Leather and leather-goods sector of Bangladesh contribute significantly to national exports, but it faces productivity, quality and efficiency constraints continuously. This study mainly focuses on redesigning a leather-wallet industry’s assembly line to improve overall efficiency, reduce the idle time and optimize allocation of workstations. Time-study data were collected from an existing production line, and three accepted line-balancing techniques— Kilbridge & Wester Column (KWC), Ranked Positional Weight (RPW) and Largest Candidate Rule (LCR)—were applied to develop alternative assembly line arrangements. Yamazumi bar charts were used to visualize distribution of workload and identify bottlenecks throughout the line. The redesigned models were further evaluated through a separate simulation platform to validate throughput and line performance. The outcomes exhibit that line efficiency improved from 36.65% in the existing system to a maximum of approximately 76%. The optimal workstations’ number was significantly reduced, idle time for operator per cycle lessen, and all three models illustrated enhanced balance in simulation, confirming the feasibility of the proposed layout. The findings indicate that applying structured line-balancing and visualization techniques can help leather goods manufacturers ensure daily demand with lessen lead time, fewer workstations and improved efficiency and productivity. This study demonstrates a constructive framework for enhancing production performance in Bangladesh’s leather goods industries.

Md. Irtisham Latif

Affiliation

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Improvement of Overall Efficiency Using Yamazumi Chart and Heuristic Techniques of a Leather Product Industry