Siyamthanda Mlotha

 Operations Management 3 Final Project (PRB300S) Productivity Improvent AVI PTY Ltd. Indigo Brands Siyamthanda Mlotha WGPACK PRODUCT Declaration I ………Siyamthanda Mlotha……….. Declare that the work contained in this report is original and is my own work. Also I declare that the data provided within this project has been investigated and is not based on assumptions but a true study was conducted. Signature……S.Mlotha…………………………………………… Date…05/11/2015………………………………….……………… Abstract Within the hectic, busy environment of the manufacturing industry, where there are gains and losses to be considered, all over the world companies are looking for better ways of improving their current operating standards which in turn will allow them improve their productivity at a low cost. The majority of these companies have adopted Lean Manufacturing Principles because of its ability to reduce the waste incurred while increasing throughput and the quality of products. This project is based on the situation concerning a work center that has been set up in a manner that it may achieve the desired efficiency which is 84%. In this project, the main objective is to create a layout that will make the line become more efficient while the average completion time of work, labor costs are kept at minimal while increasing production units. This report will discuss the current situation at an Indigo Brands factory. The main idea is to try and point out certain Lean Principles aspects that are overlooked when the actual production day begins. These factors have the ability of generating a major waste which in turn would result to loss of capital for the company. Acknowledgements During the course of doing my project, I needed help with compiling a proper report and conducting different studies in order to get the information that I required. I therefore had approached quite a number of people whom have added valuable information and generated ideas to make this report a solid source of reference. I would like to acknowledge the Continuous Improvement Facilitator Msimisi Dlamini for playing a major role through guiding me in terms of conducting my investigations. I thank him also for granting me sources of guidance towards my report compilation, proof reading my work and also for being a good mentor with regards to making this report a huge success. I also acknowledge him as a partner in this report, for he has been in partnership with me all throughout the gathering of information and analyzing situations in the factory as we combined information and shared knowledge. This project would not have been a success without his input. I thank him for trusting me with his project idea; he gave me the opportunity to carry out his project and provided me with all the support I needed to ensure great success of the end results that were desired. Also great thanks is extended to another Continuous Improvement Facilitator Francis Edem, for helping me out by sharing her skills and teaching me a few tricks on how to conduct time studies on the lines while machines were running and also sharing the advice that one should always use the best suitable stopwatch to ensure the use . I did not see her much often, only on Fridays which are a very short working day, however the knowledge she has shared with me is much more than three years sitting behind the table in a lecture theatre watching slides you cannot understand; I thank her greatly. I also thank the Production Controller that I was shadowing Warren Botha, my manager (Production Manager) who is also my mentor and Fieraus Wang (a production controller); indirectly they were involved in making my report a success as I would occasionally approach them for help by asking quiz like questions in relation to my project just to verify certain points and to test if I am on the right track with regards to the judgments I was making, especially on the work center I was focusing on in my investigation. Table of contents Brief Company History……………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 History about Yardley of London………………………………………………………………………………………7 About the project……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Problem statement………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9 Needs………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Literature review……………………………………………………………………………………………………………13 Machinery………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………14 Approach………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..19 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………27 Action plan……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..31 Reference………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..32 Section 1 Introduction Brief Company History: Indigo Brands is a subsidiary of AVI PTY Ltd. The company is located at Epping in Cape Town. Indigo Brands company which is formerly known as Yardley of London (Africa) (Pty) Ltd and has been producing and distributing Yardley cosmetic products in South Africa since 1955. The National Brands Limited which is also an AVI subsidiary purchased the Yardley business from the parent company and grew it into a multi – million rand entity which led to the formation of a separate company within AVI in July 2003 Called Indigo cosmetics. In 1998, the National Brands Limited purchased Yardley trademark for Sub – Saharan Africa as well as the trademark for the Lenthѐric house name for the whole of Africa. More recently the Lenthѐric trademark was also purchased for the rest of the world. Indigo Brands have also received license and manufacturing agreements for world renowned brands such as Coty, Adidas, Monteil, Rimmel and Nailene. Other brands in these licenses include celebrity fragrances such as David Beckham, Antonio Banderas, Celin Dion, Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss. Indigo Brands is a marketing driven company, focusing on innovation