ASSEMBLY LINE INTRODUCTION

ASSEMBLY LINE OVERVIEW  What is it and who designs it?  Examples  The First  Improvements  How it works and different kinds  Product Movement  Toyota Production Systems Engineering Lab

WHAT IS AN ASSEMBLY LINE?  An assembly line is a series of workstations along a connected system that moves materials  Parts are added to a product in an ordered manner to create a finished product  Industrial engineers design assembly lines based on product size and needs

EXAMPLES ?? What are some examples of assembly lines in your everyday world?

THE FIRST ASSEMBLY LINE  First assembly line was used by Ransom E. Olds in the late 1890’s  Made Oldsmobile cars

THE “IMPROVED” ASSEMBLY LINE  Initially, it took 12.5 (cycle time) hours to produce the Model T in 1909  Henry Ford improved the assembly line by adding a conveyor system in 1913, reducing the time to 1.5 hours (cycle time)  In 1927, a Model T was produced every 24 seconds (throughput)

THEN AND NOW ASSEMBLY LINES Then and Now

HOW AN ASSEMBLY LINE WORKS  People are assigned to one station  As the unfinished product moves past, pieces are added  The process continues until the assembly is complete

WET AND DRY ASSEMBLY LINES DryWet (Steady State)

PRODUCT MOVEMENT ON AN ASSEMBLY LINE Products can be passed from station to station in a variety of ways  Human power/gravity belts  Conveyor belts  Forklifts

ASSEMBLY LINE VIDEO SBzPI

CONSIDER THIS…. What went wrong with the assembly line?

BRAINSTORM…. What are the benefits of using an assembly line?