DEVELOPMENT OF LEAN ASSEMBLY LINE A CASE STUDY

D. Rajenthirakumar*

R. Sridhar

Associate Professor, Department of

Mechanical Engineering,
PSG College of Technology, Peelamedu
Coimbatore 641004, Tamil Nadu, India.
E-mail: [email protected]

Assistant Professor, Department of

Mechanical Engineering,
PSG College of Technology, Peelamedu
Coimbatore 641004, Tamil Nadu, India.
E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
This paper describes the implementation of lean tools
in a wind mill-electrical control panel assembly plant in
south India as a lean manufacturing improvement
initiative. This involved mapping the activities of the
firm, identifying opportunities for improvement and then
undertaking with the firm an improvement programme.
Current state map is prepared to describe the existing
position and various problem areas. Takt time
calculations are carried out to set the pace of
production. Future state map is prepared to show the
proposed
improvement
action
plans.
The
achievements of value stream implementation are
reduction in lead time, cycle time and inventory level. It
was found that even a small company can make
significant improvements by adopting lean principles.

KEYWORDS
Takt time, Line balance,
Value stream mapping
(VSM)

ARTICLE INFO
Received 12 July 2014
Accepted 12 September 2014
Available online 1 December 2014

1. Introduction
Many manufacturing facilities have experienced the drastic changes and are
in a process of undergoing physical and cultural transformation to adopt the
concept of lean thinking. Lean manufacturing is based on the Toyota
Production System (TPS) consists of comprehensive set of techniques that,
when combined and matured, will allow to reduce and then eliminate the Non
Value Added (NVA) activities [1]. Thus, the influence of lean practices
contributes substantially with the operating performance of plants [2, 3] and
use of lean tools allows the improvement of results [4]. A major activity in the
journey towards lean is the effective management of the flow of products and
services through the series of the activities involved in providing value to the
customer, known as the value stream.

________________________________
* Corresponding Author

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

A relatively recent tool to support and implement the lean philosophy is a VSM [5].
In this paper, an attempt has been made to initialise the implementation of lean
manufacturing system using lean tools. VSM is used to identify the non-value added
activities and to reduce the waste and lead time. A detailed implementation procedure
conducted at a wind mill-electrical control panel assembly plant in south India is
presented and some of the observations will be useful to the practitioners for
implementing lean in small and medium scale firms.
2. Brief literature review
According to Stier [6], lean manufacturing is defined as a systematic approach to
identify and eliminate non value-added activities through continuous improvement by
flowing the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection. Domingo [7] has
focused that in manufacturing plants, the assembly areas usually maintain a store of
components to be assembled in the finished part. The main problem associated with the
supply of these components is the inventory, limited space of the work station and
optimizing the overall production-shop layout. The lean approach is focused on
systematically reducing wastes in the value stream. The waste concept includes all
possible defective work/activities, not only defective products [8]. Roberto Alvarez [9]
has explained the use of value stream mapping as a tool in lean manufacturing
implementation and a framework of improvement activities, in particular for an efficient
introduction of kanban technique. Leslie DMonte et al [10] have explained the
implementation of lean tools using value stream mapping and the benefits derived out of
it. From their work, it is also understood that the lean implementation always started with
a basic tool of value stream mapping. In a highly competitive market, where quality and
price are taken for granted, the key differentiator for many customers is the speed and
consistency of product delivery. To provide more insights into implementation of lean
manufacturing, a case study conducted in a in a wind mill-electrical control panel
assembly plant in south India is presented.
3. Problem definition
The firm is located in South India and it is a leading manufacturer of electrical
control panel assembly exclusively for wind turbines. The company manufacturers
control panel of different varieties and always tries to finish the assembly work soon to
increase on-time delivery and to increase machine/labour utilization to reduce the
production cost. Fig. 1 shows the process flow in the electrical control panel assembly.
The design changes in the panel design according to the different regional requirements
make line balancing a critical issue for the efficiency and competitiveness.

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

Fig. 1 Electrical control panel assembly Process flow

The list of objectives includes: (i) Elimination of the non-value adding actions (iii)
Reduction of lead time (iii) Re-balance and optimize the electrical panel assembly line
(iv) Empower the workers in the newly developed process and measure several runs to
check if the process is repeatable and sustainable (v) Employee and line management
training on principals of line balance and standard work.
4. Methodology
The different steps in implementation of lean are shown in Fig. 2. As a first step,
data collection is done by walk through in the shop floor. The firm is producing different
kind of panels for wind turbines and the products are grouped based on process steps
(Tab. 1). Demand analysis shows that the Group-A contribute to 93.75% of daily
demand (Tab. 2).

Fig. 2 Methodology of implementation

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

Tab. 1 Identification of product family

Group A
Group B
Processes
Control Pitch
Power
Panel
Panel
Panel
Enclosure preparation
X
X
X
Mechanical assembly
X
X
X
Electrical assembly
X
X
X
Electrical assembly
X
X
X
Electrical assembly
X
X
X
Bus bar assembly
X
Capacitor mounting
X
Enclosure final assembly
X
X
X
Enclosure final assembly
X
X
X
Enclosure final assembly
X
X
X
Enclosure final assembly
X
X
X
Final inspection and testing
X
X
X
Packing and dispatch
X
X
X

Group
A
B

Tab. 2 Demand analysis

Weekly
Contribution to
Product
demand
Weekly demand
Control Panel
64
93.75 %
Pitch Panel
32
Power Panel
08
6.25 %
Total
128
100 %

4. 1 Preparation of current state map

After selecting a product family, the next step is to draw a current state map of
the existing process. Current state map is prepared using standard icons for various
processes to visualise the flow of material and information. The required takt time is
calculated as 2.33 hours based on the demand. Considering the operation sequence,
cycle time of each operation and precedence requirements, the existing imbalance in
the assembly is identified (Fig. 3). Fig. 4 shows the current state map of the electrical
control panel assembly. Results obtained from current state map indicates value added
ratio as 0.84.