and brand development. Manufacturing and Research Development are managed on – site. Indigo is ISO accredited and boasts a five star NOSA rating. Since Indigo brands originated from Yardley of London Company, below is a brief history about Yardley of London: In 1620 a Yardley family member was granted the rights to produce soaps for all of London by King Charles I. Yardley became well known for its soap range perfumed with English lavender, the signature fragrance. By 1770 the brand had branched out to producing trendy fruity fragrances and had become acknowledged as the leader in soaps and perfumery. And once the Yardley trademark for sub-Saharan Africa was secured by Indigo Brands in 1998, the door was open for greater, relevant innovation. The House of Yardley has been renowned for its classic fragrances and colour cosmetics. Today, Yardley creates, manufactures and distributes male and female fragrances, as well as toiletries, skincare and colour cosmetics, and has created and evolved some of the most enduring - and endearing - brands on the market today. About the project I am currently doing my third year in Operations management at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. It is compulsory for a third year student to go on an experiential training program in order for them to gain a work experience within their field of study. As a registered student, I am required to do projects for all my subjects and submit them to get marks so I can pass the year. These projects are to be done at the company that the student is doing the experiential learning at. Therefore for the 2015 academic year I have been given a topic which involves solving a productivity related problem. I have therefore chosen to base my research on observing a particular line at a factory work centre. At this line the major thing that would be improved would be the number of output produced (which means productivity) as well as decreasing the labour cost; that is the idea from a continuous improvement facilitator Msimisi Dlamini whom I was working with in this investigation. We believe that this project will capture the attention of the senior management team, as it will not only prove how the company can save costs while cutting down expenses by 41%. Managers are interested in figures due to time being their limited factor; they are also mostly interested in visual explanations of changes hence I have decided to involve the use of charts and graphs to explain changes. The project is done in the year 2015 however, it will not be of use this year since there is almost over but rather the idea that is portrayed in the project can be implemented next year during the month of Valentine’s day since there will be another batch of gift sets needing to be produced. Therefore this is a preparation of an improvement strategy for future purpose. Project plan Problem statement: As a Production Controller Intern at Indigo Brands, I have learned that the company’s ultimate goal is to be ranked as a world class manufacturing industry. While having that in mind I have observed that they have a strong desire and ambition towards continuous improvement and as a result of that, the application of Lean principles and enforcing continuous improvement has become a culture within the company. In a company like this, there are many opportunities one can take advantage of to solve matters related to productivity and efficiency that keep on arising during production so as to satisfy the disciples of continuous improvement. There are a few work centres set to carry out work labelled as Wgpack (for gift packs) for Christmas season which caught my attention during the early weeks of my in service training. In those lines, operators perform all the assembly tasks alone and that prevents the visibility of process flow. My understanding of the current set up is that it has been set to boost the efficiency through maximum labour utilization, however having a much closer and in-depth observation at the current situation, one would realise that the current layout and process can be improved to actually cater for other aspects of continuous improvement like labour cost reduction, output increase, reduction of average product completion time as well as eliminating waste as much as the company can manage to while retaining more income. The problem with the current layout arises when one operator takes longer to assemble a single unit than the rest of the team as that will impact on the total output at the end of the production day. Pressure of picking up speed is optional, should one decide to work at their own pace or decides to waste time by taking an unplanned break; no pressure will be upon that individual but will apply to the entire team due to the fact that total output will automatically be affected. In this report one will gain understanding that setting up an effective production line can increase the production output by up to 46% and reduce labour cost by up to 41%. Therefore productivity will definitely be increased and even have savings for the company. Needs: This project will benefit both the employer and the employees. The employer will be able to save costs and the employees will get to get away with having to perform strenuous and stressful set of activities but rather follow a rhythmic set of tasks of product assembly. The overall production costs of gift packs will be reduced and company profits will be increased. This improvement project will benefit me as well, as it will help me understand how operations management key decisions are being applied at the workplace. As a student, my analytical and problem solving skills will also be challenged as I will have to analyse the current situation then find a suitable solution that will improve the productivity and increase savings as well. The new standard operating procedures (SOP) must satisfy the following needs: TABLE I: Needs Tabulation