Line Balancing

Introduction
Production line - The sequence of the machine and
equipment arranged to produce the desired product
Various machine and equipment are designed to
perform one or more operations required to produce
item or product
Also the operating time of each machine will depend
on the time required to complete the operation
The out put produced by each machine during some
prescribed period will thus depend on the no. of
operations performed on the machine and the time
required for each operation
 There can be situations that different machine
in the system may produce varying amount of
product during the same period
This property is known as unbalancing and the
corresponding arrangement in plant known is
known as unbalanced production line
 E.g. Let there be 3 machine in a system, each performing
only one kind of operation. The machines and the
operations are sequenced in the following way and the
time required for each machine is also given
Machine Operation No Time required to perform Unit processed by
the operation in one unit the machine in one
hour

A 1 15 min 4 units

B 2 20 min 3 units

C 3 30 min 2 units

Thus the production line is unbalanced, because in one

hour only 2 finished products will be produced
 Alternatively, if in the system we arrange 3
machine of type A, 4 machine of type B and 6
machine of type C then the output /hour in
the system will become 12 units
Machine Operation No Time required to perform Unit processed by
the operation in one unit the machine in one
hour

A 1 15 min 12 units

B 2 20 min 12 units

C 3 30 min 12 units

Thus the output of 12 units/hour is achieved .

Such arrangement is known as Balanced
production line
 The balancing of the production line by increasing
the machine in the system may not be in the
interest of the organization due to 2 reasons
Adding more machines will require more capital
investment.
Producing more units for balancing may result in
output more than demand or more idle time for
the whole system if demand and supply is to be
balanced
 Another alternative, can be to increase the working
hours of the machine which process at lower rate to
balance the output rate of the each machine

Machi Operation Time required to Running of each Unit

ne No perform the machine /shift processed by
operation in one hour the machine
unit in one hour

A 1 15 min 1 hr 4 units

B 2 20 min 1 hr 20 min 4 units

C 3 30 min 2 hr 4 units

In this, there would be better utilization machine,

though machine A and B will remain idle for
considerable time in a shif
 Other ways to balance the line
The choice of any alternative will depend on the
nature of operations required in the production
process, no. of machines and the variety of
oprations
Dynamic balance
Parallel line
Adapting to scheduling changes
Worker reassignment
Alter the production work day
Alter the production rate etc.,
 Line balancing
Definition - The achievement of smooth and
uniform flow by equalizing the capacity or work
load in all stages of the production line is called
line balancing
Effective Planning Efficient line balancing
Product analysis Style of garment
Process analysis product flow chart
Capacity analysis time study, method study,
No. of machines & operators, Skill of operator
 Need of line balancing
To ensure the steady flow of work
To make the best use of the available time
To keep work in progress to a minimum
To keep inventory cost low
To enable the operator to work at the optimal
pace
To enable the supervisor to attend other
problems
To enable better production planning
 Goals for balancing
Meet production schedule
Avoid the waiting time
Minimize over time
Protect operator earnings
 Control parameters
Operators skill inventory
Allocation
Balance
Attendance
Movement of operators
Floaters
Rating
Pitch time
 How to balance the time
Know work available at the start of the day
Plan transfer needed to compensate for any
known absenteeism
Check attendance at the start of the day
Make additional assignments to compensate
unexpected absentees
Make periodic checks during the day to check
production
 Points to be noted when making
balancing
Meet production target by usage of operators
Work flow should be constant throughout all
operations
Avoid over time
Determine human resource
Check absence daily
Update daily production every two hours
 Steps to a properly balanced line
Calculation of labour requirement
know total work content of garment
- Std Time
- Estimated production per day
- efficiency of operator
 Operation break down
Sequential list of operations by method study
Information about Std time
- type of machine
- Machine attachments
- Process name/ code
- Work aids
 Theoretical operation balance
elements are grouped together to match the
number of people selected in the calculation of
the labour requirements
Initial balance
From the skill inventory chart, chose the right
operator whose efficiency matches the target
output mentioned in the man/machine chart of
theoretical operation balance sheet
 Balance control
Objective - To achieve the highest output
rather than keeping people busy