methods products are passed from station to station by hand Problems:
starving (waiting to next unit to come) blocking (cannot pass current to the downstream)

Mechanized methods use powered conveyor to move units along a manual assy line

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Manual assembly line

Manual assembly line

Time (sec)
100 The slow est station The fastest station 70 60 50 60 50 Target cycle time

20

Operator/workstation

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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

Just for curiosity.

How many units operator 2 and 3 can assemble in 1 hour production? Operator 2 =____units Operator 3 =____units What will happen if you let this situation continues to operate in the assembly line?
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Line balancing
Common problems in manual assy lines
Uneven time between operators/stations Bottleneck or idling

Definition
Line is not balance when times to complete assy tasks not equal at each station The slowest station will control the overall capacity of the line Measures of line balance efficiency - balancing loss or balance delay

Objective of line balancing

To arrange individual task and assy works so that each workstation can perform tasks at almost equal time

Typical solutions
Redistribute work elements among stations Duplication of machine or operator Provide buffer stocks at the slowest task

Perfect balance only exists when all workstations having equal assembly time

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Line balancing
Terminology
Total work content, Twc = Te Minimum work element, Te (smallest element that can be divided during time study) Cycle time, Ct Ct E/Rp
E line efficiency (%) Rp = D/P where D = demand, P= production working hrs

Line balancing
Workstation process time, Tsi
Tsi = Te Ct mak Tsi
Assembled parts on the moving conveyor

Vc

Or Ct = working hrs per period/target output per period

1. 2 3..

1. 2 3.. 4.

1. 2

1. 2 3..

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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

Line balancing
Precedence constraint & diagram
Zoning constraint Positioning constraint Network diagram

Line balancing
Prepare network diagram for the following work elements:
Work element A B C D E F Predecessor A A C,D B,E Operation time (min) 0.10 0.40 0.50 0.20 0.60 0.40
0.1
A

0.4
B

0.4
F

0.6
C E

0.5

Conveyor speed, Vc

0.2

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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

Line balancing
Step 1: Identify tasks & immediate predecessors Step 2: Determine the desired output rate Step 3: Calculate the cycle time Step 4: Compute the theoretical minimum number of workstations Step 5: Assign tasks to workstations (balance the line) Step 6: Compute line efficiency, idle time & balance delay
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Line balancing - formulae

1.

Prepare precedence diagram: circles = tasks, arrows show the required sequence Determine cycle time, C t (time/unit): C t =

2. 3.

Production time (P) xR Demand (D)

Determine required no workstations (theoretical minimum, nt)

nt =

total task time Te = cycle time Ct

Actual number of workstations or operators, na must be integer

4.

Set rules for assigning tasks to workstation (Largest candidate rule, Webster & Kilbridge method or Rank Positional Weight method)
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Line balancing - formulae

5.

Line balancing
Example -1:

Assign tasks to first workstation, using rules and staying within cycle time. Repeat for following workstations until all tasks are assigned Evaluate line efficiency: E =

6. 7.

n a Ct

Calculate line balancing loss or balance delay %LBL = {(nTmax - Tsi)/nTmax } x 100% Rebalance if efficiency and loss are not satisfactory
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8.

Line balancing example 1

Data for eg. 1: Annual demand = 100,000 unit/year Operating hours = 50wk/yr, 5shift/wk and 7.5hr/shift Manning level = one worker per station Line efficiency = 96% Prepare precedence diagram & determine: Tw c, Rp, Ct, ideal n, LBL
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Line balancing example 1

6

3 1 4 2 5

Twc = 0.2 + 0.4 + 0.7 + 0.1 + 0.3 + 0.11 + 0.32 + 0.6 + 0.27 + 0.38 + 0.5 + 0.12 = 4.0 min Rp = 100,000/ (50*5*7.5) = 53.33 unit/hr

11

12

Ct = 0.96*60/53.33 = 1.08 min/unit

10

n 4/1.08 = 3.7 (4 workers) LBL = {(12(0.7) 4)/(12*0.7)} x 100% = 52.4%

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Precedence diagram

Line balancing models

3 Popular models:
Largest Candidate Rule (LCR) Kilbridge and Westers Rank Positional Weights All above methods are based on heuristic methods, no guarantee optimal solution.

