Question

Sergio Marquina is an expert of automated production lines. However, in order to promote his status to “the professor” he needs to also become an expert of line balancing in manual assembly lines. He already knows the three types of line balancing algorithms as Largest Candidate Rule, Kilbridge and Wester Method and Ranked Positional Weights. In his attempt to become “the professor”, he has to present the following discussion points to the committee of referees. Present your answers with an organized, detailed and clear way.

1. Discuss in what situations one should use Largest Candidate Rule, knowing that Kilbridge and Wester Method and Ranked Positional Weights usually bring solutions that are more accurate.
2. What should be done in the case of a single work element’s value is greater than  value?
3. In mixed model line balancing systems, why are we taking AT (available time) as the maximum station time?

Answer 1

Ans – There are different types of line balancing methods are used-

· Largest Candidate Rule – In line balancing use largest candidate rule in manufacturing industry. Assembly line were the mass production is plan and the unequal working load among the work station will increase the WIP (work in progress) inventory and the delay time in the process.

In LCR (Largest candidate rule) accounts for the work element which is arrange into the descending order of each station value which is not exceeding the allowable preceded.

· Ranked Positional Weights- This method is used to develop and balance the line. This method takes into the account the precedence relationship as well as processing time of all task of stations,

· Kilbrige and Wester Methods- It is a heuristic procedure which select the work element of the assignment according to there position in the preceding diagram.

This method overcome the problem of the LCR in which work on the first candidate because the value is large.

Ans – In case of a single work element’s value greater that value we should break the elements into two work stations.

Ans- We taking the available time as the maximum station time in mixed model of line balancing because in this we use different product assembly on the single line this why we take the highest time as available time.