Production worked example
Line Balance with station 1 time of 21 sec: a worked example in production
This worked example runs the line balance numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: station 1 time of 21 sec instead of the typical 42 sec. Measure station balance, bottleneck time, balance efficiency, and idle time across a line.
The inputs for this scenario
- Station 1 time: 21 sec (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 42)
- Station 2 time: 55 sec (held at the documented default)
- Station 3 time: 48 sec (held at the documented default)
- Station 4 time: 39 sec (held at the documented default)
- Target takt: 60 sec / unit (held at the documented default)
Working through the calculation
- The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Bottleneck time = longest station time.
- Balance efficiency works out to 74.09 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
- Bottleneck time works out to 55 sec at these inputs.
- Idle time per cycle works out to 57 sec at these inputs.
- Takt gap works out to 5 sec at these inputs.
How this compares with the baseline
- Against the tool's baseline example, where station 1 time sits at 42 sec and the headline result is 83.64 %, this scenario comes in 11.41% below the baseline at 74.09 %.
- Use it when commissioning a line, after a process change shifts station times, or when chasing a throughput shortfall to decide whether to rebalance work or add capacity. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.
Results at a glance
- Balance efficiency: 74.09 % (headline result)
- Bottleneck time: 55 sec
- Idle time per cycle: 57 sec
- Takt gap: 5 sec
Run it with your numbers
- To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Line Balance calculator, set station 1 time to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.