Chart   Description of Needs       Importance Level   1 Eliminate as much waste as possible (time, space, production costs etc.)   5   2 Increase efficiency and productivity   5   3 Successful implementation plan     4   4 Avoid Spending of Capital       3   5 Ensure that quality does not diminish     3   Importance scale levels: 5 = highest; Lowest = 1 The elimination of waste is rated 5 because while gathering information for this project, one of the leading factors which influence productivity which is time, was the main target to try and reduce. Hence why waste elimination is rated 5 for it is top priority. Background (reporter): Studying Operations Management at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for two and a half years gave me the basic knowledge of how manufacturing firms work. I got to learn a lot about Lean Principles which in turn has helped me to gain a quick understanding when I started with my internship, even much easier to identify few aspects which I had come across while studying theory. Productivity has always been our main focus in class beginning from my first year however identifying ways of improving productivity at a real company especially the part of establishing a scenario was really challenging. In this project I have decided on using Layout strategies to solve the problem at hand. Within the layout strategies topic I have decided to follow deeply on the job assignment rule. To be more broad and supportive of my point I have decided to apply Lean principles as well since the company is operating on those principles as well. I was privileged to get an internship at a company that is filled with opportunities of growth in terms of knowledge. I got involved in an investigation that was conducted by a continuous improvement facilitator of which the main purpose for it was to try and get the company a certain amount of savings. The combination of these two projects is what resulted in the product of the one I am reporting on. In other words we merged ideas and came up with a solid solution. Though I am doing this report to fulfil my academic requirements, my desire is to see the idea portrayed in this report and changes that are suggested here being implemented to improve the Wgpack line so I can know that I had also taken part in a continuous improvement project. This continuous improvement project was a success as we have managed to come up with the desired end result which I strongly believe will satisfy both the management and the customers. Objectives: Applying layout strategies and scheduling needs to reach the following goals in order to be considered a success: 1. The first objective of this project is to increase productivity for the company. 2. Generate optimal savings. 3. Eliminate waste incurred during production. 4. Implement a job flow/job assignment method that will cut down overall product completion time. 5. Improve the current layout. 6. Reduce material handling costs by at least 10% to 30% or more. 7. Reduce the product’s selling price. Project Scope: The aim of this project is to find possible causes and solution(s) for the event of efficiency fluctuation within a particular factory at Indigo Brands specifically involving the gift sets packaging sector of production, by conducting a research based on the layout that is used for those packing sectors. The overall main aim of this project is to try and reduce the selling price of the products produced so as to satisfy the needs of customers while ensuring optimal savings for the company and generate savings for the company. The goal is to apply operations management key decisions and solve this productivity related issue at hand. I was unable to include exact pictures and quote the exact figures in my report because of rules and regulations that as an employee I have to adhere to and not disclose of sensitive information to external persons. I strongly believe that the idea that I have compiled in this report will be understood with the vision I have in mind so as to bring about an improvement within the GPacks facility for future purposes as in the following year there will also be a need to prepare some sets of GPacks for Valentine’s Day, Easter holiday etc. Also the idea that I have is to improve the current process without involving capital investment from the company but rather retaining more savings to the company through careful analysis of the current state. Section II Literature Review The purpose of this project is to find a suitable solution for a productivity related problem. The use of Layout strategies and assigning tasks to its respective operators to ensure the correct job flow which will produce optimal results (output) is explained in this project. This literature review consists of possible solutions that will help to bring up the productivity if they are implemented correctly. Many Lean Principles are known to be the catalyst of increasing efficiency (which will increase productivity) while not requiring the use of capital and that is the main desire of the management and objective of this project. However the main focus will be on finding a way to reduce costs of labour through the use of the current layout To substantiate the evidence provided in this report I have also conducted research on ways of reducing MUDA (a Japanese word meaning wastage). According to the Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th edition, 2003, Tokyo: Kenkyusha, p. 2530, many Lean practitioners have learned to see MUDA but they fail to see in the same prominence the variation of MURA ( unevenness) and MURI (overburden). Thus, while they focused on getting their process under control, they do not give enough time to process improvement by redesign. Section II of this report which is the literature review, begins with background information pertaining to Indigo Brands and the process they use to package their gift sets. There will also be a brief