Line Balancing, Operation Management

Assignment Help:
#What do you understand by “line balancing”? What happens if balance doesn’t exist?uestion..

Related Discussions:- Line Balancing

Assignment, What do you understand by “line balancing”? What happens if bal...

What do you understand by “line balancing”? What happens if balance doesn’t exist?

Explain implementation of tqm, Why is a system view so important to have if...

Why is a system view so important to have if you are going to implement TQM?

Why need to train your supervisors, Suppose you are the manager of an accou...

Suppose you are the manager of an accounts receivable unit in a large company. You are switching to a new system of billing and record-keeping and need to train your three supervis

Describe can the person do the job, As leaders assess the capabilities of t...

As leaders assess the capabilities of their team members, two questions must be answered to determine how to organize work. These questions are: Can the person do the job? Will he/

Implications for operations manager - operations functions, 1. Reflecting o...

1. Reflecting on McGroddy's comments - what are the implications for the operations manager? Answer: The point to note here is that organisations resist change. It suggests that

What are generally accepted accounting principles, Yvon, an accountant, is ...

Yvon, an accountant, is charged with negligence by Zesty Sauce, Inc., a client. Yvon may successfully defend against the claim if she can show that (Points : 2) scienter was lackin

Explain the specific human resources concerns, Describe the specific human ...

Describe the specific human resources concerns (competencies, labour economics, legal & regulatory systems, labour relations & unionization, and cultural norms) for one chosen coun

Explain what are the three elements that require integration, What are the ...

What are the three elements that require integration to be successful in operations and supply chain management?

Daina

2/12/2013 7:08:07 AM

Line Balancing
- Line: an assembly line composed of various work stations, at which particular operations are performed.

- To work efficiently, with no work pile-ups between stations, the line must be balanced, for example work must get through each workstation in roughly similar amount of time.
Goals:
1. To meet production goals,
2. Maximize output.

General Approaches to Line Balancing Technique
1. Estimating number of operators for a specific number of stations,
2. Work element sharing: grouping “activities” each work elements into “stations” or jobs performed by a single person (occasionally multiple people work in concert at a single station or machine)

Diana

2/12/2013 7:09:42 AM

Write your Aim – It only applies to assembly lines. It aims at minimizing the idle time along the line by dividing work equally among members. Tasks are grouped in such a way that they have equal time requirement.

When is line Balancing is Done

· When the line is initially set-up

· When the changes are made in process / desired output rate

Difficulty associated with LB – Not feasible to combine certain activities

Necessity of line balancing – In absence of line balancing, it might create morale problem for workers at slower station who work continuously

(Draw Precedence Diagram)

Cycle Time = Longest time at the any of the work element OR (Operating Time / Desired Output Rate)

CT = 1 min

(In Question, it may be given as 480 units per 8-hour day, Hence CT = 8*60 min per day / 480 units per day = 1 minute per cycle)

Theoretical Minimum number of workstations, Nmin = Sum of time at all WS / CT = (0.1+1.0+0.7+0.5+0.2) / 1.0 = 2.5 = 3 Workstations

Rules in Assigning task

1. Choose new WS if

a. All preceding tasks are completed

b. Task Time is less than or equal to Time Remaining

2. Always first assign the task with greatest task time to a workstation, in case there is a choice between work elements. In case task time is same, choose the element having greatest number of followers.

3. For every new WS, always start with cycle time

WS


Time Remaining


Eligible


Assign Task


Revised Time remaining


WS Idle Time

1


1.0


A,C


C(0.7)


0.3 (1.0-0.7)




0.3


A


A(0.1)


0.2


0.2

2


1.0


B


B(1.0)


0


0

3


1.0


D


D(0.5)


0.5




0.5


E


E(0.2)


0.3


0.3

Total Idle time = 0.2 + 0.3 = 0.5 minutes

Balance Delay in % (% of idle time on assembly line) = Total idle time * 100/ (Actual No of WS * Cycle Time)

=0.5*100/(3*1) = 16.7%

Line efficiency = 100% - Balance delay% = 83.3%

Other considerations in line-balancing

1. Technical considerations –

a. Skill requirement of different tasks - If the skill requirements of tasks are quite different, it may not be feasible to place the tasks in the same workstation

b. Incompatible tasks - If the tasks themselves are incompatible (example – Use of fire and flammable liquids), it may not be feasible even to place them in stations that are near to each other

2. Variable tasks by human –

a. Reasons for variation are Fatigue, boredom and failure to concentrate on the task at hand.

b. Absenteeism can also affect the balance

Other approaches to achieve smooth flow of production

1. Make parallel workstations – They increase the workflow and provide flexibility

2. Cross-train workers / Dynamic line balancing – It helps workers perform more than 1 task. In case they are idle, they can assist other workers who are temporarily over-burdened

3. Mixed model line - Design a line to handle more than 1 product on the same line. The different products are similar in many ways and hence, the process applied on them is also samemessage here..

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd