Chapter Cb[ect|ves

O @ ga|n understand|ng Assemb|y L|ne ba|anc|ng What |s |t why |s |t requ|red and hw |s

an assemb|y ||ne ba|anced
O @ ga|n understand|ng d|erent types ac|||ty |ayut the|r advantages and
d|sadvantages
O @ understand tw types hybr|d |ayut ce||u|ar |ayut and IMS
O @ br|e|y see what |s serv|ce |ayut r serv|cescape and what |s |ts |mprtance
Assemb|y ||ne ba|anc|ng
lnLroducLlon
Assembly Llne ls an arrangemenL of workers machlnes and equlpmenL ln whlch Lhe producL belng
assembled passes consecuLlvely from operaLlon Lo operaLlon unLll lL ls compleLed Assembly llnes are
deslgned for a sequenLlal organlzaLlon of workers Lools or machlnes and parLs 1he moLlon of
workers ls mlnlmlzed Lo Lhe exLenL posslble All parLs or assemblles are handled elLher by conveyors
or moLorlzed vehlcles such as forkllfLs or gravlLy wlLh no manual Lrucklng
Assemb|y ||ne ba|anc|ng ls a process by whlch all work requlred Lo compleLe an assembly ls dlvlded
and asslgned Lo progresslve sLaLlons such LhaL Lhe work ln each sLaLlon ls equal or nearly equal


llg An example of unbalanced assembly llne (Source hLLp//wwwbeyondleancom/llne
balanclnghLml)
ln Lhe flgure above one of Lhe operaLlons Lakes 23 mlnuLes whereas all Lhe oLher operaLlons Lake
less Lhan 23 mlnuLes Pere Lhe raLe of producLlon of Lhe producL wlll be one unlL per 23 mlnuLes
1he maLerlal on lLs way Lhrough dlfferenL deparLmenLs has Lo walL aL varlous deparLmenLs afLer Lhe
[ob ls over Llll lL can be Laken up for Lhe nexL operaLlon lf we have an operaLor aL each of Lhe work
sLaLlons all Lhe work sLaLlons (excepLlng Lhe work sLaLlon where lL Lakes 23 mlnuLes) wlll experlence
ldleLlme eg Lhe operaLor mannlng Lhe operaLlon Laklng 13 mlnuLes wlll be ldle for (23 13) 10
mlnuLes 1he flrsL operaLlon Lakes only 3 mlnuLes lL produces 3 unlL ouLpuL ln 23 mlnuLes whereas
only 1 unlL ls consumed per 23 mlnuLes ln Lhe nexL operaLlng deparLmenL Pence Lhere wlll be an
lnvenLory accumulaLlon beLween Lhese Lwo sLaLlons aL Lhe raLe of 4 unlLs per 23 mlnuLes 1he maln
problem before Lhe assembly llne layouL ls Lo reduce Lhese lnvenLory accumulaLlons and ldleLlmes
or Lo puL lL ln oLher words Lhe problem ls Lo have as much equallLy of ouLpuL aL each worklng
sLaLlon as posslble 1hls equallzlng of Lhe ouLpuL raLes aL dlfferenL work sLaLlons ls Lermed as
balanclng and hence Lhe Lerm Assembly llne 8alanclng
ln order Lo balance Lhls llne we musL shlfL some work from operaLor 2(23 mlnuLes) Lo operaLor 1(3
mlnuLes) 1he ldeal balanced scenarlo wlll be when each operaLor Lakes 13 mlnuLes as shown ln Lhe
flgure below ln Lhls case Lhere wlll be no lnvenLory accumulaLlon and no ldle Llme for any of Lhe
operaLors

llg An example of balanced assembly llne (Source hLLp//wwwbeyondleancom/llne
balanclnghLml)

Assembly Llne 8alanclng ConcepLs
llow 1lme ls sum of Llmes spenL aL every sLaLlon
Cycle 1lme ls Lhe maxlmum Llme spenL aL any sLaLlon lL decldes Lhe ouLpuL raLe of assembly llne

llg flow Llme and Cycle 1lme ln a process
8alanclng an assembly llne Solved Lxample
We musL know whaL are Lhe varlous assembly Lasks Llme Laken by Lhese Lasks and Lhelr precedence
relaLlonshlp le sequence ln whlch varlous Lasks musL be performed usually precedence charL as
shown ln flgure below ls Lhe sLarLlng polnL Conslder Lhe followlng example
@ask @|me redecessrs
A 22 none
8 34 A
C 41 A
u 17 A
L 27 8C
l 33 uL
C 26 l
1able An Lxample of Assembly Llne 8alanclng
llrsL we converL lL lnLo a precedence dlagram Pere lL ls glven LhaL A has no predecessor 1hls
means LhaL A ls Lhe flrsL process 8 and C are predecessors of L 1hls means LhaL L can only Lake
place afLer 8 and C has Laken place Slmllarly C ls Lhe flnal process 8ased on Lhls we draw followlng
precedence dlagram

