Assembly-Line Balancing:

A Valuable Tool for

Increasing Efficiency

By Rex Webb

1
 Overview
1. What is assembly-line balancing?
2. How can assembly-line balancing be used in your
organization?
3. What are the steps in balancing an assembly line?
4. Example of assembly-line balancing.
5. Assembly-line balancing exercise.
6. Summary.
7. Suggested reading list.
2
What is Assembly-Line Balancing?
Assigning each task to a workstation within an assembly
line in order to meet the required production rate and to
achieve a minimum amount of idle time.
Example of 11 tasks assigned to 5 workstations.

A B C F

H G J K
D E
I

3
How Can Assembly-Line Balancing
Help Your Organization?

• Increased efficiency
• Increased productivity
• Potential increase in profits and
decrease in costs

4
 Steps in Balancing an
Assembly Line
1. List the sequential relationships among tasks and then
draw a precedence diagram
2. Calculate the required workstation cycle time
3. Calculate the theoretical minimum number of
workstations
4. Choose a primary rule that will determine how tasks
are to be assigned to workstations

5
 Steps in Balancing an
Assembly Line
5. Beginning with the first workstation, assign each task,
one at a time, until the sum of the task times is equal
to the workstation cycle time or until no other tasks can
be assigned due to sequence or time restrictions
6. Repeat step 5 for the remaining workstations until all
the tasks have been assigned to a workstation
7. Evaluate the efficiency of the line balance
8. Rebalance if necessary

6
Example of Assembly-Line Balancing
Scenario: The Model Z Bicycle is assembled in an
assembly line. Four hundred bicycles are required
each day. Production time per day is 420 minutes.
Find the balance that minimizes the number of
workstations, that stays within the workstation
cycle time limitation, and that complies with task
precedent constraints.
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 Business View
Building the Model Z Bicycle: Assembly Steps and Times
Task Task Time Task Description Tasks that must
(in seconds) precede
A 50 Connect the front tire to the bicycle frame. —
B 16 Insert the handle bar. A
C 14 Tighten handle bar with two screws and nuts. B
D 55 Connect the rear tire to the bicycle frame. —
E 20 Position chain mechanism to the frame. D
F 17 Attach right hand brake to handle bar. C
G 17 Attach left hand brake to handle bar. C
H 17 Attach right side pedal. E
I 17 Attach left side pedal. E
J 13 Position chain onto chain mechanism. F,G,H,I
K 14 Attach seat post. J
250

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1. List the sequential relationships among tasks
and then draw a precedence diagram

Tasks Tasks that must Tasks Tasks that must Tasks Tasks that must
precede precede precede
A — E D I E
B A F C J F,G,H,I
C B G C K J
D — H E

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1. List the sequential relationships among tasks
and then draw a precedence diagram
50 sec. 16 sec. 14 sec. 17 sec.

A B C F

17 sec.
13 sec. 14 sec.
17 sec.
G
55 sec. 20 sec.
J K
H
D E

17 sec.

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2. Calculate the required workstation cycle time

Convert minutes to seconds because task times are in seconds

Production time per day 60 sec. X 420 min. 25,200

Cycle = = = = 60 sec.

Time Output per day 420 bicycles 420

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 3. Calculate the theoretical minimum
number of workstations

Sum Total
of Task Times 250 seconds
Number of = = = 3.97 = 4 (rounded up)
workstations Cycle Time 60 seconds

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4. Choose a primary rule that will determine how
tasks are to be assigned to workstations
• For this example, our primary rule is
Number of
to prioritize tasks based on the Task Following Tasks
largest number of following tasks.
A 6
• If there is a tie, our secondary rule is
B or D 5
to prioritize tasks in the order of the
longest task time. C or E 4

• In general, select rules that prioritize F, G, H, or I 2

tasks according to the largest J 1
number of followers or based on K 0
length of time.

