Study of a method-time measurement system in an 
                              electronics assembly line 
                                            
                                    Pedro Tavares Pinhão 
                                            
                                    Masters dissertation 
                             Supervisor at FEUP: Prof. Paulo Osswald 
                                            
                                            
                                                          
                                            
                        Master in Industrial Engineering and Management 
                                            
                                        2015-07-01 
                                            
                                            
                                                                           
                           Study of a method-time measurement system in an electronics assembly line 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
                    “Never (…) was so much owed by so many to so few”- Winston Churchill 
                                                              
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             Study of a method-time measurement system in an electronics 
             assembly line 
               
              
             With the globalization of markets and an increasingly competitive environment of the industrial 
             electronics sector, there is a need to the optimize processes, the development of new solutions 
             and standards. 
             Bosch, like the rest of the industrial sector, aims for continuous improvement, and the Bosch 
             Ovar Plant has as a target, until the end of the year, the implementation of a predetermined 
             method-time  system.  This  system  allows  an  accurate  time  prediction  of  the  work  cells 
             processes,  when  planning  production  and  the  optimization  of  work  cells  following  the 
             principals  of  motion  economy.  Even  though  the  link  between  the  use  of  a  method-time 
             measurement system and company performance is hard to measure, the capacity to “predict” 
             time of products can result in economical and time savings. 
             During the project, various work cells in the Bosch Ovar plant were studied: its methods and 
             processes (from regular assemblies to welding) and their corresponding time; and both test if 
             the use of a method-time system was possible, and in that case, which of the systems would be 
             more appropriate (MTM.1; MTM-UAS; MTM-MEK).  
             It was possible to conclude that the use of MTM-UAS system was preferred over the use of 
             MTM-1, based on the simplicity, accuracy of times in batch production and the processes 
             present at Bosch Ovar Plant. However, in some work cells, the use of a MTM system was not 
             possible, mainly due to processes complexity or mechanization of the movements within the 
             work cells. 
              
                                   
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