Fig. 3 Assembly line imbalance

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

Fig. 4 The present state value stream map

4. 2 Work balancing
Line balancing is the problem that related to how the operations designated on
the work stations can be optimized through balancing the activities assigned over the
work stations. By reducing the takt time through equalizing the loads on the workstations
the assembly line is balanced.
To begin with, the control panel assembly imbalance is analyzed and it is found
that the electrical work related to control plate and power plate is greater than the
required takt time (Fig. 5). For the elemental work component wiring it is found that
67.41% balance delay. The cause and effect diagram is drawn in order to find the cause
of high work in process time for a electrical work-control side in control panel assembly.
From Fig. 6, it is clear that, high work in process time occurs due to (i) worker facing
difficulty in component identification (ii) absence of adequate tools and searching for
tools (iii) absence of standard work practice (iv) absence of proper wiring schedule.

Fig. 5 Work imbalance - control panel assembly

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

Fig. 6 Cause and Effect diagram for high wiring time

The work balance is achieved by splitting the wiring schedule based on the wire
specification. The solution is given in Tab. 3. As a result, the balance delay is reduced to
20%. Similar kind of task has been carried out in the power plate assembly and 23% of
balance delay is achieved.
Tab. 3 Work balance in control plate wiring
Total no of
Size/Color
wires
Control side-1
1/BU, 1.5/BU, 1.5/WHBU
166
Control side - 2
1.5/RD, 1.5/YE, 1.5/BK,
163
1.5/WHRD, 1.5/YEGN, 2.5/BK
Control side - 3
1/BU, 1.5/BU, 1.5/WHBU
87

4. 3 Standardized work procedure

Standard work instructions are used to maintain and improve productivity, quality
and safety. They provide a documented process sequence to perform work with the
most efficient method in the designated takt time. Used as a part of lean and kaizen
initiatives they can highlight opportunities to make improvements in working procedures
to reduce non value adding work content [7]. A snap shot of the standard work
procedure developed for the electrical control panel assembly is shown in Fig. 7. The
improved value added ratio is calculated as 0.90.

Fig. 7 Standard work procedure - example

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

4. 4 Preparation of future state map

The second scenario or future state map is drawn considering all the
improvement initiatives and the value added ratio is 0.90. The overall improvements are
given in Tab. 4. Further, (i) visual management tools were added to reduce complexity
and improve consistency of units produced (ii) Standard operating procedures and
training were done for all operators (iii) Point-of-use tooling and shadow boards were
implemented (iv) Error proof jig to prevent defects and rework was implemented.
Tab. 4 Improvements in VA time after lean implementation
Station

Co-1
Co-2
Co-4
Co-5
Co-6
Co-7

Description
Enclosure Preparation
Mounting Plate
Preparation
Stickering and
Component Assembly
Plate Wiring-1
Plate wiring-2
Plate Wiring-3
Torqing

VA Time
2:00:43

NVA Time
0:08:30
Total

Total
2:09:13
2:09:13

1:19:07

0:00:39

1:19:46

1:50:50

0:28:04

2:18:50

1:58:59
2:09:23
1:05:00
0:27:38

2:23:40
2:22:36
1:20:00
0:40:06
10:24:58
Total

VA Time
2:11:53

0:17:03

2:28:56

2:28:14

0:20:40

2:48:54

Po-3
Po-4
Po-5
Po-6

Description
Mounting Plate
Preparation
Stickering and
Component Assembly
Plate Wiring-1
Plate Wiring-2
Plate Wiring-3
Torqing

0:24:41
0:23:09
0:15:00
0:12:28
Total
NVA Time

2:00:15
2:01:18
1:58:26
0:31:38

Station
7
8
9
10
11

Description
Enclosure Assembly
Enclosure Wiring-1
Enclosure Wiring-2
Panel Testing
Packing

VA Time
1:59:11
2:11:13
1:03:36
2:09:16
1:58:19

0:12:10
0:13:09
0:11:27
0:14:28
Total
NVA Time
0:23:09
0:12:49
0:17:36
0:02:31
0:04:16
Total

2:10:20
2:16:32
2:09:53
0:46:06
12:40:41
Total
2:22:20
2:24:02
1:21:12
2:12:06
2:02:35
10:22:15

Station
Po-1
Po-2

5. Conclusions
It has been illustrated very clearly in this work that a lot of improvements areas
are found with the help of current state map. Current state map and future state map are
prepared and analyzed to highlight the benefits of a lean system in a electrical control
panel assembly. Further the following conclusions are made: (i) by implementing lean
tools, the lead time in a electrical control panel assembly is reduced (ii) inventory of all
forms are reduced (iii) as a result of work balancing, cycle time of the bottleneck
operations are reduced below the takt time (iv) value added ratio is increased after lean
implementation.

D.RAJENTHIRA KUMAR, R. SRIDHAR / International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 5, Issue 1(December 2014)

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