ASSEMBLY – LINE BALANCING
ENGR. RUEL M. TUAN
MSIEM, AAE, CIE, PIE, LSSGB-T, CSSYB
Assembly Line
• Assembly lines can be defined as a series of manual or automated
assembly workstations through which one or multiple product(s) are
sequentially assembled.
• A broader definition of assembly lines includes flow lines, with or without
buffers between workstations for manufacturing and assembly.
• Assembly lines form the backbone of mass production methodologies and
are the basis for a product flow layout. For assembly line analyses, and to
realize the efficiency.
Following is a summarization of some of the assumptions
typically made in the design and balancing of assembly lines:
● The assembly line produces a single product.
● The assembly line configuration is assumed to be straight with serial processing.
● All tasks must be accomplished on the assembly line.
● A task can be processed at any available workstation.
● A task can be assigned to only one workstation.
● Each workstation has the hardware and personnel required to process all tasks.
● All task sequences must respect the precedence relationships.
● The time required to perform each task is known with certainty.
● The time required to perform each task is independent of workstation assignment.
● The time required to perform each task is not sequence dependent.
● The processing time at each workstation is the sum of the task times assigned to the
workstation.
The assembly line balancing problem can focus on one of the
following three objectives:
1. To find a combination of cycle time and number of workstations, which results in a
minimum sum of idle time.
2. To reduce labor costs by minimizing the number of workstations on the assembly line.
Here, the production rate is known in advance, resulting in a fixed cycle [Link]
additional constraint is that the processing times at each workstation (determined by the
sum of the task times assigned to the workstation) cannot exceed the cycle time.
3. To minimize cycle time for a given number of workstations by balancing the line.
Assembly-Line Balancing
Objective is to minimize the imbalance between machines or personnel while meeting
required output.
1. Starts with the precedence relationships.
2. Determine the workstation cycle time.
production time available per day
Cycle time =
units required per day
3. Calculate theoretical minimum number of workstations.
Sum of Task Times
NT =
Cycle Time
4. Balance the line by assigning specific tasks to workstations. Select a primary rule
by which tasks are to be assigned to workstations, and a secondary rule to break
ties.
5. Evaluate the efficiency of the balance derived using the formula:
Sum of Task Times
Efficiency =
Actual number of workstations x Cycle time
Sample: Tasks Associated with a Bicycle Assembly Line
Flexibility Matrix
1.1 Precedence Diagram
SAMPLE SOLUTION APPROACHES
Step 1. Start with workstation i, where i is initially set to 1.
Step 2. Rank tasks from highest to lowest based on numerical scores obtained by
intuitively using one of the criteria listed in Table.
Step 3. Assign those unassigned work elements with the highest rank to workstation i. If
the work element selected violates the precedence constraints, or if the total completion
time for work at station i now exceeds the given cycle time, select the next highest-
ranking work element for assignment. (Note: If the criterion element time/slack is used,
the rank of unassigned tasks will have to be recalculated after each work element
assignment.)
SAMPLE SOLUTION APPROACHES
Step 1. Start with workstation i, where i is initially set to 1.
Step 2. Rank tasks from highest to lowest based on numerical scores obtained by
intuitively using one of the criteria listed in Table.
Step 3. Assign those unassigned work elements with the highest rank to workstation i. If
the work element selected violates the precedence constraints, or if the total completion
time for work at station i now exceeds the given cycle time, select the next highest-
ranking work element for assignment. (Note: If the criterion element time/slack is used,
the rank of unassigned tasks will have to be recalculated after each work element
assignment.)
Step 4. If the remaining work elements can still be assigned to workstation i without the
total completion time exceeding the cycle time, then return to step 3. Otherwise, go to step 5.
Step 5. If work elements remain unassigned, and cannot be placed into workstation i,
then increase i by 1 and return to step 3.
Steps 3 through 5 are repeated until all tasks have been assigned. The variable i represents the minimum number
of workstations required to complete all tasks, given the cycle time. The rank-and-assign heuristic can be solved in
three different ways. The preceding heuristic is referred to as the forward assignment procedure. The preceding
example problem is now solved using positional weight criteria. We assume that our objective is to achieve a
cycle time of 28 min
Task Assignments
Ranking by Positional Weight Criteria (Positional Weight Criteria)
Ranking by Number of Task Assignments
Followers Criteria (Number of Followers Criteria)
Sample: Assembly-Line Balancing
The demand is 40 units in an eight – hour day. Balance the line using the most
number of following tasks.
THANKS!
Any questions?