Line balancing calculator

Add up the work time at every station to get the total work content, then divide it by the number of stations times the cycle time. For example, 270 seconds of work over 6 stations at a 60 second cycle is 270 / 360 = 75% efficient.

Balance delay is the share of station time lost to waiting because the work is not spread evenly. It is 1 minus line efficiency, or total idle time divided by the number of stations times the cycle time. A line at 75% efficiency has a balance delay of 25%.

Divide the total work content by takt time and round up to the next whole number. With 270 seconds of work and a 60 second takt, 270 / 60 = 4.5, so the line needs at least 5 stations. Reaching that minimum depends on whether the tasks can actually be split and moved between stations.

Use the pace the line really runs at. When every station is within takt, the line is paced to takt, so efficiency is measured against takt. When a station is slower than takt, that station sets the pace, so efficiency is measured against its time and the line will not meet demand until it is fixed. This calculator applies that rule automatically.

A Yamazumi chart is a stacked bar chart of the work content at each station, drawn against a line for takt time. It shows at a glance which stations are overloaded or underused, and it is the usual tool for seeing and redistributing work when balancing a line.

In theory, yes: efficiency is 100% when every station's work time equals the cycle time. In practice, tasks cannot always be split, some must happen in a set order, and operators vary, so most lines keep some idle time.