llg recedence ulagram for Lhe solved example
lrom Lhls precedence dlagram we can conclude LhaL
O 8oLLleneck ls SLaLlon C
O Cycle Llme ls 41 mlnuLes
O ,axlmum producLlon per hour 60/41 1443 unlLs
O llow 1lme22+34+41+17+27+33+26 20 mlnuLes
Suppose we wlsh Lo produce a maxlmum of 10 unlLs per hour
8equlred Cycle Llme 60/10 6 mlnuLes
ln order Lo balance Lhls assembly llne we flrsL compuLe 1heoreLlcal ,lnlmum no of worksLaLlons
whlch ls glven by
=
o
c

ln our example n 20/6 333 worksLaLlons or 4 worksLaLlons

8ules Lo follow for loadlng worksLaLlons

O Asslgn Lasks Lo varlous work sLaLlons ensurlng LhaL Lhe precedence ls malnLalned
and LoLal work ls less Lhan or equal Lo Lhe cycle Llme
O Asslgn Lasks whlch have maxlmum no of followlng Lasks flrsL
O Asslgn Lasks(Lo break a Lle) ln order of longesL operaLlng Llme
8ased upon Lhese rules we can bulld up followlng order of asslgnlng Lasks
@ask
N
I||wers @|me
A 6 22
C 3 41
8 3 34
L 2 27
u 2 17
l 1 33
C 0 26
1able rlorlLy order Lo asslgn Lasks Lo varlous worksLaLlons
Cnce agaln we can asslgn Lhe Lasks Lo 4 worksLaLlons ln Lhe followlng manner

1able AsslgnmenLs of varlous Lasks Lo dlfferenL worksLaLlons

llg llnal SoluLlon of Lhe example showlng 4 sLaLlons and Lhelr Lasks
ln Lhe glven layouL
O SLaLlon 3 ls Lhe boLLleneck whlch means 1 unlL ls produced ln every 6 mlnuLes
O roducLlon ln an hour 60/6 10 unlLs (as deslred)
O Lfflclency can be calculaLed as
cnc =
_os s
co o. o orsoons X Iors ossn cc

ln our example Lfflclency 20/(4x6) 8337
1hls was a very slmple example of assembly llne balanclng Large scale llne balanclng problems are
solved uslng compuLer sofLware appllcaLlons 1wo sofLwares CC,SCAL(CompuLer ,eLhod for
Sequenclng CperaLlons for Assembly Llnes) and AS?8L(Ceneral LlecLrlc's Assembly Llne
ConflguraLlon rogram) are wldely used for assembly llne balanclng ln real llfe slLuaLlons
ybr|d Layuts
lnLroducLlon
ln manufacLurlng faclllLy layouL conslsLs of conflgurlng Lhe planL slLe wlLh llnes bulldlngs ma[or
faclllLles work areas alsles and oLher perLlnenL feaLures such as deparLmenL boundarles laclllLy
layouL probably ls one of Lhe mosL cruclal elemenLs affecLlng efflclency An efflclenL layouL can
reduce unnecessary maLerlal handllng help Lo keep cosLs low and malnLaln producL flow Lhrough
Lhe faclllLy
We have seen LhaL Lhere are many Lypes of manufacLurlng faclllLy layouL 1he mosL lmporLanL
among Lhem are
O rocess LayouL
O roducL LayouL
O llxed poslLlon layouL
O Pybrld LayouL
rocess LayouL
rocess layouLs are found prlmarlly ln [ob shops or flrms LhaL produce cusLomlzed lowvolume
producLs LhaL may requlre dlfferenL processlng requlremenLs and sequences of operaLlons rocess
layouLs are faclllLy conflguraLlons ln whlch operaLlons of a slmllar naLure or funcLlon are grouped
LogeLher As such Lhey occaslonally are referred Lo as funcLlonal layouLs 1helr purpose ls Lo process
goods or provlde servlces LhaL lnvolve a varleLy of processlng requlremenLs A manufacLurlng
example would be a machlne shop A machlne shop generally has separaLe deparLmenLs where
generalpurpose machlnes are grouped LogeLher by funcLlon (eg mllllng grlndlng drllllng
hydraullc presses and laLhes) 1herefore faclllLles LhaL are conflgured accordlng Lo lndlvldual
funcLlons or processes have a process layouL 1hls Lype of layouL glves Lhe flrm Lhe flexlblllLy needed
Lo handle a varleLy of rouLes and process requlremenLs Servlces LhaL uLlllze process layouLs lnclude
hosplLals banks auLo repalr llbrarles and unlverslLles

