Packaging Automation & End-of-Line Systems worked example
Packaging Line Balance with station rate of 140 cases / min: a worked example
Push station rate up to 140 cases / min and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when you suspect one station is pacing the whole packaging line and you want to put a balance ratio on it.
The inputs for this scenario
- Station rate: 140 cases / min (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 55)
- Line target rate: 60 cases / min (unchanged)
- Unit conversion factor: 1 x (unchanged)
Working through the calculation
- Applying the documented formula (Line balance ratio = station rate รท line target rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
- At this operating point the engine returns 2.33 x for line balance ratio, the number this scenario is built around.
- At this operating point the engine returns 2.33 value for station to target ratio.
- At this operating point the engine returns 1 x for unit conversion factor.
- At this operating point the engine returns 60 value for line target rate.
How this compares with the baseline
- Against the tool's baseline example, where station rate sits at 55 cases / min and the headline result is 0.92 x, this scenario comes in 155% above the baseline at 2.33 x.
- It divides a station's rate by the line target rate and applies a unit conversion factor to report a balance ratio. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.
Results at a glance
- Line balance ratio: 2.33 x (headline result)
- Station to target ratio: 2.33 value
- Unit conversion factor: 1 x
- Line target rate: 60 value
Run it with your numbers
- Every input above is editable in the live Packaging Line Balance calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.