Line design device and line design method

Abstract

To provide a technique that enables the invention of a production line that can easily realize the production line that balances sustainability and productivity.SOLUTION: A line design device comprises: a storage unit that stores production quantity information including information about the timing to produce products and quantity of the products, production equipment information about a production line for existing products in the products, production process information about the existing products and production process information about new products; a difference task specification unit that specifies difference tasks being tasks of producing components with a difference between the existing products and the new products by using the production process information about the existing products and the production process information about the new products; a task allocation candidate generation unit that generates task allocation candidates to the production equipment for the difference tasks; and a new line proposal selection unit that uses the task allocation candidates to select a new line proposal that optimizes a prescribed production KPI (Key Performance Index) at the timing of production and in the quantity of the production.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a line design device and a line design method. [Background technology]

[0002] The introduction of a production line that constitutes the manufacturing process of a product involves phases such as inquiries, design, hardware production, software creation, installation testing, and delivery. Among these, in the design phase, productivity design (identification of process types and processes to be handed over to external organizations), line configuration (identification and allocation of production resources), and basic production plans (specific operations taking into account operating hours) must be finalized.

[0003] In recent years, companies have been placing emphasis on sustainability, and there is a demand for both improved sustainability and improved productivity in the configuration and implementation of manufacturing processes. Therefore, in the design phase of a new product, it is desirable to maximize the reuse of production resources from existing products in order to improve sustainability. On the other hand, if a new product has a process for manufacturing and assembling parts that are different from those in existing products, there are some parts that require the introduction of new equipment, and the tact balance for each process that was achieved on the existing production line will be disrupted by the introduction of new equipment, increasing the risk of a deterioration in throughput.

[0004] Patent document 1 describes a process design support device that includes: "an input unit that accepts input from a process designer; part configuration information that indicates the part configuration of a product, process information that indicates the process for manufacturing the product, shape information that indicates the shapes of the product's parts, and a processing unit that generates process design information in which processes are assigned in shape units to the part configuration of a process design target product, which is the product that is the subject of process design, based on the information input to the input unit; and an output unit that outputs the process design information."

[0005] In Patent Document 1, processes are assigned in shape units to the component configuration of the product that is the subject of process design, but specific production equipment is not assigned and an optimal new production line plan is not presented. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-134612 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a production line devising technique that can easily realize a production line that takes into consideration both sustainability and productivity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present application includes a plurality of means for solving at least part of the above-mentioned problems, examples of which are as follows: A line design device according to one aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized by comprising: a storage unit that stores production volume information including information on the timing and amount of a product to be produced, production equipment information of a production line of an existing product among the products, production process information of the existing product and production process information of a new product, a differential work identification unit that uses the production process information of the existing product and the production process information of the new product to identify a differential work that is a work for producing a part that is different between the existing product and the new product, a work allocation candidate generation unit that generates work allocation candidates to production equipment for the differential work, and a new line plan selection unit that uses the work allocation candidates to select a new line plan that optimizes a predetermined production KPI (Key Performance Index) in the timing and amount to be produced. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology that makes it possible to devise a production line that can easily realize a production line that takes into consideration both sustainability and productivity. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the configuration of a line design device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of a line design process. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a line design result (list of work assignment plans) screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a line design result screen. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a control sequence. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of production volume information. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of existing product production process information. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of work allocation information. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a line design device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The examples are illustrative for explaining the present invention, and are omitted and simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

[0012] In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

[0013] As examples of various information, the various information may be described using expressions such as "table", "list", and "queue", but the various information may be expressed using data structures other than these. For example, various information such as "XX table", "XX list", and "XX queue" may be expressed as "XX information". When describing identification information, expressions such as "identification information", "identifier", "name", "ID", and "number" are used, but these are mutually interchangeable. Furthermore, in the embodiments, the identification information described using these expressions is represented using symbols, numbers, natural language, or a combination thereof, but the identification information may be in a form other than these.

[0014] When there are multiple components having the same or similar functions, they may be described by using the same reference numerals with different subscripts, or when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted.

[0015] In the embodiments, a process performed by executing a program may be described. Here, a computer executes the program using a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU), and performs the process defined by the program while using a storage resource (e.g., memory) and an interface device (e.g., communication port), etc. Therefore, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a calculation unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs specific processing. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), etc.

[0016] The program may be installed in the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and a storage resource that stores the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. In addition, in the embodiment, two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0017] Furthermore, although the present invention is typically realized by an information processing device, it may also be realized as a platform having the functions of the present invention.

[0018] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a line design device. The line design device 100 is provided at a manufacturing site (area) or a facility outside the manufacturing site. The line design device 100 is capable of communicating with an external device 200 that can be treated as a device group according to the usage environment, such as a display computer, connected in a communicable manner via a network N.

[0019] The network N is, for example, any one of a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a communication network using a general public line such as the Internet in part or in whole, a mobile phone communication network, etc., or a combination of these. The network N may be a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or 5G (Generation).

[0020] For example, the line design device 100 is an information processing device including a storage unit 110, a processing unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150.

