LINE BALANCING

© SOFT Student Handouts,

By, Sunil Talekar, Faculty, SOFT-Pune
LINE BALANCING AND PRODUCTION
LINE BALANCING (Process Organization) The Line Balancing is
“ to design a smooth production flow by allotting processes to
workers so as to allow each worker to complete the allotted
workload within an even time”

LINE BALANCING (Process Organization) It is a system where

you meet the production expectations and you can find the same
amount of work in process in every operation at any point in the
 WHAT IS LINE IN APPAREL MANUFACTURING?
Line: an assembly line composed of several work
stations, at which specific operations are performed.
To work effectively, with no work pile-ups between
stations, the line must be balanced,
e.g. work must get through each workstation in
roughly the same amount of time.
 WHAT IS LINE PLANNING?
Line planning is scheduling and
Line 1 Line 2 Total
allocating of orders to Date Daily Prod.
Cumm
Prod. Daily Prod. Cumm Prod. Daily Prod.
production lines according to 1-Dec
loading #2341A,
Qty -3000 pieces 300 1200 300
2-Dec 200 200 300 1500 500
product setting (product is being 3-Dec 250 450 300 1800 550
4-Dec 400 850 200 2000 600
made in the line) and due dates 5-Dec 400 1250
loading #Polo ,
Qty -1500 pieces 400

of production completion. 6-Dec

7-Dec
400
400
1650
2050
0
100
0
100
400
500
8-Dec 400 2450 300 400 700
A line plan defines when a style 9-Dec 400 2850 350 750 750
10-Dec 150 3000 350 1100 500
is going to be loaded to the line, 11-Dec
loading #432K,
Qty -5500 pieces 400 1500 400

how many pieces to be 12-Dec 100 100

loading #YK45,
Qty -4500 pieces 100
13-Dec 250 350 200 200 450
expected (target) from the line 14-Dec 500 850 250 450 750
15-Dec 500 1350 400 850 900
and when order to be 16-Dec 500 1850 400 1250 900
17-Dec 500 2350 400 1650 900
completed. For example, please 18-Dec
19-Dec
500
500
2850
3350
400
400
2050
2450
900
900
refer to the following Table-1, 20-Dec
21-Dec
500
500
3850
4350
400
400
2850
3250
900
900

where a simple line planning 22-Dec

23-Dec
500
150
4850
5000
400
400
3650
4050
900
550

has been shown in spread

Daily Prod. – Daily production or line output
Cumm Prod. – Cumulative production of the style till date
 UNBALANCED VS BALANCED

Unbalanced line Balanced line

 OBJECTIVES OF LINE
BALANCING
• Match the production rate after all wastes have been
removed to the talk time at each process of the value
stream.
• Regular material flow.
• Maximum uses of man power and machine capacity.
• Minimum process time.
• Minimizing slack time.
• Minimizing workstation.
• Maximum output at the desired time.
• Quality maintenance of the garment.
• Reduce production cost.
 BENEFIT OF LINE PLANNING

• It helps production manager as well as

line supervisor with information such as
what is the daily production target for line.
• Supervisors set their line (machines and
manpower) accordingly.
• Line plan also provides information such
as how many days style would run, what
is the next style going to be loaded?
 WHY LINE BALANCING…
@ the main job in line balancing is to eliminate or reduce
wip (work in process) at bottleneck operations.
@ keeps inventory costs low, resulting in higher net
income
@ allows operator to work all day long giving an
opportunity to earn more money and increases his/her
work efficiency
@ keeps the prices low which turns into repeat sales
@ means better production planning
 IMPORTANCE OF LINE
BALANCING
• Line balancing helps to know about new machine required for new
style.
• It becomes easier to distribute particular job to each operator.
• It becomes possible to deliver goods at right time at the agreed
quality for list cost.
• Good line balancing increase the rate of production.
• Line balancing helps to compare the required machinery with the
existing one and compare balance.
• It also helps in the determination of labor requirement.
• Good balancing reduces production time.
• Profit of a factory can be ensured by proper line balancing.
• Proper line balancing ensured optimum production at the agreed
quality.
• It reduces faults in the finished product.
LINE BALANCING AND PRODUCTION
OPERATION NO 1. OPERATION NO 1. OPERATION NO 1.
PRODUCTION 40 PIECES PRODUCTION 40 PIECES PRODUCTION 40 PIECES
1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE
END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40
PIECES. PIECES. PIECES.

IMBALANCE LINE
OPERATION NO 2.

BALANCE LINE
OPERATION NO 1. OPERATION NO 2.
PRODUCTION 45 PIECES PRODUCTION 45 PIECES PRODUCTION 45 PIECES
1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE
END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40
PIECES. PIECES. PIECES.

OPERATION NO 1. OPERATION NO 3. OPERATION NO 3.

PRODUCTION 40 PIECES PRODUCTION 40 PIECES PRODUCTION 40 PIECES
1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE
END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40
PIECES. PIECES. PIECES.

