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Posted by Javeria Rahim
In the 1900s, when Henry Ford came with the idea of assembly lines, manufacturing was simple. However, over time as mass production became common and assembly lines became more complex, it led to the introduction of line balancing, a concept that aimed to reduce waste, wait times, and inventory buildup. Line balancing in manufacturing has since been a valuable tool for optimizing production efficiency.
Early assembly lines balanced workloads more intuitively, aiming for a rough distribution of tasks. However, modern production lines are more complex with greater product variety, intricate automation, and just-in-time manufacturing practices etc, which is why modern line balancing is a more data-driven, analytical, and adaptable approach compared to the more rudimentary methods of the past. Today, fortunately there are AI-powered line balancing software that allow industrial engineers to instantly balance lines based on different factors.
In this blog, we will discuss everything about line balancing and how AI can help you achieve it.
Line balancing is the process of regulating all production activities on an assembly line to maximize the use of available resources. It arranges all activities in an efficient sequence to ensure that no station stays idle. The goal is to maximize productivity, minimize number of workstations, reduce probability of line stop and accomplish a given output volume.
Let’s take the example of a car manufacturer to understand how line balancing in manufacturing works. Based on production targets and customer demand, the factory aims to produce one car every 5 minutes. Now, car assembly involves a multitude of tasks, such as welding different body parts, installing engines and transmissions, painting, and interior component fitting. Each task takes a different amount of time. Welding a door might take 2 minutes, while installing the windshield could take 4 minutes.
It isn’t possible to have one worker spending 4 minutes on windshields while others are idle waiting for the car to move to their station. This is where line balancing comes in. It distributes across workstations so that the total work at each station is as close to 5 minutes (takt time) as possible.
There are multiple ways to do this:
Research suggests that productivity rate of an assembly line can yield or waste millions of dollars per year, which is why line balancing is pivotal in manufacturing. Here are some benefits of a balanced line:
With a balanced line, you don’t have to worry about waste. Everything is in use in a synchronized manner that ensures the final product is made per takt time requirements. There are no defective products, underproduction, or inventory costs.
Once everything is balanced, you don’t have any idle workers or underutilized machines. Your manufacturing plant’s profits increase because now you can get more production with the same assembly workers and machines or in some cases even less. In one research, line balancing was able to reduce the number of machines from 29 to 25 and operators from 37 to 32.
A balanced line is one with no bottlenecks and this results in a product that flows from one station to another without any wait times in between.
Apart from planned breaks, your assembly line workers and machines are always in use. No assembly line worker feels overburdened with work. The assembly workers know that work is equally allocated, and this helps raise their work morale.
One huge benefit is that it allows you to modify your assembly line to meet the needs of different orders. You can learn exactly what tasks are redundant and where you should allocate more resources. It also promotes a just-in-time (JIT) approach, where materials and components arrive at the production line exactly when needed, which minimizes excess inventory buildup and reduces the associated storage costs and potential for waste.
Assembly line balancing ensures that all the product is manufactured to match the takt time, which results in on-time delivery as well as an improved lead time.
Line balancing as a concept is quite simple, however implementation can be difficult because there are various factors at play such as:
AI is the future of manufacturing. With tools like Retrocausal’s Kaizen Copilot, you can easily shorten the time and effort it takes to do assembly line balancing and focus more on improvement.
Kaizen Copilot comes with various modules such as station design, MODAPTS, FMEA and ergonomics that help industrial engineers optimize manufacturing processes. Its line-balancing module especially allows industrial engineers to rapidly iterate line balancing options with various factors without any manual effort. The result is a line that reduces operational costs and the number of operators required. Here’s how Kaizen Copilot works-
The best part about Kaizen Copilot is that it reduces the effort it takes for data collection. All you need to do is record a video of one cycle from a smartphone and it will break the cycle down into meaningful steps or tasks. Alternatively, you can enter the data manually and Kaizen Copilot will take care of the rest.
Figure 1: Capturing Data in Kaizen Copilot
2. Analyzing Assembly Line Performance
The module then calculates performance of the assembly line. It creates a precedence chart to show which tasks take priority. Next, it highlights different bottlenecks present in the current line. Finally, its shows the work distribution of value-added and non-value-added tasks amongst the workers via the Yamazumi chart.
Figure 2: Precedence diagram in Kaizen Copilot
Figure 3: Line Balancing Chart in Kaizen Copilot
Figure 3: Yamazumi Chart in Kaizen Copilot
3. Setting Line Balancing Parameters
It is up to you what you want to prioritize during the assembly line balancing. If you want to balance the line as per takt time, the module has an option to do so. If there is a shortage of workers, you can ask the line balancing module to balance the line according to the number of operators available. You can also balance your lines based on the volume of product you desire.
Figure 4: Adjusting parameters in Kaizen Copilot
4. Extracting Data for Application
Once you have selected the ideal option for your assembly line, you can extract the data in PDF format. The document will contain a precedence diagram, line balancing chart, Yamazumi chart, and a table containing new step allocations for each table with their cycle times.
Figure 5: Final Results in Kaizen Copilot
Kaizen Copilot provides a complete picture of different assembly line balancing options via tables and charts. With its quick backend calculations, the module makes the work of your industrial engineers much easier. Your team can then focus on the implementation of line balancing rather than focusing on calculating different factors.
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Brandin is a seasoned manufacturing leader, who has spent more than a decade designing and setting up assembly lines in both the US and China, optimizing them, and working with human operators to maximize productivity and quality.
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