[0021] The line design device 100 mainly uses design information such as production volume and production process to design a new production line by allocating existing or new production equipment to the production process for parts that differ between the existing product and the new product. In this case, the line design device 100 reallocates the production equipment of the existing line to adjust the takt time (critical path) with production throughput as the production KPI. In other words, a production line can be designed that achieves both sustainability and improved productivity. Note that the production KPI is not limited to production throughput, and may include any one or a combination of equipment cost, labor hours for changing the control program, and labor hours for starting up the equipment.

[0022] The input unit 130 is, for example, displayed and operated on a screen, and receives input information input by operating a keyboard or a mouse. The output unit 140 is a type of processing unit that performs presentation processing on the information to be displayed on the output screen, outputs the information to the screen, and also performs screen control for operational inputs on the screen, such as scrolling, sorting, highlighting, etc.

[0023] The communication unit 150 communicates with a group of devices, such as a display computer, connected via the network N so as to be capable of communicating with each other, according to the usage environment.

[0024] The storage unit 110 includes new product production process information 111, production quantity information 112, existing product production process information 113, work allocation information 114, control sequence information 115, motion plan information 116, production equipment information 117, and new purchase equipment candidate information 118. The new product production process information 111 is information on a process for producing a new product. The new product production process information 111 has the same data structure as the existing product production process information 113 described later.

[0025] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of production volume information. The production volume information 112 includes information on the time and amount of a product to be produced. In the production volume information 112, a monthly production volume 112b is associated with each product ID 112a that identifies a product.

[0026] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of existing product production process information. Existing product production process information 113 includes a product ID 113a, a part ID 113b, a process ID 113c, and a process type 113d. The product ID 113a is information that identifies a product. The part ID 113b is information that identifies a part that constitutes the product. The process ID 113c is information that identifies a processing process for the part. The process type 113d is information that identifies the type of work (cutting, forging, welding, assembly, etc.) adopted (assigned) to the process identified by the process ID 113c.

[0027] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of task allocation information. Task allocation information 114 includes a product ID 114a, a part ID 114b, a process ID 114c, and a resource ID 114d. The product ID 114a is information that identifies a product. The part ID 114b is information that identifies a part that constitutes the product. The process ID 114c is information that identifies a processing process for the part. The resource ID 114d is information that identifies a production resource (production equipment) that is responsible for the work performed in the process identified by the process ID 114c.

[0028] The control sequence information 115 is information that specifies the timing and operation sequence of parts transfer between production equipment that involves automatic operations such as robot hands, and auxiliary equipment such as conveyors and AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles). The control sequence information 115 is generated by creating a ladder program or the like in the process of designing detailed operation plans for the work assigned to the equipment (micro process design).

[0029] The motion plan information 116 is three-dimensional motion trajectory information that specifies the motion of a robot hand in production equipment that involves automatic motion of the robot hand, etc. The motion plan information 116 is generated by robot motion planning, etc., in a process (micro process design) that designs a detailed motion plan for work assigned to the equipment.

[0030] The production equipment information 117 is information on the type, number, arrangement, etc. of the production equipment that constitutes the production line used in manufacturing the product.

[0031] The new purchase equipment candidate information 118 is a list of candidates for new equipment to be introduced among the production equipment that constitutes the production line used to manufacture the product. The new purchase equipment candidate information 118 includes at least work information (available processes) and price information for each production equipment.

[0032] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 1, the processing unit 120 includes a differential task identification unit 121, a task allocation candidate generation unit 122, a control sequence calculation unit 123, a motion plan calculation unit 124, a control sequence correction unit 125, a task reallocation unit 126, a new line plan selection unit 127, and a new line plan presentation unit 128.

[0033] The differential work identification unit 121 uses production process information of an existing product (a product for which a production line has already been determined) and production process information of a new product (a product for which a production line has not yet been determined) to identify differential work, which is work to produce parts that differ between the existing product and the new product.

[0034] The task allocation candidate generating unit 122 generates task allocation candidates by allocating production equipment to the differential tasks identified by the differential task identifying unit 121.

[0035] The control sequence calculation unit 123 calculates a control sequence for each task assignment candidate and creates a ladder program. The control sequence calculation unit 123 stores the calculated control sequence and ladder program in the control sequence information 115.

[0036] The motion plan calculation unit 124 performs robot motion planning for each task assignment candidate and creates motion plan information. The calculated motion plan information is stored in the motion plan information 116 by the motion plan calculation unit 124.

[0037] The control sequence correction unit 125 corrects the control sequence of the production line of the existing product so as not to worsen the tact balance when adding the control sequence of the manufacturing work of the different parts to the control sequence of the production line of the existing product. Specifically, the control sequence correction unit 125 adds and changes the work sequence of the production line of the existing product, and calculates the newly required control program correction man-hours and equipment start-up man-hours.

[0038] The task reallocation unit 126 changes the production equipment and reallocates tasks for the control sequence of the production line of the new product in a state where the control sequence of the manufacturing task of the different parts is added to the control sequence of the production line of the existing product. For example, the task reallocation unit 126 performs a heuristic search to eliminate bottlenecks for each new production line plan, allocates different production equipment, and changes the task allocation plan, reconfigures the control sequence and motion plan, and calculates the production KPI.

