Possibilities to Increase Assembly Line Productivity Using Different Management Approaches

Abstract

A number of scientific methods are used to support productivity growth in companies, aimed at reducing waste, balancing assembly lines and supporting the introduction of automation into assembly processes. Their use in industrial practice is widespread, especially in large and medium-sized enterprises, and small businesses that use scientific methods to a limited extent. The aim of the research is to show the assembly process of throttle valves implemented in a small company, the effects of balancing the current assembly line and the effects of proposals of variant solutions on the automated assembly line and on the amount of hourly assembly production and costs per product. Within costs, two cost types are monitored: namely the hourly labor costs, and hourly machine costs. The sum of the hourly assembly line costs is determined by their sum. In the results section, the main sources of waste in the assembly process are identified, and eight proposals leading to the elimination of waste are processed. In the discussion, the individual proposals are evaluated in terms of the cost of one product, the hourly production of assembly and the tact times of assembly lines. The proposal that is evaluated as the best process is compared with the current state. The purpose of this article is to point out the advantages of the implementation of scientific methods in industrial practice, the achieved savings in the solved problem, and thus, to support those scientific methods in the management of assembly processes which are beginning to be used in greater extents by small businesses.