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5. Beginning with the first workstation, assign
each task, one at a time, until the sum of
the task times is equal to the workstation
cycle time or until no other tasks can be
assigned due to sequence or time
restrictions

6. Repeat step 5 for the remaining

workstations until all the tasks have been
assigned to a workstation
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Balance made according to the Largest-Number-of-Following Tasks Rule
Stations Task Task Time Number of Remaining Feasible Task with Task with
(in seconds) Following Unassigned Remaining Most Longest
Tasks Time Tasks Followers Operating
Time
Station 1 A 50 6 10 idle None

Station 2 D 55 5 5 idle None

Station 3 B 16 5 44 C, E C, E E
E 20 4 24 C, H, I C
C 14 4 10 idle None
Station 4 F 17 2 43 G, H, I G, H, I G, H, or I
G 17 2 26 H, I, J H, I H or I
H 17 2 9 idle None
Station 5 I 17 2 43 J
J 13 1 30 K
K 14 0 16 idle None

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 Precedence Graph for Model Z Bicycle
The five workstations are identified by color

50 sec. 16 sec. 14 sec. 17 sec.

A B C F

17 sec.
13 sec. 14 sec.
17 sec. G
55 sec. 20 sec. J K
H
D E
17 sec.

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7. Evaluate the efficiency of the line balance

Sum Total
of Task Times 250
Efficiency = = = 0.83 or 83%
Actual Number (5)(60)
of Workstations
X Cycle Time

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Assembly-Line Balancing Exercise
Task Task Time Task that
(seconds) Must precede
Complete the A 33 —

following tasks B
C
18
40
—
B

in the time D 16 A
E 25 C
and sequence F 11 D,E

specified: G
H
28
30
F
F
I 42 G
J 16 G,H
K 32 I,J
18
Total 291
Assembly-Line Balancing Exercise
Based on the task information on the previous screen:
1. Draw a precedent diagram
2. Determine the required cycle time to meet a demand
of 540 units per day based on nine-hour work day.
3. Determine the minimum number of workstations using
the information above in number 2.
4. Balance the line using the longest task time as your
primary rule
5. Calculate the efficiency of your line balance.
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 Exercise Solutions
1. Draw a precedent diagram

33 sec. 16 sec. 11 sec. 28 sec. 42 sec.

A D F G I

32 sec.

18 sec. 40 sec. 25 sec. 30 sec. 16 sec.

B C E H J

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 Exercise Solutions
2. Determine the required cycle time to meet a demand
of 540 units per day based on nine-hour work day.

Production time per day 60 sec. X 540 min. 32,400

Cycle = = = = 60 sec.

Time Output per day 540 units 540

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 Exercise Solutions
3. Determine the theoretical minimum number of workstations using
the information in the previous slides.

Sum Total
of Task Times 291 seconds
Number of = = = 4.85 = 5 (rounded up)
workstations Cycle Time 60 seconds

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4. Balance the line using the longest task time as your
primary rule

Stations Feasible Task Task Time Remaining

Tasks (seconds) Unassigned
Time
Station 1 A,B A 33 27
B,D B 18 9
Station 2 C,D C 40 20
D D 16 4
Station 3 E E 25 35
F F 11 24
Station 4 G,H G 28 32
H,I H 30 2
Station 5 I,J I 42 18
J J 16 2
Station 6 K K 32 28
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 Exercise Solutions
5. Calculate the efficiency of your line balance.

Sum Total
of Task Times 291
Efficiency = = = 0.81 or 81%
Actual Number (6)(60)
of Workstations
X Cycle Time

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 Summary
1. Assembly-Line Balancing consists of assigning each
task to a workstation to meet the required production
rate and to achieve a minimum amount of idle time.
2. Benefits of line balancing includes increased efficiency
and increased productivity.
3. Balance your line by determining sequential task
relationships, the required workstation cycle time, the
theoretical minimum number of workstations,
workstation assignments, and assembly line efficiency.
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 Suggested Reading List
1. Bayhan, G. Mirac and Kilincci, Ozcan, “A Petri Net Approach for
Simple Assembly Line Balancing Problems,” International Journal
of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 30, pgs. 1165-1173,
1 Nov. 2006.
2. Amen, M., “Cost-oriented Assembly Line Balancing: Model
Formulations, Solution Difficulty, Upper and Lower Bounds,”
European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 168, pgs. 747-
770, 1 Feb. 2006.
3. Boysen, Nils et. al., “A Classification of Assembly Line Balancing
Problems,” European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 183,
pgs. 674-694, 1 Dec. 2007.
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