Fixed position assembly
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{{unreferenced, date=May 2013 Fixed position assembly refers to an assembly system or situation in which the product does not move while being assembled, this configuration is usually contrasted in operations management and industrial engineering with
assembly lines An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in sequ ...
. Dimensioning this system is very simple: considering CP as
productive capacity Productive capacity is the maximum possible output of an economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), no agreed-upon definition of maximum output exists. UNCTAD itself proposes: "the productive ''resources'' ...
and T as average assembly time, then N, number of working stations, is given by N=CP*T.


Advantages

*high system flexibility: both in introducing new products and attaining product customization *high variability in operations naturally lends itself to introducing
job enlargement Job enlargement means increasing the scope of a job through extending the range of its job duties and responsibilities generally within the same level and periphery. Job enlargement involves combining various activities at the same level in the ...
(to the benefit of the worker) *low investment: only "capital" needed are generic worker tools.


Disadvantages

*High work in progress *Significant space occupancy *Higher labor costs: workers need to know how to perform all operations of the technological cycle and therefore skilled labor needs to be employed (this is in sharp contrast to the assembly line in which a worker needs almost no training thanks to
division of labour The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise (specialisation). Individuals, organizations, and nations are endowed with, or acquire specialised capabilities, and ...
being carried to its extreme.


See also

* Production systems


Further reading

*A. Portioli, A. Pozzetti, Progettazione dei sistemi produttivi, Hoepli 2003


External links


Boeing being assembled
Industrial processes