Work in Progress

& Line Balancing

Topics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Work in Progress
Balancing
Reasons of Balancing
Balancing: How to Start?
Balancing Tools
Balancing Matrix

1. Work in Progress/Process

Work in process (acronym: WIP) or in-process inventory

includes the set at large of unfinished items for products in
a production process. These items are not yet completed
but either just being fabricated or waiting in a queue for
further processing or in a buffer storage. In manufacturing
WIP stands for something that has been worked on such
that it is no longer viable as raw materials while not yet
sellable as a finished product

Garment/Parts issued to sewing from cutting and still in

sewing lines are WIP of sewing lines
Complete parts are only considered as WIP

1. WIP

Day1
Starting WIP

200 pieces

Cutting issued to Sewing 5000 Pieces

Output

1000 pieces

WIP

200+5000-1000 = 4200
pieces

Day 2
Cutting Issued to sewing

5500 pieces

Quality Rejection

100 pieces

Output

2000 pieces

WIP

4200+5500-2000 =7700
pieces
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1. WIP
Front

Back

Loading

5000

5000

Output

2000

1500

50002000=3000

50001500=3500

Initial WIP

WIP

1. WIP
Front WIP

300
0

Back WIP

300
0

Assembly WIP

510
0

210
0
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Total WIP

1. WIP

Pocket Hemming=800 Pieces

Back yoke attach=500 pieces
Back seat attach=300 pieces
Back pocket attach=200 pieces
Total WIP in back section=??

1. WIP
WIP is made up of all garments and their parts that are not
completely finished. For example a bundle of shirts that has
everything attached but has no bottom hem.
We can measure WIP in Units/Pieces or in units of time. For
example, if we know that an operation A takes 0.5 minutes per
unit to process and we have 5 bundles of 12 units each then we
have 30 minutes of WIP for that operation (5 X 12 X 0.5).
In some factories, some operations have days of inventory waiting to
be processed! This is unacceptable for many reasons.

High
Inventory/WIP
Inventory Hides Problem

Low WIP forces us to address issues

High
Inventory/WIP
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2. Balancing
What is a balanced production system?

System where you meet the production expectations (output)

and find the same amount of work in process at every
operation at any point in the day. To be able to achieve this is
extremely difficult. If we choose to have balanced inventories at
the end of every day that will prove to be a reasonably difficult
challenge.

How do you keep all operations producing at the same rate?

This is very difficult since operators skills vary. We are able to

balance using multiple operators or Utility operators that fill
holes in production.

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3. Reasons for Balancing

Help supervisors undertake regular changes because of :
Machine break down
Operator beats target (shortage and excess)
Absenteeism
Operator hurt/sick
Cutting not correct
Alterations

Benefits of Line Balancing

Balanced line helps in consistent production

Keep inventory costs low
Keeping normal inventory levels lets the operator work all day long giving him/her
the opportunity to increase his/her efficiency
Keeping the line balanced lets the supervisors improve other areas like quality,
methods improvement etc. because they can use their time better

It is very important that all supervisors put line balancing in their daily
plans
every day.
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4. Balancing- How to start

Determine how many operators are needed for each operation for
a determined level of production
Next determine how much WIP we need to anticipate production
problems. We recommend a 1-hour inventory level for each
operation. A good range would be from 30 min to 120 min
inventory level.
Any variation outside this range should be
avoided. A variation of this magnitude signifies an unbalanced
line and should be looked into immediately.

Rules for balancing

Have at least hour and maximum 2 hours of WIP for each

operation
Solve problems before they become larger
Operator should be used in the primary operation/ operation with
maximum capacity
Shifting should be minimum for 2 hours

Line supervisors who are directly involved in each line

are most suited to balance their own individual
section/line.
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5. Balancing Tools
There are a number of tools that can be used for balancing.
These are applied according to the plants needs.
The most basic ones are
Production Sheets / Gum Sheet
Inventory levels by operation and bi-hourly production
monitoring
Production Boards
Daily sewing report

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5. Bi-Hourly Report

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6. Line Balancing What to do when?

OUT PUT

HIGH

LOW

The Balancing Matrix

Transfer OUT
after WIP is
normal

Transfer IN
temporarily

Transfer IN +
BBB Follow-up

Transfer OUT
now

No Change

Transfer IN +
BBB Follow-up

WIP

Transfer OUT to

Transfer OUT to previous operation Transfer IN +

Temporarily +
previous
Study previous
Study previous
operation
operation
operation

LOW

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Thank You

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