Line Balancing and TOC

Topics Part 1 – Line Balancing

1)Line Balancing concepts and definitions
2)Line Balancing Procedure
3)Line Balancing Heuristics
 Line Balancing
• Applies to Product Assembly Layout
• Primary focus is on the analysis of production
lines
• The goal of the production line analysis is to:
– Determine how many workstations to have
– Determine which tasks to assign to which workstation
– Minimize the number of workers & machines used
– Provide the required amount of capacity
• Line balancing is a key part of the analysis
 Line Balancing - Workstation
• Workstation: Where work is performed on a product by
adding a part or completing an assembly
• Work: Tasks performed at the workstation
• Workstation Cycle Time/ Takt time: Time spent at a
workstation to complete the work (also the time between
successive parts coming off the assembly line)
• Precedence Relationship: Order in which tasks must be
performed in the assembly process
• Assigned Work at Workstation: No. of tasks at the
workstation such that the sum of the time of assigned tasks is
less than or equal to cycle time
 Line Balancing Procedure
Procedure
1. Determine the tasks involved in completing 1 unit
2. Determine the order in which tasks must be done
3. Draw a precedence diagram
4. Estimate total task times (T = Sum of the times of all
the tasks
5. Calculate the cycle time (C = Production time per day/
Required output in units per day)
6. Calculate the theoretical minimum number of
workstations (Nt= T/C)
7. Use heuristics to assign tasks to workstations. This
may increase actual Workstations (Na)
8. Efficiency = T/(Na * C)
 Line Balancing Heuristics
• Heuristic methods, based on simple short-cut
rules, have been developed to provide good
(not optimal) solutions to line balancing
problems
• Heuristic methods include:
– Incremental utilization (IU) method
– Longest-task-time (LTT) method
– … and many others
 Incremental Utilization Method
• Add tasks to a workstation in order of task
precedence one at a time until utilization is 100% or
is observed to fall
• Then the above procedure is repeated at the next
workstation for the remaining tasks
• Pro – Appropriate when one or more task times is
equal to the cycle time (NOTE: If any task time
exceeds cycle time, it is a bottleneck)
• Con – Might create the need for extra equipment
 Longest-Task-Time Method
• Adds tasks to a workstation one at a time in
the order of task precedence.
• If two or more tasks tie for order of
precedence, the one with the longest task
time is added first
 Theory of Constraints

Topics Part 2 – TOC

1)Concepts
2)System Links
3)Variability
4)Kanban
5)DBR
 The Reality

Process A B C D E

WIP 3 0 10 8 4 Total 25
Market
Request
R
FG 5
M
Capability
Parts 7 9 5 8 6
per Day

CONSTRAINT – C with capacity of 5

 WHAT IS TOC?
A. TOC is a management philosophy that
emphasizes constraint identification and
management as the keys for achieving an
organization’s goals.
B. GOALS, SYSTEMS, CONSTRAINTS, FLUCTUATIONS
“Goal” – Make Money
“Systems” – Interconnected Activities to achieve
the Goal
“Constraints” – Limiting activities of a System
“Fluctuations” – Unreliability of Activities
C. NOTE: A constraint becomes a bottleneck when
demand exceeds its capacity
 WHAT IS TOC? (Cont’d)

The Chain Analogy

System – interconnected links

Constraint - The weakest link
The Constraint determines the Strength of the
Chain (the output of the line)
 Understanding The
System
Input BUSINESS Output

SUPPLY
Input Output
CHAIN

Input MATLS Output Input MFG Output Input LOGIST Output

 Systems Concepts
• Organizations / Systems exist for a purpose
• That purpose is better achieved by cooperation of
multiple, independent elements linked together
• Each Inter-linked event depends in some detail upon
the other links.
• An event not linked to the purpose is not a part of
the System and hence a waste
• The system owner determines purpose which is
adopted by the sub-systems
 What gives rise to the weakest link
• Different link capabilities, normal
variation and changing workload make it
impossible to balance everything.
• One element of the system is more
limited than another.
• When the whole system is dependent
upon the cooperation of all elements, the
weakest link determines the strength of
the chain.
100
• Is there a chain with equal strength links?
 The “Chain” in Reality
• A simple chain over-simplifies reality
• A Real Chain
Supplier (1) Pur (2) Stores (3) MRP (4) Mfg (5) Dispatch (6)
Warehouse (7) Retail (8) Customer (9)
• Link 1 has a relationship (inv) with Link 5
• Link 5 has a different relationship (qual) with 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
 Traditional Approach:
Divide and Conquer
• Division of Labor breaks down linkages complex systems
into manageable chunks.
• Which is harder to manage? Left or Right?
• Which is the correct one to manage? Left or Right?
Inv Sch Dem
Cust
Qual
Qual Rej
Mfg
R&D
Inv Mfg WHse