discussion on how the gift sets process was in the past. Background: Indigo Brands is one of the best cosmetic products manufacturers with a growing number of customers every day. The company has been experiencing a tremendous exponential growth since the year it was established. Indigo Brands consists of a day and night shift like many other production companies, to ensure continuous production of the products in demand. Based on the need of customers, the company is divided into different factories which have their own plan of a working week. Some work a full five days working week and some operate on a four days compressed working week, all depending on the need of the products being produced. The company is well structured, safety as a major priority to ensure a safe and favorable working environment. The employees have no choice but to give in their best in the different roles they play within the company because the company does all that is best to ensure employee empowerment and development not only that but also cater for safety and other needs of employees like transport provisions when coming to work for those who work night shift in one of the factories. There is a lot that one can learn from how Indigo Brands operate, one can actually understand that business does not only mean hiring people to work for you and then pay them at the end of the month but actually means that a relationship between an employer and employees is being established which explains why the company is growing tremendously, it is simply because of the relationship that is between these two parties. Current Machinery In the packaging section of the factory does not use much of machines. The only machines located within the particular area are: Conveyors Shrink wrappers Coding machines Mass fillers Box sealers [Conveyors] [Shrink wrapper] [Mass fillers] [Manual Box Sealer] used the WGpack However, the machines listed above do not apply to the Gpack facility except for the conveyor simply because this facility uses man power for almost all the operations being performed in that line which involves the assembling of the single components that form part of the gift packs. Therefore the entire gift pack assembling process is dependent on human effort. This makes these lines much more interesting to conduct an improvement project in. since the subject matter of this project is to solve a productivity related problem, looking at different factors that affect productivity was a wise route to take as a researcher so as to have enough information to substantiate the final results and suggestions at the end of the project. Looking closely at the current state of the lines being studies, one can observe that there are no machines used, so it is What to consider when looking at ways of productivity improvement, given the current state of the factory? Is the work center ergonomically structured? (Google more productivity improvement tools) Read about method studies Line balancing Why this question? Simply because, by definition of the study of ergonomics it is explained that an effective application of ergonomics in work system design can achieve a balance between worker characteristics and task demands. It is also said that this can improve operator productivity. Without having to prove this statement, one can imagine that when you are comfortable you become more productive in whatever you do and the focus does not shift much often compared to when one is uncomfortable. Also looking at this on a different perspective, I have viewed it on the angle of machines. When a facility is using machinery to do the packing, on a scheduled time basis there should be maintenance taking place so as to improve the functionality of the machines and ensure a smooth production process. Therefore there should also be provisions set aside to improve the state of work centers as an investment to increase of productivity and to avoid unforeseen issues. Recent studies in Layout strategies The objective of layout strategies is to develop a cost effective and efficient layout that will meet the firm’s needs. The considerations of layout designs are; improved employee morale, safer working conditions, flexibility, and higher utilization of space, equipment and people. There are seven types of layouts listed as: 1. Office layout 2. Retail layout 3. Warehouse layout 4. Fixed position layout 5. Product orientated layout 6. Process orientated layout 7. Work-cell layout Section III Solutions When one is assessing productivity related problem they require to apply critical thinking skills as such problems are very tricky to resolve because they involve different factors which contribute towards one major downfall. You need to ask questions like; what is the cause of that particular problem? Indigo Brands runs roughly between 1 to 5 Gpack lines on a daily basis, however this varies on the different seasonal productions of gift sets. In this section the current situation at the company is being reviewed. Also , by reviewing the situation, it does not mean that the line being studied is underperforming however, we are looking at how we can improve the current method or process in order to benefit both the worker and the company keeping in mind that according to the study of Ergonomics, when a worker is comfortable, he/she becomes productive. Firstly at the factory they are using a single row layout, which is a linear type of layout. The advantages of using this particular type of layout are tabulated in the table below: Advantages of a linear layout Disadvantages of a linear layout 1. The material flow are moving in the sequence of the operation of all the parts Each line is independent from other lines. 2. Low material handling costs and time Repositioning of operators for demand change often requires fractional numbers that must be rounded up, resulting in wait time or overproduction. 3. Minimal delays 4. The ability to use conveyors 5. Allows for better control of operations I was unable to take photos of the factory floor, however I have attached examples of factory layout that are similar to the layout at the respective company that is used within this report. [Work place] Above is an image of a slide which forms part of a PowerPoint presentation that I have prepared for this particular project. The slide shows the current layout of the factory floor by means of a precedence diagram. The letters A to C symbolizes the operations taking place at a particular work center. The precedence diagram also shows the times (duration) of a particular operation. From left to right is the start to the finish of a single gift set and is being assembled by a single operator (worker). At the top of each square is the time it takes (actual time) to assemble a single gift set. A, B and C are the different operations of assembling a single unit. This is the current layout that has to be improved in order to satisfy the primary objective of this project, which is to solve a productivity related problem. Approach: Firstly, the approach would be to identify the operations involved and do a process breakdown. The following is the current work instructions for the particular General packing line that the investigation is based on: Wgpack work instructions for Yardley Gorgeous F119808 (ref. Francis Edem, Continuous Improvement Facilitator; Indigo Brands 2015) Before commencing with the work, the packers who are packing up the set must wear gloves when handling the product carton. A. 1. Remove shrink wrap from PBS x2 2. Remove the subassembly cube from the outer carton 3. Wrap the 2x PBS into one sheet of tissue paper 4. Erect the product carton with self-erecting base 5. Fit the wrapped products into product carton 6. Close product carton 7. Apply seal to the lug B. 1. Apply the piggy back label to the carton 2. Apply the Xmas labels randomly on cases 3. Erect the outer case 4. Seal the base of carton 5. Pack units into the outer carton case and then seal it 6. Pack on pallet C. Production assistant. The total crew for this work is 11 people and that is inclusive of the PA (production assistant) whose duty is to pack the finished products on the pallets and removes them from the assembling site creating space for more products to be packed. ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT METHOD WITH THE AID OF WORK STUDY PRINCIPLES The current product assembling process consists of 13 operations and there currently are 11 operators working on the line performing those operations. The most attention drawing process is the making of the set as it takes longer than the other operations. The calculations will be illustrated below to show the practical situation. However before showing calculations one needs to understand the reason why the time study was carried out. Firstly in this project we are talking about productivity and the costs involved during the production process. We are focusing mainly on increasing productivity and cutting down the labour costs incurred during production. Therefore as it has been explained above, the type of layout that is currently used at the factory; now following that will be the time study of each operation to see how long it takes. It is not the original time study but a study of the duration of a particular operation. Currently one operator makes a single set all by herself: Operation Time it takes 1. Making the set 1.43 sec 2. Outer carton 0.0827 sec 3. Pack on pallet 0.048 sec Making set = it is done by 1 person Outer carton = 1 person (different person) Pack on pallet = 1 person (different person) With regards to improving productivity the following image shows how this section of the project will go about in trying to achieve the ultimate objective of carrying out the project [Figure 1] (Introduction of work study) While looking at productivity, generally there are many factors affecting the productivity of an organization and they differ in their nature and importance according to the type of the organization, needs of situation and the resources available. The most effective ways of improving productivity are automation and technological improvements however, these approaches require mostly capital investment which is not easily available in companies which are situated in countries that are still developing like South Africa. That is why it is wise to improve productivity through better utilization of existing resources. The aim of Work Study is to improve productivity through systematic analysis of the current operations, processes, work methods and resources with the view of increasing their efficiency. Work study leads to higher productivity with little capital or no capital at all. Method study, which is part of work study, is mostly concerned at how the work should be done. As it is stated how the work being studied is done through a work instruction, one can safely say that the method study, part 2 of the diagram has been satisfied. [See Figure 2] [Figure 2] Method study Method illustration With regards to the selected work center being studied which has approximately 13 operations; carrying on with the existing method having no improvements done could affect the following aspects of production: 1. The rate or pace at which the worker is working at 2. Quality of products produced (gift sets) due to reduced level of concentration as time goes during the day. (Repetitive operations can be strenuous). Examining findings for the current process: To work out the progress of the current method, an operations management tool has been used and that is Line balancing and Precedence diagram. What is Line Balancing and why the use of it? Line balancing refers to the leveling of workload across all operations in a line in order to remove all bottlenecks and excess capacity. (Prasanta Sarkar). It has been used in this particular project because initially