Assembly Line Balancing at Overland Tourister
Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding
- • Jay Heizer, et al., “Chapter 8: Layout Strategies”, Operations Management, 9th Edition, Pearson Education, 2008
Synopsis
This caselet facilitates understanding the concept and importance of Assembly Line Balancing with the backdrop of a Chennai-based shoe manufacturer, Overland Tourister (Overland). With its promotional activities, Overland bagged a plum deal for 60,000 running shoes. Rajesh Pillai (Rajesh), Founder, was apprehensive if the company would be able to manage bulk orders without any hiccups. Can Assembly Line Balancing ensure smooth operations at Overland?
Expected Learning Outcomes
At the end of this caselet discussion, students are expected to know:
- • Assembly line balancing
- • Estimation of efficiency of the organization
Assignment Questions
- I. What is Line Balancing?
- II. Draw a diagram of the precedence relationships.
- III. Compute the cycle time taken per shoe in minutes.
- IV. .................
Teaching Plan
This Teaching Note follows a sequential order as presented in the Teaching Plan [Annexure (TN)-I]............
Exhibits
Exhibit (TN)-I: Precedence Relationship Diagram
Exhibit (TN)-II: Ranks Based on Positioned Weight
Exhibit (TN)-III: Assignment of Tasks to Workstations
Exhibit (TN)-IV: Idle Time