LineBalance is a browser-based tool for visually balancing production lines with Yamazumi charts. No additional software needs to be installed.
The tool is continually developed and expanded with new features. We welcome user feedback: comments, problem reports and suggestions help guide its further development.
LineBalance lets you assign activities to stations, assess each station's workload against takt time and see the result on a chart. You enter activity times and categories; the tool totals the time per station.
What is LineBalance?
LineBalance combines an activity table with a Yamazumi chart. Each activity belongs to a station and has a duration, category and type. Changes to the project appear on the chart immediately.
The tool helps answer questions such as:
- Which stations are overloaded, and which have spare capacity?
- How much time is spent on activities classified as waste?
- Can station workloads meet the specified takt time?
- How does the workload change when an activity is moved?
- What happens when line availability, expressed as OEE, is taken into account?
How do I start an analysis?
You can create a project or explore publicly shared examples. Public projects can be viewed without signing in. After signing in, you can copy a public project to your own account and edit a private copy; the original remains unchanged.
For each activity, specify:
- the station,
- the activity name,
- the category,
- the type, such as assembly, transport or waiting,
- the duration.
Activities can be changed in the table or directly on the chart. Drag and drop an activity to move it between stations. The chart updates as changes are made.
The Yamazumi chart
Each station appears as a bar made up of segments representing its activities. A segment's colour reflects its category. This makes it easier to compare workloads and see where value-adding work and waste occur.
The chart shows a takt-time reference line. If OEE is provided, it also shows a target cycle-time line (Target C/T), calculated as Takt Time × OEE. These lines help identify stations that exceed the available time and those with spare capacity.
Activity categories and types
Activities fall into three basic categories:
- VA (Value-Adding) — activities that add value,
- NVA (Non-Value-Adding) — activities classified as waste,
- NNVA (Necessary Non-Value-Adding) — activities currently necessary but not value-adding.
LineBalance also distinguishes quality control and containment. Showing these categories separately draws attention to measures introduced to protect the customer. They are important improvement opportunities: once the root cause has been removed, teams can assess which checks and safeguards can be reduced or eliminated. They should remain in place while needed to assure quality.
Each activity can also be assigned a type. The predefined set includes common assembly, transport and inspection activities.
Projects and collaboration
Projects may remain private or be shared publicly. Anyone can open and inspect a public project without signing in. Signed-in users can copy it to their own account and develop a separate, private version.
Creating a project and saving changes requires an account. Sign-in uses a one-time code sent by email, so there is no password to remember. The interface is available in Polish and English.
Planned optimisation features
We plan to add features that automatically propose ways to distribute activities among stations. The aim is to produce a more evenly balanced workload than the starting arrangement while considering the specified takt time.
Users will be able to compare proposed scenarios with the current arrangement and decide which changes are feasible in the real process. These features are planned; for now, scenarios are created manually, for example by moving activities on the chart.
Who is LineBalance for?
The tool can help:
- process engineers and technologists,
- Lean and Six Sigma specialists,
- production-line leaders,
- teams balancing lines or reorganising stations,
- students and participants in Lean Manufacturing training.
LineBalance supports day-to-day line balancing as well as comparisons of work organisation before and after a change.