Lean Manufacturing & Operations worked example

Line Balance Efficiency with total work content of 130 sec: a worked example

This worked example runs the line balance efficiency numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: total work content of 130 sec instead of the typical 250 sec. Calculate line balance efficiency by comparing total work content to the product of the number of stations and the longest station cycle time.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Total work content (sum of all station times): 130 sec (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 250)
  • Number of workstations: 5 stations (held at the documented default)
  • Bottleneck station cycle time: 55 sec (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Line Balance Efficiency = Total Work Content / (Stations x Bottleneck Time) x 100.
  • Line balance efficiency (%) works out to 1,430 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Raw ratio works out to 26 value at these inputs.
  • Conversion factor works out to 55 x at these inputs.
  • Stations x Bottleneck time works out to 5 value at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where total work content sits at 250 sec and the headline result is 2,750 %, this scenario comes in 48% below the baseline at 1,430 %.
  • Use it after a time study, when designing a new line or rebalancing an existing one to hit takt. 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

  • Line balance efficiency (%): 1,430 % (headline result)
  • Raw ratio: 26 value
  • Conversion factor: 55 x
  • Stations x Bottleneck time: 5 value

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Line Balance Efficiency calculator, set total work content to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.