Line Balancing

Data protection noticeThis tool records work-element times, which can be used to judge individual people. It stays in this browser and in files you save. Nothing is sent to this website. Name stations and tasks, not people. Do not use it to rank or compare operators, and do not record who was timed. Only use the tool with your employer's approval, on a company device, and save files only to your company's approved location. Clear data from this browser when you have finished.

The line and its takt

Product or line Date timed Available time per shift, in minutes (after breaks and planned stops) Demand per shift, in units Timed by (a role, not a name) Checked by (a different role or person)

Stations

Work elements

What it measures

Takt is available time divided by demand, in seconds. It is how often a unit must be finished to meet demand.
Station time is the total of the element times at that station. A station over takt cannot keep up on its own.
Balance efficiency is total element time divided by the number of stations times the slowest station's time. 100% would mean every station takes the same time. It says nothing about whether the line meets takt.
Balance delay is 100% minus balance efficiency: the share of station time spent waiting on the slowest station.
Fewest stations at this takt is total element time divided by takt, rounded up. It is a floor from the arithmetic, not a design. The real answer is often higher because of the order of the work.
Output at the slowest station is available time divided by the slowest station's time, rounded down. Compare it with demand.

The rules the tool applies

Time what the work actually takes, several times, and record how many timings you took. Fewer than three is noted. Use the time you observed, not a standard allowance.
Every element needs a class: value-adding, necessary but not value-adding, or waste. An element with no class is shown in grey and flagged.
An element with no station is left out of the station times and is counted as unassigned. An element with no usable time is left out entirely. Both are flagged, never counted as zero.
A station with no elements is flagged and still counts as a station, so it lowers balance efficiency.
A station under 70% of takt is noted. It may have room for more work.
The times should be timed by one person and checked by another. If they are the same, or blank, it is flagged.

Moving work between stations

Change the station of an element from the table and the chart updates. The tool does not know the order work must be done in, what equipment each station has, or who is trained, so a move that looks good on the chart may not be possible. Check it against the method, the safety of the new task and the people who will do it before you change anything on the line.

Related tools

Time the work with the Cycle Time and Waste Tool or the SMV tool. Look at the whole flow with the SIPOC and VSM Tool. Check output against plan with Schedule Adherence.

Limits

No gaps found does not mean the times are true or the balance is the best one. This is decision support only.