Manual assembly processes are favoured for supporting low volume production systems, high product variety, assembly operations that are difficult to automate and manufacturing in low-wage countries. However, manual operations can dramatically impact assembly cycle times, quality and cost when the complexity of the manual operation increases. This paper proposes a method for assessing the process complexity of manual assembly operations, using a representation of manual operations based on predetermined motion time systems. The purpose of this framework is to provide a tool that can be used practically to assess, and therefore control, the complexity of manual operations during their design.
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