OPERATION NO 1. OPERATION NO 4.
PRODUCTION 80 PIECES PRODUCTION 80 PIECES
1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE
END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40
PIECES. PIECES.

OPERATION NO 1. OPERATION NO 5.
PRODUCTION 80 PIECES PRODUCTION 80 PIECES
1 MACHINE 1 MACHINE
END DAY PRODUCTION 40 END DAY PRODUCTION 40
PIECES. PIECES.
LINE BALANCING AND PRODUCTION

there are 3 rules for balancing

• have at least ½ hour of wip for each
operation .
• Solve problems before they become
any larger.
• Meet production goals by keeping
every operator working at their
maximum capacity .
LINE BALANCING TOOLS

Production sheets

Daily production report

The inventory levels by
operation

Production boards

Stop watch

Calculator
 STEPS TO AinBALANCED
Line balancing apparel manufacturing LINE

Step 1. Calculation Of The Labor Requirements and Capacity

study
The Requirement Of Worker Depends Upon The Probable
Efficiency Of The Line Selected And Percentage Of Time They
Work.
List down all operations with
operator name as per operation
sequence
Check cycle time for each
operation for five consecutive
cycles
With average cycle time calculate
hourly capacity of the operators

With the help of the hourly capacity,

calculate the labour requirement
 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE
Step 2. Operational breakdown and setting the
Target

+
• With the capacity data set target output per
B. hour from one line.
• Target per hour = Total no of operators X 60
C. /garment SAM
• Current hourly operator production report is
D. analyzed
 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE
STEP 3: TARGET SETTING

With the above step 1 & 2 data set

your target output per hour from one
line.

Generally it is calculated using

following formula (Target per hour=
Total no of operators X 60 /garment
SAM).
Check current hourly operator
production report. Draw a straight line
with target output data on the line
graph.
 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE
Step 4. Identification of bottleneck
* The time at which the longest time is required is called
“Bottleneck Process”
areas
* The state of line organization should be evaluated as
“Organization Efficiency”
* Pitch Time provides average time allotted to each
worker.
* Using the pitch time and Bottleneck
Bottleneck process Process Time.
160
1st Bottleneck 2nd Bottleneck
140 area area
120
Work Allotment Time

Loss in balance
100 Loss in balance
80
Loss in balance
60

40

20

0
A B C D E F G H
Name of worker (In order of processes)
 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE
Step 4. Identification of bottleneck
areas
Hanes

See picture of knitted trunk short, and develop

operation breakdown and confirm possible
bottleneck
 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE
step4. Elimination of bottlenecks from the
line Methods of eliminating bottlenecks from the line
Club operations where possible. Give the operator
another operation with less work content considering
machine
Shuffle type and
operators. sewing thread
Operations colors.
that have low work
content use low performer while work content is
higher useathigh
Add more operators performers.
bottleneck operations. Also
compare the cost-benefits of putting additional
machine into the line.
Improve workstation layout and improve methods

Do extra work at bottleneck operations.

Reduce cycle time using work aids and attachments

 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE
All in all…
FROM IMBALANCED
LINE..

TO BALANCED LINE
 STEPS TO A BALANCED LINE

Limitations of Line Balancing

• Production lines were designed so that
conveyor belts paced the speed of the
employees‟ work. This arrangement
wasn't appreciated by the employees.
• Inevitable changes lead to production
lines being out of balance.
• Rebalancing causes disruptions to
production
Sl. No. Operation List SAM
1 Pinning to profile 0.234
2 Run stitch collar 0.219
3 Trim collar 0.285
4 Clip and turn collar 0.223
5 Crease collar 0.381
6 Top stitch collar 0.42
7 Run stitch (R/s) collar band 0.291
Product: Full Sleeve Men’s Formal
8 Crease collar band 0.317 Shirt. Brand: Arrow
9 Insert collar in neck band 0.799
10 Turn and crease collar 0.452
11 Attach bias piece to cuff 0.874 From given table draw a line diagram as
12 Crease cuff 0.458 well balance the line.
13 Hem cuff 0.501
14 R/s cuff 0.565
15 Trim cuff 0.36
16 Turn cuff 0.527
17 Crease cuff bottom 0.566
18 Attach placket to sleeve 0.795
19 Lock and make diamond 1.026
20 Sew pleats (4 no.) 0.389
21 Hem right front 0.494
22 Attach front placket 0.603
23 Crease pocket 0.542
24 Hem pocket mouth 0.28
25 Attach pocket to front 0.861
26 Attach brand label and tack loop 0.589
27 Crease patch pieces 0.236
28 Attach patch piece 0.333
29 Sew pleats 0.278
30 Attach yoke to back 0.475
31 Top stitch back yoke 0.365
32 Join shoulder 0.64
33 Top stitch shoulder 0.656
34 Attach collar 0.535
35 Close collar with size label 1.01
36 Sleeve attach 0.862
37 Top stitch armhole 0.678
38 Top stitch side seam 1.036
39 Attach & close cuff 0.696
40 Top stitch cuff 0.524
41 Hem bottom 0.947
Total SAM 22.322
THANKS