LA YOU T

STRAT EGY
ASSEMBLY-LINE
BALANCING

VA N YA A K A N S A L – B M S 2 C –
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WHAT IS LAYOUT
STRATEGY?
• The layout of a space impacts greatly
the flow of work, materials, and
information through the system.
• Aim - to develop an economical layout
that gives a firm competitive advantage
• Good facility layout and design –
integration of the needs of people
(personnel and customers), materials
(raw, finishes, and in process), and
machinery in such a way that they
create a single, well-functioning
system.
FACTORS AFFECTING LAYOUT
DECISIONS
• Ease of future expansion or change
• Nature of flow/movement of work activities
• Material handling – material, output and equipment
• Output and production needs
• Communication, interaction and support
• Promotional value of the layout
• Safety and related work hazards
• Employee morale and financial position
WHAT IS AN ASSEMBLY LINE?
• Mass production facility layouts: parts are
made and assembled as the unit
progresses from station to station.
• This method is called the assembly line
method of production.
• Perfectly balanced assembly line – work
advances from station to station in the
same amount of time.
• In real life, a perfect balance is not
possible – we attempt to advance the
work in approximately the same amount
of time.
• The process that helps us achieve that is
called assembly line balancing.
ASSEMBLY-LINE BALANCING
• Assembly line balancing (ALB) – proper allocation of tasks to the
workstations in a balanced, optimized manner without violating the
precedence
• Mainly needed in a continuous production line
• One of the hardest optimization problems
• Installation of assembly line is a
long-term decision and highly
cost intensive
• Goal – to determine the minimum
number of assembly work
stations and what tasks are to be
performed at each work station,
subject to constraints
ALB – BENEFITS/ADVANTAGES

• Standardization of products – identical process of mass production

• Interchangeable parts – easy maintenance and replacement
• Economies of scale – lower costs
• Higher availability of labour – lesser training (simple specific tasks,
mechanization)
• Minimizing the number of workstations for a given cycles.
• Minimizing the cycle time for a given number of numbers of workstations.
• Minimizing the balance delay (or) maximizing the balancing efficiency.
• Minimizing the total idle time.
• Minimizing the overall facility or line length
ALB – DRAWBACKS/DISADVANTAGES
• No individualisation/customisation of products
• High initial cost – large floor space, specialised machines
• Lower wages – use of machines, repetitive and monotonous work –
motivational problems
• Rigid and inflexibility production facilities
• Lack of creativity and critical thinking
• Potential for lower build quality
• Chain function – problem at one work station – production halts
• Economical only for larger firms undergoing mass production
• Specific to manufacturing/secondary sector, irrelevant for tertiary/service
sector
REFERENCES

• https://www.sciencedirect.com
• https://workhorsesofindustry.wordpress.com
• https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia