Application of the Work Study to Balancing Production Lines

Aiming at laser head base preparation (namely H-S preparation) production lines of an enterprise, this paper applies the nodular method and second watch measuring time method to measure the work time of various stations of production lines, and to find out both the bottle-neck stations and the superfluous capability stations effecting on the line production capability. Problems of equipment capability、manpower、task distribution、technology and production lines layout are revealed and analyzed by using the 5W1H check list. Basing on the principle of ECRS (Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simple) and the line balancing theory, this paper provides the line balancing schema, including the improvement of the existing equipment, the reallocation of the work content for relative stations, the adjustment of the equipment and workers of some stations, the reduction of machine working time of some stations, the change of production line layout and the implementation of subsection management etc. After being put in practice, this project takes great benefit for the enterprise, for example, the production capability of production line improved up 61.4%, workers cut down 111, manpower cost saves $922400 every year, and workshop condition is also improved.