Cycle Time in Assembly Line Using Lean Techniques

CYCLE TIME IN ASSEMBLY LINE USING LEAN TECHNIQUES 1
ASSEMBLY LINE LEAN TECHNIQUES
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CYCLE TIME IN ASSEMBLY LINE USING LEAN TECHNIQUES 2
Abstract
Lean principle and lean tools have a very much important role in various Industrial sectors.
Today's market faces many problems, and an issue regarding the elimination of waste, which
comes as a result of many processes and specific measures has to take to prioritize this waste.
The primary role of this technique is for the identification and elimination of various residues
within the end products from the industry. This research tends to illustrate how various lean tools
can be used within the industry for waste detection and elimination. Industrial visits and the
discussion with both the industry professionals and the lean technique experts are some of the
methodologies that can be used for the identification process in the manufacturing sector for
waste produced.

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1. Introduction
Many business owners and senior managers are accepting the principles of lean
management. Most do apply them in their waste management strategies without knowing it.
However, the difficulties are realized at the implementation stage of the lean technique. The
lean method ensures easier identification of the waste material within the final products and
the appropriate tool to be used for their elimination from the required products [1]. It is
majorly used in the industrial firm to ensure the final product produced meets the customer
requirement in terms of quality and pricing. Many lean tools can be used to realize this.
2. Theoretical content
Problem statement
A lot of production time is used in the material handling and the assembly section which
decreases the rate of production process. To increase the quantity produced, the production time
should be reduced to the minimal value possible. However productivity should not be increased
at the expense of the customers’ quality requirement of the final product
Methodology
The reduction of the cycle time in the assembly line using the lean techniques mainly
work based on waste minimization while maximizing the value of the customer. The word lean
is used within the industrial or manufacturing sector to mean using the limited available
resources to create higher value for the consumers of the product. An organization or industry
using this lean technique for the cycle time reduction must appreciate what role the value of the
customer plays in the production processes and work continuously towards increasing it to
maximize the value of the customer at zero waste production [2].The lean technique uses the
horizontal system of product flow, in which the products produced flow across the various assets

CYCLE TIME IN ASSEMBLY LINE USING LEAN TECHNIQUES 4
within the industry to the established technologies than to the multiple departments and finally to
the customers.
This horizontal system is preferred to the vertical workflow as it produces a process that
is cheaper in terms of the human labor required, the space required, the capital requirement
production time as the well as the number defects produced [1]. Furthermore, the use of a
horizontal system enables a quicker and continuous response to the customers continues to
change in customers' product requirements in terms of the quality, variety, and pricing.
The lean technique was first introduced in the late 1980s for use in the Toyota
business by a group of researchers headed by Jim Womack [3].
Assembly types
The assembly type of the lean technique uses two models, the SUB frame model and the
SLF type model. SUB frame model involves a reduction of the production time and costs
through the batch time elimination, mixed model processing, land grouping, and control chart
[4]. The model requires cutting, welding, quality check as well as painting among many other
activities. Examples of the SUB frame models include, just in time JIT, Interpretive Structural
Models, Structural Self-Interaction Matrix.
Obtaining average cycle time in the sub-frame models
The average cycle time for each of the activities involved in the sub-frame models can be
obtained by summing up the value added time ,non-value added time and the total cycle time
then dividing by three to get the average for the each activities involved. This is given as Value
added time (sec) + none—value added time (sec) + Total cycle time (sec)/3. To reduce the total
cost involved in the production process, there should be minimum number of workers per work
station .To get the least number of workers per station total time taken to produce a given
product is dived by the cycle time.
, this will enable the company to evaluate the least number
of workers to be stationed in each of the workstations. Also the workstation involved in the
production process should be very minimal to reduce the total production cost. To obtain the
least number of workstation in sub-frame model, the total time taken in completing one cycle is
divided by the time available.