AdvanLages
O 1he flrm has flexlblllLy Lo handle varleLy of processlng requlremenLs
O lL ls labour lnLenslve and has lower caplLal lnLenslLy and auLomaLlon
O Slnce Lhere are mulLlple machlnes avallable process layouLs are noL parLlcularly vulnerable
Lo equlpmenL fallures
O CapaclLy of dlfferenL producL llne can be expanded easlly

ulsadvanLages
O rocesslng raLes are slower
O ,aLerlal handllng cosLs are hlgher
O Schedullng resources work flow ls complex
O Space requlremenLs are hlgher
roducL orlenLed LayouL
roducL layouLs are found ln flow shops (repeLlLlve assembly and process or conLlnuous flow
lndusLrles) llow shops produce hlghvolume hlghly sLandardlzed producLs LhaL requlre hlghly
sLandardlzed repeLlLlve processes 1he machlnes are arranged accordlng Lo Lhe progresslve sLeps by
whlch Lhe producL ls made 1he examples are reflnery auLomoblle assembly llnes
AdvanLages
O Low maLerlal handllng cosL
O rocesslng raLes are hlgher
O Lower space requlremenLs
ulsadvanLages
O Low flexlblllLy only small number of producLs can be produced
O Plgh caplLal lnLenslLy
O Lxpanslon of producL llne ls dlfflculL
O 8reakdown of equlpmenL dlsrupLs Lhe producLlon
Pybrld LayouLs

Pybrld layouLs modlfy and/or comblne some aspecLs of Lhese Lwo baslc layouL Lypes Lo saLlsfy Lhe
needs of a parLlcular slLuaLlon usually no slngle layouL llke process producL or flxed poslLlon layouL
ls used ln sLrlcL meanlng a comblnaLlon of Lhese layouLs are used 1hls ls called hybrld or comblned
layouL 1hey malnLaln Lhe efflclencles of producL layouL alongwlLh Lhe flexlblllLy of process layouLs
Some examples of hybrld layouLs are
4 A flrm may uLlllze a flxedposlLlon layouL for Lhe assembly of lLs flnal producL buL
use assembly llnes Lo produce Lhe componenLs and subassemblles LhaL make up Lhe
flnal producL (eg alrcrafL)
4 SupermarkeL layouLs prlmarlly process layouL have flxedpaLh maLerlalhandllng
devlces as well (rollerLype conveyors and belLLype conveyors)
4 PosplLals process layouL flxedposlLlon layouL as well (paLlenL care)
4 Cffllne reworklng (cusLomlzed processlng) of faulLy parLs ln a producL layouL

1here are 2 hybrld layouLs
4 Cellular LayouLs
4 llexlble ,anufacLurlng SysLems

Cellular LayouL
1hls layouL ls sulLable for a manufacLurlng envlronmenL ln whlch large varleLy of producLs are
produced ln small volumes
Cellular manufacLurlng ls a Lype of layouL where machlnes are grouped accordlng Lo Lhe process
requlremenLs for a seL of slmllar lLems (parL famllles) LhaL requlre slmllar processlng 1hese groups
are called cells 1herefore a cellular layouL ls an equlpmenL layouL conflgured Lo supporL cellular
manufacLurlng rocesses are grouped lnLo cells uslng a Lechnlque known as group Lechnology (C1)
Croup Lechnology lnvolves ldenLlfylng parLs wlLh slmllar deslgn characLerlsLlcs (slze shape and
funcLlon) and slmllar process characLerlsLlcs (Lype of processlng requlred avallable machlnery LhaL
performs Lhls Lype of process and processlng sequence) Workers ln cellular layouLs are cross
Lralned so LhaL Lhey can operaLe all Lhe equlpmenL wlLhln Lhe cell and Lake responslblllLy for lLs
ouLpuL
llg An example of hybrld LayouL (Source
hLLp//wwwklngshousesw1com/Ceneral20Cellular20LayouL[pg)

