Process optimization in a production line at a company in Ciudad Juárez

Abstract

On the low volume assembly line 1 for PODIUM ladders, a time study was conducted which resulted in variation in cycle times at the stations and very high cycle times, which means that the required number of ladders and the established capacity cannot be met. The average requirement according to the program is 396 ladders/day. The bottleneck arises from the final table station which has 7 activities and is the workstation with the highest workload. According to the literature found, it is believed that line balancing can level the workstations so that both machines and operators do not have unproductive times, as mentioned by Hernández López (2014). Likewise, the author of the thesis Peña Jara (2020), mentions that line balancing is an engineering tool that allows the professional to optimize manufacturing processes. Line balancing and tools are used to distribute and optimize tasks and jobs in the workstations on the bottleneck line and improve efficiency. When balancing was carried out on low volume line 1, it was possible to achieve the objective of balancing and implementing manufacturing tools, eliminating the bottlenecks on the low volume line. In this way, each of the processes was optimized and the capacity increased, and therefore, the output increased to 485 ladders/day. Unnecessary movements were eliminated by implementing the 5S tool on low volume line 1, which allowed for greater flexibility.