Teaching Production Line Balancing with an Interactive, Simulation-Based Training System

摘要

From 1980 to 1992 textile and apparel imports to the U.S. increased more than 250 %. Foreign manufacturers have labor rates that are fractions of the U.S. standards and government statistics showed a trade deficit of almost $31 billion for 1992. As a result, approximately 420,000 American jobs have been lost representing about 20% of the labor force in the fiber/textile/apparel chain. Industry leaders and small businessmen alike recognize that this industry is in trouble and agree that the remaining U.S. advantage is proximity to the consumer. In order to capitalize on this advantage, it is imperative for the industry to attack the excessive time in inventory (83 %) in the 66 week pipeline from fiber to retail. In the apparel "cut and sew" sector of the chain, old batch manufacturing processes characterized by high work-in-process (WIP) and piece rate pay, ("Progressive Bundle Systems"), are being replaced with low inventory cellular manufacturing and "Team Sewing" group incentives. To be successful in this dramatic cultural change, a manufacturer must invest and commit to tremendous educational efforts: fostering trust and team-building, training cross-functional sewing machine operators, and most critically, developing line balancing skill in production supervisors and operators who perhaps have never had to consider such decisions before.