Advantages ce||u|ar |ayut
O 8educed maLerlal handllng and LranslL Llme
O 8educed seLup Llme
O 8educed worklnprocess lnvenLory
O 8eLLer use of human resources
4 Selfmanaged Leam ln mosL cases more sat|s|ed wlLh Lhe work LhaL Lhey do
4 llexlble resource Workers ln each cell are mulLlfuncLlonal and can be asslgned Lo
dlfferenL rouLes wlLhln a cell or beLween cells as demand volume changes
O Lasler Lo conLrol
O Lasler Lo auLomaLe
D|sadvantages a ce||u|ar |ayut
O lnadequaLe parL famllles arL famllles ldenLlfled for deslgn purposes may noL be approprlaLe
for manufacLurlng purposes
O oorly balanced cells lL ls more dlfflculL Lo balance Lhe flow of work Lhrough a cell Lhan a
slngleproducL assembly llne because lLems may follow dlfferenL sequences Lhrough Lhe cell
LhaL requlre dlfferenL machlnes or processlng Llmes
O Lxpanded Lralnlng and schedullng of workers 1ralnlng workers Lo do dlfferenL Lasks ls
expenslve and Llmeconsumlng and requlres Lhe workers consenL
O lncreased caplLal lnvesLmenL
4 LxlsLlng equlpmenL may be Loo large Lo flL lnLo cells or may be underuLlllzed when
placed ln a slngle cell
4 AddlLlonal machlnes of Lhe same Lype may have Lo be purchased for dlfferenL cells
4 1he cosL and downLlme requlred Lo move machlnes can also be hlgh

llg ushaped Cellular layouL(Source !oel CuLcherCershenfeld Lnglneerlng SysLems ulvlslon
uocLoral Semlnar LSu ,l1)

llexlble ,anufacLurlng SysLems
A meLhod for produclng goods LhaL ls readlly adapLable Lo changes ln Lhe producL belng
manufacLured ln whlch machlnes are able Lo manufacLure parLs and ln Lhe ablllLy Lo handle
varylng levels of producLlon A flexlble manufacLurlng sysLem (l,S) glves manufacLurlng
flrms an advanLage ln a qulckly changlng manufacLurlng envlronmenL A flexlble
manufacLurlng sysLem can produce an enormous varleLy of lLems

llg llexlble ,anufacLurlng SysLem (Source
hLLp//wwwsnkcco[p/engllsh/fms/lmage/p16778[pg)
1he l,S ls flexlble ln followlng Lerms
O lL can produce dlfferenL varleLles of producLs
O ulfferenL Lypes of processes can be carrled ouL ln l,S
O lL can be operaLed proflLably aL dlfferenL levels of producLlon volumes
O l,S also has expanslon flexlblllLy where lL can be easlly expanded as and when requlred
Advantages
O lasLer lower cosL changes from one parL Lo anoLher whlch wlll lmprove caplLal uLlllzaLlon
O Lower dlrecL labor cosL due Lo Lhe reducLlon ln number of workers
O 8educed lnvenLory due Lo Lhe plannlng and programmlng preclslon
O ConslsLenL and beLLer quallLy due Lo Lhe auLomaLed conLrol
O Lower cosL/unlL of ouLpuL due Lo Lhe greaLer producLlvlLy uslng Lhe same number of
workers
O Savlngs from Lhe lndlrecL labour from reduced errors rework repalrs and re[ecLs
D|sadvantages
O LlmlLed ablllLy Lo adapL Lo changes ln producL or producL mlx (ex machlnes are of llmlLed
capaclLy and Lhe Loollng necessary for producLs even of Lhe same famlly ls noL always
feaslble ln a glven l,S)
O SubsLanLlal preplannlng acLlvlLy
O Lxpenslve cosLlng mllllons of dollars
O 1echnologlcal problems of exacL componenL poslLlonlng and preclse Llmlng necessary Lo
process a componenL
O SophlsLlcaLed manufacLurlng sysLems

Servlce LayouL
1he Lerm servlce layouL or servlcescape descrlbes Lhe envlronmenL ln whlch Lhe servlce ls assembled
and ln whlch Lhe seller and cusLomer lnLeracL comblned wlLh Langlble commodlLles LhaL faclllLaLe
performance or communlcaLlon of Lhe servlce A good servlce layouL has poslLlve lmpacL on boLh Lhe
employees and cusLomers

llg Servlce LayouL ln a reLall ouLleL
(SourcehLLp//wwwvlslbeellLycom/lmages/reLall[pg)
lollowlng are consldered whlle deslgnlng a good servlce layouL
1 8ackground characLerlsLlcs such as LemperaLure smell nolse llghLlng eLc
2 SpaLlal layouL and funcLlonallLy whlch lnvolve cusLomer clrculaLlon paLh plannlng alsle
characLerlsLlcs such as wldLh dlrecLlon angle shelf spaclng) and producL grouplng
3 Slgns symbols and arLefacLs whlch are characLerlsLlcs of bulldlng deslgn LhaL carry soclal
slgnlflcance(such as carpeLed areas of a deparLmenL sLore LhaL encourages shoppers Lo slow
down and browse)

