Chapter List

Overview

Assembly plants put and fit together different parts into subassemblies and finished products. Assembly work is repetitive at the component and subassembly level, and often, but not always, also repetitive at the finished product level. Because much of the value of the assembler to the customer is the assumption of responsibility for product support, assembly plants almost always perform inspections and tests, which, in some cases, are more expensive than assembly itself.

The two main factors in assembly performance are part supply and the assembly work design. Assemblers are prompt to blame all their problems on the supply chain, but improvement of internal operations must come first if supplier support is to be successful. The value of improving the design of assembly work is commonly underestimated by managers who only notice that direct labor cost is low compared to materials and overhead. But the design of assembly work should command attention as a competitive weapon even if assemblers worked for free.

Assemblers today waste much of their time in activities other than assembly and test, where improvement opportunities can be found. The failure to design jobs that keep operators busy causes them to make extra parts. Shortages and imbalances between stations cause operators to wait. The location of stations based on space available multiplies transportation operations. Poor sequencing of steps creates extra work.