Measurement of Line Balance at PT. Krismasindo Printing Using the RPW Method to Improve Work Efficiency

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FORMOSA NEWS - Surakarta - Optimizing Production Line Balance Successfully Increased Banner Printing Efficiency by 9 Percent. Research conducted by Tatang Andi Nugroho, Indah Wahyu Utami, and Ringgo Ismoyo Buwono from Duta Bangsa University in Surakarta, in a research article published in the Formosa Journal of Sustainable Research (FJSR), Vol. 5, No. 7, 2026, highlights that manufacturing efficiency at the medium-scale level can be significantly improved without requiring large capital investments in new machinery.

Background and Industrial Context

The commercial advertising sector experiences consistent demand for promotional materials, particularly cost-effective sponsorship banners. Screen-printing manufacturers operating under make-to-order models face strict production timelines to deliver high-volume orders. When individual assembly stations take disproportionately longer than others, entire lines experience severe bottlenecks, worker idle time, and severe delivery backlogs. At PT. Krismasindo Printing, located in Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java, manufacturing records revealed persistent monthly output deficits. For example, the facility recorded significant production shortages reaching 3,020 units in January 2026 and 2,476 units in April 2026. Industrial management required a systematic reorganization to balance work tasks without inflating labor expenses.

Methodology
The research team analyzed the manual sponsorship banner manufacturing line, which encompasses twelve primary tasks ranging from order receipt and material preparation to ink mixing, screen printing, drying, and final packaging. To evaluate performance, the investigators applied a two-stage analytical strategy:

• Stopwatch Time Study: Researchers conducted ten repeated direct time observations across all twelve work elements. Data underwent statistical uniformity and sufficiency verification to derive accurate standard completion times for each step.
  
• Ranked Positional Weight (RPW) Method: Using standard times and operational task dependencies, the researchers constructed precedence diagrams to calculate positional task weights. Tasks were reallocated into reorganized workstations based on their cumulative positional weights while respecting strict cycle-time limits.
  

Key Findings
The stopwatch analysis identified the primary source of manufacturing congestion: the manual screen-printing task required a standard execution time of 1,793.8 seconds, acting as the primary bottleneck in the facility. Key results from the RPW implementation include:

• Consolidated operations reduced the necessary active physical workstations from eight down to seven.
  
• Production line efficiency increased by 9.00 percentage points, rising from 63.03% to 72.03%.
  
• Line balance delay decreased proportionately by 9.00%, dropping from 36.97% to 27.97%, directly reducing unpaid idle time across workstations.
  
• The smoothness index dropped significantly from 2,955.70 to 1,853.60, confirming a far more equal workload distribution among station workers.
  

Real-World Impact and Applications
This study demonstrates that small-to-medium manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) can unlock hidden operational capacity without heavy investment in automated hardware. By applying mathematical task-balancing heuristics, print service providers, textile manufacturers, and manual assembly plants can systematically eliminate operational bottlenecks, lower labor costs associated with idle periods, and reliably meet consumer order schedules.

Author Profiles
Tatang Andi Nugroho, S.T.: Lead researcher and industrial engineer affiliated with the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at Universitas Duta Bangsa Surakarta, specializing in manufacturing efficiency, time studies, and production system optimization.
Indah Wahyu Utami, M.T.: Co-author and academic researcher at Universitas Duta Bangsa Surakarta, focusing on industrial engineering methodologies and line balancing frameworks.
Ringgo Ismoyo Buwono, M.T.: Co-author and industrial engineering lecturer at Universitas Duta Bangsa Surakarta, specializing in operational management and heuristic optimization models.

Source
Tatang Andi Nugroho, Indah Wahyu Utami, Ringgo Ismoyo Buwono. Measurement of Line Balance at PT. Krismasindo Printing Using the RPW Method to Improve Work Efficiency. Formosa Journal of Sustainable Research (FJSR). Vol. 5, No. 7, hlm. 481-488
DOI : https://doi.org/10.55927/fjsr.v5i7.49
URL: https://journalfjsr.my.id/index.php/fjsr