Some Stations Are Over Takt and Others Wait
An unbalanced line wastes people twice: the overloaded station sets the pace and the rest wait on it. Line balancing moves work so every station carries a fair share under takt. It is stopwatch and paper work before it is anything else.
What Is Usually Going On
- Work was split by habit or by skill, not by time.
- Product mix changed and the balance did not.
- Work elements were never broken down small enough to move.
- Precedence or tooling ties work to one station.
How to Fix It
- Break down the workList work elements per station with observed times and what must come before each.
- Build a yamazumiStack each station's elements against a takt line.
- Measure balanceBalance efficiency = total work content / (stations x takt). The rest is balance loss you can win back.
- Remove before you moveCut walking, reaching and searching at the heavy station first. Less work beats moved work.
- Move elementsShift elements from stations over takt to stations under, inside the precedence rules.
- Balance for the mixFor mixed models, balance to weighted average work content, check the heaviest model on its own, and level the sequence (heijunka).
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When It Moves to the Floor
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Common Questions
What is a yamazumi chart?
A stacked bar per station showing each work element's time, with a line at takt. Stations above the line are the problem.
How do I balance a mixed-model line?
Balance to the weighted average of the models, then sequence so heavy models do not follow each other. Check the heaviest model alone.
Balance to takt or below it?
Below it, with margin for losses, so one bad cycle does not stop the line.
What if a station cannot be split?
Add a parallel station, put an extra person at that station only, or move the work offline as a subassembly.