the aim of it is to find a way to increase productivity and therefore knowing about line balancing that tasks are allocated to each worker through line balancing to improve efficiency and productivity, one can notice that it is an easy route to take in accomplishing the target. Precedence Diagram It is by rule that products should follow the rule of precedence in an assembly line. A product cannot go to another work station if it has not completed the process at the previous one. It has therefore been applied to show the flow of work, duration of work or of a particular task and the direction of work flow. [Example of a precedence diagram] Actual findings: LINE BALANCING TABLE BALANCED Make Set Outer Carton Balance 1.048 0.1087 No. of people 9 1 New standard time- 0.1087 New Standard Time =-sec (stopwatch was used) The calculation of standard time was done on a spreadsheet composed of macros on excel used at the continuous improvement department. The spread sheet allows you to reset and start the line balancing after one has collected the data (times during time study) and inserted it on to the sheet for calculation. The spread sheet that is being used for calculations looks exactly like the one on the image above. The actual results that were observed are as follows: (Ref. S Mlotha, PowerPoint presentation slide 9, 2015) (Ref. S Mlotha, PowerPoint presentation slide 10, 2015) Analysis: The observations shows that, currently the factory has a number of 11 workers; working at the Wgpack (general packing) lines. The target units per hour at a 100% performance is 515.27 units however to be realistic we are using the 75% performance which allows for breaks taken in between during production. The target for that 75% is 386, 45 units. The labour cost we are looking at is currently R1.11 for the 75% performance. All this is subject to change, should the proposed method be implemented and thus productivity will be increased. Results for the proposed method It is the company’s culture to continuously improve and initiate improvement based projects and the management is always open to ideas brought up by the employees, whether it is the factory workers or the administration staff members. The following image represents the proposed method for satisfying the objective of this project. Precedence diagram showing the proposed process flow, task allocation and their duration. (Ref. S Mlotha, PowerPoint presentation slide 8, 2015) The precedence of tasks can be improved, instead of having each of the 9 packers each assembling their own unit, rather have a certain number fitting the products then pass on through the conveyor to others who will be labeling then after it will be fitting into the outer carton and lastly the packing on the pallet. How can this method improve productivity? Proposed method – Line Balancing FIT PRODUCTS LABEL OUTER CARTON Balance 0.2908 0.253 0.1087 No. of people 5 4 2 New standard time 0.05816 0.06325 0.05435 Recovery Rate … Total Crew 12 Balanced Standard Time 0.05816 0.06325 0.05435 The proposed method shows that if the operations are split into three instead of how they were before , then the tasks can be assigned accordingly, having an overall number of operators of 12 allocated to the three different operations. By doing this, the balanced standard time will be decreased. However, this can only be achieved if a new operator is added on the line, making it 12 workers instead of 11 workers. (Ref. S Mlotha, PowerPoint presentation slide 12, 2015) The standard hours will be decreased because the work will be carried out much faster because of the extra effort of 1 person that will be added, targeted units will be increased as well which means productivity will be increased . This final image shows the gains that will be achieved if the company would accept the proposed method: (Ref. S Mlotha, PowerPoint presentation slide 13, 2015) As stated on the above table that the proposed method will increase the output by 46% and decrease labour costs by 41%, meaning that the ultimate goal will be achieved and the needs will be satisfied. Forecasted Target: Initially the plan is to finish at least 4698 units with the current layout and allocated workers however, the actual attainable units with the allocated time is 3852.36 units. This project suggests that if a new worker is added to the line then this target will be brought down to 2302.02 units with the amount of time allocated for this particular job. Conclusion Based on the investigation that I have carried out with the help from the qualified industrial engineer who is working as a continuous improvement facilitator at the company mentioned in this project, I can finally conclude and say that the best layout for the general packing lines for the future which is 2016 will be the suggested layout. The method is safe to use because it has been investigated while the line was running it is not based on assumptions or educated guessing. Main points: Productivity will be increased by 46% = project objective fulfilled. Labour costs will be decreased by 41% = Company desire of optimal savings fulfilled. . Action plan on approval: First initiative to take would be to update the responsibility chart so that each operator will be aware of the duties that they are assigned to do and to prevent confusion. Add one more person to balance the number of workers at the General packing lines. Have the scheduler to do the process breakdown so that he/she can see clearly which operations are involved and where to assign the different operators. And lastly will be to re-assign the tasks to operators according to the proposed line balancing and layout of the new method. Implement the method Then monitor the success of the newly implemented method. References M Dlamini, Continuous improvement facilitator, Indigo Brands www.indigobrands.com F Edem, Continuous improvement facilitator, Indigo Brands Introduction to work study