CHAPTER THREE

Assembly Line Balancing

1. Balancing
Effective planning (Efficient line balancing)
● Product analysis - Study of garment
● Process analysis - Product flow chart
● Capacity analysis - Time study, method study, no. of machines and operators, skill
of operator.

2. Line balancing
A line is defined as a group of operators under the control of one production supervisor.
Balancing is the technique of maintaining the same level of inventory at each and every
operation at any point of time to meet the production target and to produce garments of
acceptable quality.
It is a function of the work study office to provide management with information to help
the efficient and productive running of the factory, and part of this information is the
process known as line balancing. Line balancing is a vital key in the efficient running of a
line. The objective of the process is to ‘balance the workload’ of each operation to make
sure that the flow of work is smooth, that no bottlenecks are created, and that the operators
are able to work at peak performance throughout the day. This process is intended to reduce
waiting time to a minimum, or in fact with the use of some work in progress to eliminate
waiting time completely (Seminar SCT, 2010).
• In operation breakdown we try to equalize the standard time.
• But still there will be the difference in the standard time which leads to work in
progress.
• So, we try to set the flow through each operation to be similar as possible.
• Checking from time to time to see how things are going and then making
adjustments to even out the flow again. This process is called balancing.

3. Need for balancing

1. Keeping inventory cost low.
2. To enable the operator to work at the optimal pace.
 3. To enable the supervisor to attend other problems.
4. To enable better production planning.
5. Balancing production line results in on-time shipments, low cost, and ensures
reorders.

4. Goals for balancing

1. Meet production schedule
2. Avoid the waiting time
3. Minimize over time
4. Protect operator earnings

5. Rules for balancing

1. Have between 3 and 5 bundles of WIP at each operation
2. Solve the problem before they become larger
3. Meet production goals by keeping every operator working at maximum capacity
and make sure he has constant feeding to ensure his capacity is high.

6. How to balance the time?

1. Know work available at the start of the day
2. Plan transfer needed to compensate for any known absenteeism
3. Check attendance at the start of the day
4. Make additional assignments to compensate unexpected absentees
5. Make periodic checks during the day to check production

7. Points to be noted when making balancing

1. Meet production target by usage of
a. Regular operators
b. Utility operators
c. Shuttle operators
2. Workflow should be constant throughout all operations
3. Avoid over time
4. Determine human resource
5. Check absence daily
6. Assign utility shuttle operators based on need
7. Update daily production every two hours
8. Balanced production system
It is a production line where the line targets are achieved in all the operations with the same
amount of normal WIP at all workstations, at any point of time in the day.
How to keep all operations producing at the same rate?
• This is very difficult to achieve as the operator’s skills vary.
• We should balance using utility operators to cover the gaps in production.
• We should keep operators at the expected level of production, or higher if possible.
How to start balancing the production line?
• Allocate operators based on the planned efficiency.
• Determine the amount of WIP required to ensuring smooth flow.

9. Why do we balance?
1. To keep inventory cost low results in higher income.
2. To keep the normal inventory levels let the operator work consistently.
3. To free the supervisors to concentrate on other areas.
4. To keep the production cost low will increase the profits, which in turn will make
the facility more competitive.

10. Steps to balance the line

The method of line balancing can vary from factory to factory and depends on the garments
manufactured; but at any instance, line balancing concerns itself with two distinct
applications: “Opening the line” and “Operating the line”.
• Calculation of labor requirements
• Operation breakdown
• Theoretical operation balance
• Initial balance
• Balance control

11. Calculation of labor requirement

Before a new style comes onto a line, it is necessary to establish the operation sequence, the
time, the type of equipment and the attachments required to manufacture the order.
Management must have this information before the commencement of the order, so that
the line can be balanced and laid out in such a way as to maximize productivity.
There are two methods which can be used to set up a line:
Method 1
Calculate how many operators will be necessary to achieve a given production rate per hour.
Method 2
Calculate how many garments can be produced by a given number of operators.
One should know the total: work content of garment, standard time, estimated production
per day, efficiency of operator, pieces per machine = 480 min/SAM.
Labor required = Estimated production per day / pieces per machine

12. Operation breakdown

Using either technique, there is certain information required before commencing the
calculations:
1. The number of operators in the line
2. Sequential list of operations by method study
3. The standard minute values for each operation
4. Output required form a given group of operators
We require the following information
● The size of the group
● An operation sequences
● The standard time for each operation
● The total standard time for the garment
● Type of machine
● Machine attachments
● Process name/code
● Work aids
Operation breakdown
Table 3.1 shows the operation breakdown for shirts assembly sections with machinery and
SAM details.
Table 3.1 Operation breakdown
S. no. Operation Machine ST in seconds
1 Shoulder attach SNLS 120
2 Shoulder top stitch DNLS 60
3 Collar attach SNLS 120
4 Collar finish SNLS 210
 5 Sleeve attach SNLS 100
6 Sleeve over lock 5O/L 60
7 Sleeve top stitch DNLS 60
8 Side seam 5O/L 60
9 Cuff attach / finish SNLS 240
10 Bottom hem SNLS 100

