{{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 Operations management is concerned with designing and controlling the production (economics), production of good (economics), goods and service (economics), services, ensuring that businesses are efficiency, efficient in using resources to meet ...

and

industrial engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

with

assembly lines An assembly line, often called ''progressive assembly'', is a manufacturing process where the unfinished product moves in a direct line from workstation to workstation, with parts added in sequence until the final product is completed. By mechan ...

. Dimensioning this system is very simple: considering CP as

productive capacity Productive capacity is the maximum possible output (economics), 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 pr ...

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 An assembly line, often called ''progressive assembly'', is a manufacturing process where the unfinished product moves in a direct line from workstation to workstation, with parts added in sequence until the final product is completed. By mechan ...

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, organisations, and nations are endowed with or acquire specialised capabilities, a ...

being carried to its extreme.

External links

Boeing being assembled
Industrial processes

Advantages

Disadvantages

See also

Further reading

External links