Left Right Cust

 The Issue of Local
Efficiency/Optima
• Work flows from left to right
Market
through processes with capacity Request
i) 11
shown.
ii) 5
Process A B C D E
iii) 4
R
FG
M
Capability
Parts 7 9 5 8 6
per Day
Too Much Overtime
Chronic Complainer
Excellent Efficiency--Near 100%
 Long Term Reality...
• Processes A and B won’t produce more than
Process C for long. Processes D and E cannot
produce more than Process C for a long time
Process A B C D E
R
FG
M
Potential
P/D 7 9 5 8 6

Reality 5 5 5 5 5
 Then Variability Sets In
• Processing times are just AVERAGE
Estimates

Process A B C D E

R
FG
M
Variability Reality 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2
 What’s an Average? 50%
• Half the time there are 5 or
more per day at each process--
Half the time less
Process A B C D E
R
FG
M
Reality 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2
Probability 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Two at a time: 0.25 0.25

Over all: 3% Chance of 5 per day

 Previous Solution: Inventory
• Put a day of inventory (WIP) at each process!

WIP 5 5 5 5 5 Total 25
Process A B C D E

R
FG
M
Variable 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2
Process
Inventory (WIP) quickly shifts position.
Inventory manager/expediter tries to smooth it out.
Distribution problems result.
Costs go up.
System Variability Takes Over--
Chaos
Process A B C D E

WIP 3 0 10 8 4 Total 25

R
FG
M
Variable 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2
Process
Shifting work-in-process creates large queues at some
locations. This makes work wait longer to be processed.
Other workstations can be starved for work. The work they
could be doing is delayed because it is not there. They
can’t take advantage of their extra capability. So...
System Variability Takes Over--
Chaos
Process A B C D E

WIP 3 5 10 8 4 Total 25 30
R
FG
M

Variable 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2

Process
So… Management Helps! Management puts in more work
(More Inventory) to give everyone something to do!
 Attempts to Control WIP

• Put a lid on it-Use Kanban Cards-JIT

WIP 5 5 5 5 5 Total 25
Process A B C D E

R
FG
M
Variable 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2
Process
Just-In-Time uses Kanban Cards to limit the queues
building in the system.
No more than 5 parts are allowed at any station.
Looks good, but is it?
 Effects of Inventory Limits on
Production – Excess Capacity
• What does a Kanban card of 5 Mean?
WIP 5 5 5 5 5 Total 25
Process A B C D E

R
FG
M
Variable 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2 5+/-2
Process
Can’t
Before After exceed
Kanban Kanban 5
5+/-2 5+/-2
Average = 5 Average = 3.5
 TOC: 5 Focus Steps to
Continuous Improvement
Step 0. Identify the Goal of the System/Organization
Step 1. Identify the system’s constraint.
Step 2. Exploit the system’s constraint.
Step 3. Subordinate everything else to the above
decision.
Step 4. Elevate the system’s constraint.
Step 5. If a constraint is broken, go back to Step 1.
(continuous improvement)
Don’t allow inertia to become a constraint.
 Drun-Buffer-Rope
5 Steps Applied to Flow Operations
WIP 12 Total 12
A B C D E

RM FG
7 9 5 8 6
7
Five Focusing Steps

Step 1. Identify the Constraint 5 (The Drum)

Step 2. Exploit the Constraint 12 (Buffer the Drum) against variability)
Step 3. Subordinate Everything Else 5(Rope)
Step 4. Elevate the Constraint (7?)
Step 5. If the Constraint Moves, Start Over with E
(Continuous Improvement)
 Additional Buffers
• Constraint Buffer (as we discussed)
– Protects the Constraint from running out of work
• Finished Goods Buffer
– Protects customer delivery from Constraint variation
• Raw Material Buffer
– Protects the Release of material from suppliers
• Assembly Buffer
– Facilitates speedy flow of products
 More Systems Study
• Most Systems are not physical
production and operations
• We can manage any system using
TOC Concepts
• US Passport Office
 Managing Systems Through
(Introduced) Constraints
Impede Flow
• Tirupathi
• Police Traffic Control with Blockades
• CA Exams
• Dam

Are there any examples of introduced

constraints for tangibles