Manual Assembly Lines Manual Assembly Lines

Sections: Work systems consisting of multiple workers

1. Fundamentals of Manual Assembly
Chapter 4
Lines
2. Analysis of Single Model Assembly
Lines
3. Line Balancing Algorithms
4. Other Considerations in Assembly
Line Design
5. Alternative Assembly Systems
organized to produce a single product or a limited
range of products
• Assembly workers perform tasks at workstations
located along the line-of-flow of the product
• Factors favoring the use of assembly lines:
– High or medium demand for product
– Similar or identical products
– Total work content can be divided into work elements
– Not possible to automate assembly tasks

Why Assembly Lines are Productive Manual Assembly Line

• Specialization of labor A production line that consists of a sequence of
– Learning curve
workstations where assembly tasks are
performed by human workers
• Interchangeable parts • Products are assembled as they move along the
– Components made to close tolerances line
• Work flow – At each station a portion of the total work content is
performed on each unit
– Products are brought to the workers • Base parts are launched onto the beginning of
• Line pacing the line at regular intervals (cycle time)
– Workers must complete their tasks within the – Workers add components to progressively build the
cycle time of the line product

Manual Assembly Line

Configuration of an n-workstation manual
assembly line
Two assembly
operators working
on an engine
assembly line
(photo courtesy of
Ford Motor
Company)

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 Assembly Workstation Work Transport Systems
A designated location along the work flow
path at which one or more work elements • Manual methods
are performed by one or more workers – Work units are moved between stations by the
workers without powered conveyor
Typical operations performed at manual assembly stations
Snap fitting, Ek – Problems:
Adhesive Electrical
bileşen uydurma • Starving of stations
application,Yapıştırm connections, Elektrik
• Blocking of stations
a uygulaması bağlantıları Soldering,
Lehimleme • Mechanized work transport - types:
Sealant application, Component insertion,
Mastik uygulaması Bileşen ekleme
– Continuously moving conveyor
Stitching/stapling,
Dikiş zımbalama – Synchronous transport
Arc welding, Ark Press fitting, Basınç
– Asynchronous transport
kaynağı uydurma Threaded fasteners,
Dişli bağlantı
Spot welding, Punta Riveting, Perçinleme
elemanları
kaynağı

Coping with Product Variety Analysis of Single Model Lines

• Single model assembly line (SMAL) Annual demand Da must be reduced
– Every work unit is the same to an hourly production rate Rp
• Batch model assembly line (BMAL)
– Two or more different products
– Products are so different that they must be made in
batches with setup between
• Mixed model assembly line (MMAL) where Sw = number of shifts/week,
– Two or more different models and Hsh = number of hours/shift
– Differences are slight so models can be made
simultaneously with no downtime

Determining Cycle Time Number of Workers Required

Production rate Rp is converted to a The theoretical minimum number of
cycle time Tc, accounting for line workers on the line is determined as:
efficiency E
w* = Minimum Integer 
where Twc = work content time, min;
and Tc = cycle time, min/worker
where 60 converts hourly production
rate to cycle time in minutes, and E =
proportion uptime on the line

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Theoretical Minimum Not Possible Repositioning Losses
Repositioning losses occur on a
Two reasons why theoretical minimum number of production line because some time is
workers cannot be achieved in practice: required each cycle to reposition the
• Repositioning losses – Some time will be lost at worker, the work unit, or both
each station every cycle for repositioning the – Repositioning time = Tr
worker or the work unit; thus, the workers will Service time = time available each
not have the entire Tc each cycle cycle for the worker to work on the
• Line balancing problem – It is not possible to product
divide the work content time evenly among – Service time Ts = Tc – Tr
workers, and some workers will have an amount Repositioning efficiency Er =
of work that is less than Tc

Cycle Time on an Assembly Line Line Balancing Problem

Components of cycle time at several stations on a
manual assembly line
Given:
• The total work content consists of many distinct
work elements
• The sequence in which the elements can be
performed is restricted
• The line must operate at a specified cycle time
The Problem:
• To assign the individual work elements to
workstations so that all workers have an equal
amount of work to perform

Work Element Times Precedence Constraints

Total work content time Twc
• Restrictions on the order in which work
Twc =
elements can be performed
where Tek = work element time for element k
Work elements are assigned to station i that
add up to the service time for that station
Precedence
Tsi = diagram
The station service times must add up to the
total work content time
Twc =

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 Measures of Balance Efficiency Worker Requirements
Line balance efficiency Eb The actual number of workers on the
assembly line is given by:
Eb =
w = Min Int 
Balance delay d

d=

Note that Eb + d = 1

Workstation Manning Level Tolerance Time

Defined as the number of workers per
station
• For a single station, station i, Mi = wi
• For the line, M =
Defined as the time a work unit spends inside the
boundaries of the workstation
• Provides a way to allow for product-to-product
variations in task times at a station
• Tt =

where w = number of workers, and n where Tt = tolerance time, min; Ls = station

= number of stations on the line length, m (ft); and vc = conveyor speed, m/min
(ft/min)

Line Balancing Objective Line Balancing Algorithms

To distribute the total work content on the 1. Largest candidate rule
assembly line as evenly as possible among the
workers 2. Kilbridge and Wester method
• Minimize (wTs – Twc) 3. Ranked positional weights method, also
or known as the Helgeson and Birne method
• Minimize (Ts - Tsi)

Subject to: (1)  Ts In the following descriptions, assume one

worker per workstation
(2) all precedence requirements are obeyed

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 Largest Candidate Rule
List all work elements in descending order based
on their Tek values; then,
1. Start at the top of the list and selecting the
first element that satisfies precedence
requirements and does not cause the total
sum of Tek to exceed the allowable Ts value
When an element is assigned, start back at the
top of the list and repeat selection process
2. When no more elements can be assigned to
the current station, proceed to next station
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all elements have
been assigned to as many stations as needed
Solution for Largest Candidate Rule
Physical layout of workstations and assignment of
elements to stations using the largest candidate
rule
Kilbridge & Wester Method
Arrangement
of elements
into columns
for the K&W
algorithm
Solution for Largest Candidate Rule
Kilbridge and Wester Method
Arrange work elements into columns according
to their positions in the precedence diagram
• Work elements are then organized into a list
according to their columns, starting with the
elements in the first column
• Proceed with same steps 1, 2, and 3 as in the
largest candidate rule
Ranked Positional Weights Method
A ranked position weight (RPW) is calculated for
each work element
• RPW for element k is calculated by summing the
Te values for all of the elements that follow
element k in the diagram plus Tek itself
• Work elements are then organized into a list
according to their RPW values, starting with the
element that has the highest RPW value
• Proceed with same steps 1, 2, and 3 as in the
largest candidate rule
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 Other Considerations in Line Design
• Methods analysis
– To analyze methods at bottleneck or other
troublesome workstations
• Utility workers
– To relieve congestion at stations that are
temporarily overloaded
• Preassembly of components
– Prepare certain subassemblies off-line to reduce
work content time on the final assembly line
Other Considerations - continued
• Storage buffers between stations
– To permit continued operation of certain sections
of the line when other sections break down
– To smooth production between stations with large
task time variations
• Parallel stations
– To reduce time at bottleneck stations that have
unusually long task times

Alternative Assembly Systems

• Single-station manual assembly cell
– A single workstation in which all of the assembly
work is accomplished on the product or on some
major subassembly
– Common for complex products produced in small
quantities, sometimes one of a kind
• Assembly by worker teams
– Multiple workers assigned to a common assembly
task
– Advantage: greater worker satisfaction
– Disadvantage: slower than line production