13. Theoretical operation balance

Elements are grouped together as shown in Table 3.2 to match the number of people
selected in the calculation of the labor requirements (Seminar SCT, 2010).
Table 3.2 Theoretical operation balance

S. no. Operation Machine ST (seconds)

1 Shoulder attach SNLS 120

2 SHLDR T/S/SLVT/S SNLS 120

3 Collar attach SNLS 120

4 Collar Finish SNLS 105

5 Collar finish SNLS 105

6 Sleeve O/L/side seam 5O/L 120

7 Cuff attach SNLS 120

8 Cuff finish SNLS 120

9 Bottom hem SNLS 100

Total SAM 1130

No. of operators = 10
Total ST = 1130 s
Sectionalization advance of open breakdown (Operator break down):
• Makes greater possibility of individual specialization
• Reduces training time
• Enhances the use of special purpose machine and work aids attachment
• Increases the efficiency of operators - they get rhythm of working.
• Make it easy to cover the absenteeism - because of more people involved.
Operation breaks down - Jobs must be broken down into operations of equal size. Table 3.3
shows the various alternatives to equalize the standard time.
Table 3.3 Alternatives

S. no. Long operations performed by two or Improved flexibility

Operative in parallel more people

2 Operative in series Long operations split Greater specialization

3 Method/ construction One or more elements combined May be increase in

change together efficiency

4 Workplace improvement Work study and capital investment Reduce manufacturing

concentrated at bottlenecks time

Skill matrix chart - Shows operator efficiency for the different

operations in the batch

14. Initial balance

From the skill inventory chart, chose the right operator whose efficiency matches the target
output mentioned in the man/machine chart of theoretical operation balance sheet.
Floaters used to balance the time due to absenteeism and imbalance.
The method of calculating the line balance is as follows:
1. Add up the operation time for the whole of the style.
2. Establish what percentage each operation is of the total time.
3. Work out what the theoretical balance is by using each operation’s percentage of
the total number of operators on the line.
4. Round the theoretical balance to the nearest half an operator on the line.
5. List the type of equipment’s required for each operation at the side of your rounded
figure.
6. Where you have “half” operators, combine similar equipment to get “full”
operators.
7. If you have an odd “half” operator, this obviously will be rounded up (The operator
could be used to help balance the line in situations such as absenteeism, machine
troubles, etc.).
 8. You can now calculate the number of garments that would be produced per hour on
each operation by multiplying the number of operators by 60 minutes and dividing
by the total minutes for the style. This will give you the theoretical number of
garments that will be produced through each operation.
9. You may now wish to use your knowledge of the skill levels of each operator to
establish which operators will give you the best possible output per operation.
This can be done on a computer using Excel.
Op no. Description M/C Time in (min.) %
1 Join shoulders S/S 0.36 1.5
2 Set sleeves S/S 0.83 3.5
3 Close sides S/S 1.02 4.3
4 Att. collars S/N 0.86 3.6
5 T/S collar S/N 0.73 3.2
Now, to calculate the number of operators required for each operation, we need the number of operators in
the group. In the following example, we have 10 operators on the section. Therefore,

Op no Description M/C Time % No of ops 10

1 Join shoulders S/S 0.36
2 Set sleeves S/S 0.83
3 Close sides S/S 1.02
4 Att. collars S/N 0.86
5 T/S collar S/N 0.73

This exercise is continued until all of the operations in the style have been completed.
After the calculation of the actual number of operators required, we then round this number up or down to
give us the actual allocation of operators to the nearest half an operator.
The output for each operation is calculated by multiplying the minutes worked by number of operators to be
used and then to divide the total by the standard time for the operation.
Close sides 2 operators Std. time 1.02 min.
2 x 60
Output = ----- (Standard time) = 117 garments per hour
1.02

This assumes that the operator’s performance is 100%. In practice we would use the line performance to
calculate the output by taking the number of minutes worked at the performance level, as this is a true
indication of what the operators are capable of producing.
If you have combined two operations to make the balance and have one operator to do both the operations,
then the calculation would be as follows:
60
Output = =113
0.22 + 0.31
The standard time for both the operations = 113 garments/hour.

15. Line balancing exercise 1

Number of operators
Operation Machine SAM/ Percent Theory Output
Actual ops
SMV ops
Close first side 0.18 0.452 18.5 8.11 1 132
Elasticate waist 0.13 0.328 13.48 0.80 1 182
Z/Z lace to waist 0.33 0.823 33.8 202 2 144
Close 2nd side 0.20 0.495 200.3 1.21 1 121
Bar tack x 2 0.13 0.335 13.76 0.8 1 179
2.433 6

i. Theoretical output =

ii. Balance efficiency =

iii. Line forecast= Theoretical output x Expected line performance

Theoretical output 147.96

Balance efficiency 0.81

Line forecast@75% 110.97

16. Balancing tools

1. Balancing matrix
2. Operation-wise hourly production monitoring report
3. Bi-hourly production board
4. Daily line inventory report

References
Seminar Textbook (2000). Sewing factory management technicians, Brother Sewing
Technology Center. Seminar SCT (2010). Technical workplace skills for the garment industry,
Sona School of Garment and Fashion Technology.