Manufacturing Enhancement through Reduction of Cycle Time using Time-Study Statistical Techniques in Automotive Industry

Within the complex and competitive automotive manufacturing industry, manufacturing Cycle Time (CT) remains one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Its reduction is of strategic importance as it contributes to time-to-market shortening, faster bottleneck detection, achieving throughput targets and improving production-resource scheduling. This paper presents a case study on CT analysis for early stage identification of the bottleneck stations and the processes in a manual assembly line that is responsible for increased manufacturing CT. The case study is conducted on an automotive seat manufacturing plant in the UK. For detailed CT analysis, CT of each station is recorded. Results of the case study shows that bottlenecks identification at an early stage can significantly enhance the overall performance of the production line.