Chapter Summary
O Assemb|y ||ne ba|anc|ng |s a prcess by wh|ch a|| wrk requ|red t cmp|ete an assemb|y |s
d|v|ded and ass|gned t prgress|ve stat|ns such that the wrk |n each stat|n |s equa| r
near|y equa| Assemb|y L|ne ba|anc|ng |s dne t reduce the |d|e t|me and wrk |n prcess
|nventry between wrkstat|ns
O @here are d|erent k|nds ac|||ty |ayuts ||ke prcess |ayut prduct |ayut |xed
ps|t|n |ayut and hybr|d |ayut
O rcess |ayuts are und pr|mar||y |n [b shps r |rms that prduce custm|zed |w
v|ume prducts that may requ|re d|erent prcess|ng requ|rements and sequences
perat|ns rcess |ayuts are ac|||ty cn|gurat|ns |n wh|ch perat|ns a s|m||ar
nature r unct|n are gruped tgether @he|r ma|n advantage |s that they are |ex|b|e
|w cap|ta| |ntens|ve and |ess prne t a||ure @he|r d|sadvantage |s |w prduct|n rate
h|gh mater|a| hand||ng cst and cmp|ex schedu||ng and p|ann|ng
O rduct |ayuts are und |n |w shps wh|ch prduce h|ghv|ume h|gh|y standard|zed
prducts that requ|re h|gh|y standard|zed and repet|t|ve prcesses @he mach|nes are
arranged accrd|ng t the prgress|ve steps by wh|ch the prduct |s made @he|r
advantage |s h|gh prduct|n rate and |w mater|a| hand||ng cst @h|er d|sadvantage |s
that they are |ess |ex|b|e
O ybr|d |ayuts md|y and]r cmb|ne sme aspects these tw bas|c |ayut types t
sat|sy the needs a part|cu|ar s|tuat|n Usua||y n s|ng|e |ayut ||ke prcess prduct r
|xed ps|t|n |ayut |s used |n str|ct mean|ng a cmb|nat|n these |ayuts are used
@h|s |s ca||ed hybr|d r cmb|ned |ayut @hey ma|nta|n the e|c|enc|es prduct |ayut
a|ng w|th the |ex|b|||ty prcess |ayuts
O ybr|d Layut are tw types Ce||u|ar Layut and IMS(I|ex|b|e Manuactur|ng Systems)
O @h|s |ayut |s su|tab|e r a manuactur|ng env|rnment |n wh|ch |arge var|ety prducts
are prduced |n sma|| v|umes Ce||u|ar manuactur|ng |s a type |ayut where mach|nes
are gruped accrd|ng t the prcess requ|rements r a set s|m||ar |tems (part am|||es)
that requ|re s|m||ar prcess|ng
O A methd r prduc|ng gds that |s read||y adaptab|e t changes |n the prduct be|ng
manuactured |n wh|ch mach|nes are ab|e t manuacture parts and |n the ab|||ty t
hand|e vary|ng |eve|s prduct|n A |ex|b|e manuactur|ng system (IMS) g|ves
manuactur|ng |rms an advantage |n a qu|ck|y chang|ng manuactur|ng env|rnment A
|ex|b|e manuactur|ng system can prduce an enrmus var|ety |tems
O Serv|ce Layut descr|bes the env|rnment |n wh|ch serv|ces are assemb|ed and |n wh|ch
se||er and custmer |nteract A serv|ce |ayut cns|ders spat|a| |ayut wh|ch |nv|ves
custmer c|rcu|at|n path p|ann|ng and backgrund characterst|cs ||ke temperature sme||
n|se ||ght|ng etc A gd serv|ce |ayut has a ps|t|ve |mpact n bth emp|yees and
custmers
keerences
1 hLLp//wwwclLemancom/4632assemblyllnebalanclnghLml#lxzz1e7vhCkLl
2 hLLp//wwwlnvesLopedlacom/Lerms/f/flexlblemanufacLurlngsysLemasp#lxzz1e9slyq39
hLLp//wwwreferenceforbuslnesscom/managemenL/lnLLoc/LayouLhLml#b#lxzz1e9fCbx1l)