Modules > Line Balancing

Line balancing is the process of distributing work evenly among all operators on an assembly line. The Line Balancing module assists you in distributing work across stations and operators both automatically and manually, in either a single or mixed model environment.

Assembly Planner uses the concept of a line balancing scenario, which is created from a snapshot of routing data. The scenario concept allows you to create multiple alternate configurations of the same line, without affecting the routing data stored in the database.

Before a line balancing scenario can be created, certain data should be set up in the library of Assembly Planner. At the very least, a routing should be created, an operation should be created within the routing, and activities should be created within the operation(s). Each activity should be assigned an estimated, observed, and/or calculated time. If you assign each operation in the routing to a Work Center, and assign each activity to an Operator ID, that information will be used to display a current state balance when you create a scenario for the routing. Documenting constraints, explained in the next section, is also optional, but recommended.