ABSTRACT
There have been many studies of learning curve impact in manufacturing processes; almost all of them look at the aggregate decreased production cost due to learning curve impacts. Similarly, the study of balancing production line elements by cycle time has been near exhaustive. But, the interrelation of line balancing and elemental task learning curves, along with the related concept of throughput time, has received little attention (Smunt and Watts, 2003). As background for the ultimate hypothesis, this chapter will briefly explain the learning curve concept and the concept of elemental task line balancing. It will then postulate that a line’s aggregate learning curve is a function disproportionately impacted by the line’s elemental task with the worst learning curve. It will then hypothesize that learning curves for elemental tasks are not static and can be manipulated to achieve better line balancing and, ultimately, further cost reduction through decreased throughput time. Ultimately, it concludes that owing to elemental task learning curves, a line design must be flexible enough to change to achieve proper balance and to achieve continuing improvement in throughput time.
