Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Workload Balance

Overview

Workload Balance analysis can be used to compare the cycle time for each step in the process with the TAKT time. If the cycle time is greater than the TAKT time, then the process is not capable of meeting customer needs.

To add this tool your workbook, click on Lean and then select Workload Balance.

Inputs

Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
inputs
1
Analysis Type: Specify the tool format for this analysis. This selection is not enabled since there is only one format available.
2
Num Steps: Specify the number of steps in your process. This information is used to reformat your worksheet and create a table for data entry. Note that any data below this table will be cleared.
3
Completion Time: Enter the TAKT time. The TAKT time worksheet can be used to calculate the TAKT time. The TAKT time is the time available to complete all the process steps defined for this study.
4
Time Units: Enter the TAKT time units. Make sure to select the right units for this time which makes sense for your process.
5
View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
6
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file on this topic.
7
Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
8
OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.
On the worksheet, enter the details of your process.
  • Enter the person who is working on the process step
  • Enter the step number of the process (example, 10, 20, 30, etc.)
  • Enter a description of the process
  • Enter the cycle time for each step in the process for each product. Use the same units as the one used to specify the TAKT time

Charts

If you click on the Charts button, you will see the following dialog box. Charts
1
Title: The system will automatically pick a title for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own title you can specify a title for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
2
Sub Title: The system will automatically pick a subtitle for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own subtitle you can specify a subtitle for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
3
X Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the x-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
4
Y Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the y-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
5
X Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the x-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum x-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum x-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the x-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is currently disabled and you will not be able to change this setting.
6
Y Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the y-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum y-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum y-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the y-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is optional.
7
Horizontal Lines: If you want to add a few extra horizontal reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 12;15 then two horizontal lines are plotted at Y = 12 and Y = 15 respectively. Note that this input is optional.
8
Vertical Lines: If you want to add a few extra vertical reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 2;5 then two vertical lines are plotted at X = 2 and X = 5 respectively. Note that this input is optional.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output calculations. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. outputs You can look at the chart to get an idea of whether your cycle time for each step in the process is greater than or less than the TAKT time. If the cycle time for any step is greater than the TAKT time, then you may need to try to reduce this time to meet the TAKT time. The algorithm also checks if each of the cycle times is within +/- 10% of each other. If they are, then the process is termed as "Balanced", otherwise, it is termed as "Unbalanced".

Notes

Here are a few notes regarding this analysis:
  • Currently, the workload balance is only done by person.
  • Workload balance calculations are based on +/- 10% variation. If the variation is larger than the output will indicate that it is not balanced.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder within the software.
  • Create a workload balance chart for the data given in the reference file (Workload Balance 1.xlsm)