Several factors affect productivity and efficiency of Manual Mixed-Model Assembly Lines (MMMAL), which are common in Food Processing Industry (FPI). In this paper, analysis is carried out for the Americana Company’s MMMAL, which is a purely manual assembly line set up for the production of various types of freshly prepared salads to be distributed to various markets in the State of Kuwait. Several problems causing delays and inefficiencies on the line are identified and appropriate approaches are used to determine the best solutions, which increase line efficiency and minimize balance delays. In particular, line balancing tools are utilized to distribute the workload evenly and remove the bottleneck from the current assembly line in order to increase line efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, various types of salads are scheduled for production on the same line in such a way as to reduce the average work flow time. The procedure and the approach utilized in this paper can be useful for the operation managers and industrial engineers dealing with similar assembly lines in food processing industry.
Analysis of a Manual Mixed-Model Assembly Line in Food Processing Industry: A Case Study
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