WEMax

- Work in 2013 -
The WEMax proposes a framework for the continuous performance improvement of manufacturing lines. The WEMax framework consists of two main activities: 1) assembly work process improvement, including time and motion study, and 2) improvement of line balance efficiency. Although there have been numerous studies on this topic, most of them deal with partial issues rather than the continuous performance improvement of the whole assembly line, which this paper addresses. To develop the framework, WEMax categorized a manned assembly line into five analysis levels (workstation, worker, operation cycle, work element, and unit motion), and identified user requirements on each level. Among these five, the workstation level supports line balancing, while the other four (worker, operation cycle, work element, and unit motion) address work process improvement. The WEMax framework has been implemented and tested with various examples from Korean assembly-line-based manufacturers.