Determining what individual tasks must be completed, wh […]
Determining what individual tasks must be completed, when they need to be completed, and who will complete them is a crucial step in establishing an effective assembly line. Complicated products, such as cars, have to be broken down into components that machines and workers can quickly assemble.
Companies use a design for assembly approach on the brake assembly line to analyze a product and its design in order to determine assembly order, as well as to determine issues that can affect each task. Each task is categorized as either manual, robotic or automatic, and then assigned to individual stations along the manufacturing plant floor.
Companies can also design products with their assembly in mind, referred to as concurrent engineering. This allows the company to start the manufacture of a new product that has been designed with mass production in mind, with the tasks, task order, and assembly line layout already predetermined. This can significantly reduce the lead time between the initial product design release and the final product rollout.