LINE BALANCING MODELS

Largest Candidate Rule (LCR)
Work elements are arranged in descending order according to their Te values Steps to follow:
Assign element to the worker at the 1st w/station by starting at the top of the list which satisfies precedence requirement and total sum of Te C t When no more element can be assigned without exceeding C t, then proceed to the next station Repeat above steps for other stations until all elements have been assigned
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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Largest Candidate Rule
Example 2:
Based on data given in example 1, use Largest Candidate Rule to determine:
1.
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Te 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.11 0.32 0.6 0.27 0.38 0.5 0.12 Proceeded by 1 1,2 2 3 3 3,4 6,7,8 5,8 9,10 11

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Largest Candidate Rule

Minimum no of workstations or operator needed Line balancing loss

2.

Assume cycle time = 1.0 min

Precedence network diagram

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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Largest Candidate Rule
No 3 8 11 2 10 7 5 9 1 12 6 4 Tej 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.38 0.32 0.3 0.27 0.2 0.12 0.11 0.1 Preceeded by 1 3,4 9,10 5,8 3 2 6,7,8 11 3 1,2

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Largest Candidate Rule

Rank elements into descending order Largest element time is given highest priority to be chosen in the workstation Candidate must fulfill 2 conditions not violate precedence and total workstation time must less or equal to cycle time
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Assignment of elements into w/station: Check 2 things: 1. 2. Total time Ct Do not violate precedence requirement

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LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Largest Candidate Rule

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Kilbridge and Wester Method
Concept:

T max = 1 No of station, n = 5 Twc = 4 %LBL = {(5x1)-4}/5*100% = 20%

Select work elements for assignment to station according to their position in the precedence diagram This is to overcome one of the difficulties with LCR Work elements in the precedence diagram are arranged into columns. Selection starts with the first column and assignment stops when total sum of work element Ct

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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Kilbridge and Wester Method
Work elements are arranged into columns. Candidates in left column are given priority to be included in workstation. Earlier 2 rules still need to follow. Note: element 5 can be positioned either in column II or III
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LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Kilbridge and Wester Method

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LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Rank Positional Weights (RPW) Method Concept:
Take into account both the Te values and its position in the precedence diagram Elements are compiled into a list according to their RPW value Examples of RPW calculation :
RPW11 = 0.5 + 0.12 = 0.62 RPW8 = 0.6 + 0.27 + 0.38 + 0.5 + 0.12 =1.87

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Rank Positional Weight

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Izman.fkm.utm/2007

LINE BALANCING MODELS:

Rank Positional Weights Method

Line balancing - exercise

Example 10.4 Vicki's Pizzeria and the Precedence Diagram Immediate Task Time Work Element Task Description Predecessor (seconds
A B C D E F G H I Roll dough Place on cardboard backing Sprinkle cheese Spread Sauce Add pepperoni Add sausage Add mushrooms Shrinkwrap pizza Pack in box None A B C D D D E,F,G H Total task time 50 5 25 15 12 10 15 18 15 165

Use LCR, K&W and RPW to calculate: 1) cycle time, 2) minimum no of workstations, 3) line balancing loss. Assume working hrs: 8hrs/day, 5days/wk. Demand 2400 units/wk
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Solution Wester & Kilbridge method

Demand = 2400 unit/week Working hours = 8x5 = 40hrs/wk Tact time = (40x60 x60)/2400 = 60 sec/unit Assume cycle time = tact time without less Theoretical minimum no of workstation = total task time/cycle time = 165/60 = 2.75 (3 workstations)
Station 1 = 55 sec
50
A

Exercise Electric Fan Assy

Working hours = 7hrs/day = 420min/day Target output/day = 100unit/day
Task A B C D E F G H Time (Mins) 2 1 3.25 1.2 0.5 1 1 1.4 Description Assemble frame Mount switch Assemble motor housing Mount motor housing in frame Attach blade Assemble and attach safety grill Attach cord Test

Ct = 420/100 = 4.2min/unit
Predecessors None A None A, C D E B F, G

12
E

Station 3 = 55 sec
18
H

5
B

25
C

15
D

10
F

15
I

15
G

Station 2 = 55 sec
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Determine: min no of station, line balancing loss and line efficiency

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Element 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Time (Te), min 1.0 0.5 0.8 0.3 1.2 0.2 0.5 1.5

Predecessors 1,2 2 3 3,4 4 5,6,7

Working hours = 40 hours/week Demand = 1600 units/week Current no of operators = 8

Determine: 1) existing LBL, 2) cycle time to achieve the demand target, 3) minimum no of operators that can be reduced, 4) actual no of work stations that can balance the line, 5) Improved LBL

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