If a product is composed of many components, then it typically needs to be assembled before it is distributed to market. In recent years many companies have adopted a manufacturing strategy that has seen an increase in components being subcontracted with the company concentrating on its core component manufacture and product assembly. This has resulted in the majority of components being bought in via the supply chain and has made assembly the dominant form of manufacture for such companies. Typically assembly is carried out on either a cell or an assembly line basis. Traditional assembly lines are highly efficient when working but tend to be either fully on, or fully off; thus they lack volume flexibility. This paper discusses the design of a flexible assembly line in which both the fitter and the work move along the line together. The "Walking Fitter" assembly line is a simple concept that is rarely used despite having many advantages. Research by the authors has shown that such lines have high efficiency over a wide range of outputs that, the actual efficiency is related to the walking time, the line is highly tolerant of work time variations and if the line is designed correctly the output per fitter can be superior to a comparable "Fixed Fitter" line. The paper concentrates on the implementation of such a line at Colston Engineering Ltd and the problems and benefits that have resulted.
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