[0039] The new line plan selection unit 127 uses information on the work allocation candidates to select a new line plan that optimizes a predetermined production KPI for the production timing and amount (for example, becomes a Pareto optimal solution). The new line plan selection unit 127 uses any one or a combination of the following as the production KPI: production throughput, equipment cost, labor hours for changing a control program, and labor hours for setting up equipment.

[0040] Furthermore, the new line plan selection unit 127 calculates the adjustment man-hours of the production equipment, the control program preparation man-hours of the production equipment, and the adjustment man-hours for stabilizing the yield when the production equipment performs the work as the equipment start-up man-hours. Note that, for the adjustment man-hours for stabilizing the yield, the new line plan selection unit 127 uses the actual value of the adjustment man-hours when the production line of the existing product was started up. For the production equipment related to the differential work, the new line plan selection unit 127 infers it from the actual value of the adjustment man-hours for stabilizing the yield related to the work of similar parts.

[0041] The new line plan presentation unit 128 displays a plurality of work allocation candidates. Furthermore, for the new line plan selected by the new line plan selection unit 127 from among the work allocation candidates or a specified new line plan, the new line plan presentation unit 128 displays the production equipment of the existing product to be reused, the production equipment of the existing product to be reused and the work allocation changed, and the production equipment to be newly purchased. Furthermore, the new line plan presentation unit 128 displays a specified production KPI for the new line plan.

[0042] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the line design processing. The line design processing is started when the line design device 100 receives a start instruction from a designer or the like. Alternatively, the line design processing may be started at a predetermined date and time (e.g., 1:00 p.m. every day) or at predetermined intervals (e.g., once a week).

[0043] First, the differential work identifying unit 121 extracts differential work between the new product and the existing product (step S001). Specifically, the differential work identifying unit 121 reads the parts configuration data (BOM: Bill of Materials) of the new product (not shown), the new product production process information 111, and the existing product production process information 113, and identifies the parts with differences and their production processes.

[0044] Then, the work allocation candidate generation unit 122 allocates production equipment to the differential work, and generates a plurality of mutually different work allocation candidates (for example, N, where N is a positive integer) (step S002). At that time, the work allocation candidate generation unit 122 allocates equipment to the work by referring to the production equipment information 117 and the new purchase equipment candidate information 118. Whether newly purchased equipment or existing production equipment is introduced is reflected in the production KPI as a cost, so it is desirable for the work allocation candidate generation unit 122 to perform allocation for both.

[0045] Then, the control sequence calculation unit 123 and the motion plan calculation unit 124 calculate a control sequence and a motion plan for each of the N task allocation candidates (step S003). That is, the control sequence calculation unit 123 and the motion plan calculation unit 124 perform micro process design.

[0046] Then, the control sequence correction unit 125 adds or changes the control sequence of the existing production line for each operation assignment candidate, and generates a new production line plan (step S004).

[0047] Then, the new line plan selection unit 127 evaluates a predetermined production KPI including any one or a combination of throughput, equipment cost, program creation man-hours, and work adjustment man-hours for each of the N new production line plans (step S005). Note that, as a prerequisite for evaluating the production KPI, the new line plan selection unit 127 may refer to the production volume information 112. The production volume information 112 is information that specifies the planned value of the production volume of a product for each predetermined period. This is because the conditions for operating the production line may change depending on the planned value of the production volume, and the KPI may also change.

[0048] Then, the work reallocation unit 126 detects sequences that will become bottlenecks based on the evaluation results, heuristically modifies the existing work allocation plans to eliminate bottlenecks for each new production line plan, reconfigures the control sequences and motion plans in accordance with the modifications, and calculates the production KPIs (step S006).

[0049] Then, the task reallocation unit 126 re-executes step S006 while the improvement rate of the production KPI is equal to or greater than the threshold (e.g., 0.5% or greater) (step S007). That is, the task reallocation unit 126 performs bottleneck improvement while the improvement rate of the production KPI is equal to or greater than the threshold (while the result of step S007 is "YES").

[0050] If the improvement rate of the production KPI falls below the threshold value (if "NO" in step S007), the new production line plan selection unit 127 evaluates the throughput, equipment cost, program creation man-hours, and work adjustment man-hours for each new production line plan and selects an optimal line plan (step S008). Note that the new line plan selection unit 127 can also select a work allocation candidate that is a Pareto optimal solution for the production KPI as the optimal new line plan.

[0051] Then, the new production line plan presenting unit 128 displays a list of each new production line plan, and displays details of the selected plan (step S009). The specific display will be described later.

[0052] The above is an example of the process flow of the line design process. The line design process makes it possible to devise a production line that can easily realize a production line that takes into consideration both sustainability and productivity.

[0053] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a line design result (list of work allocation plans) screen. The line design result (list of work allocation plans) screen 300 includes an old product ID input area 301 that accepts the designated input of an existing product, and a new product ID input area 302 that accepts the designated input of a new product. The line design process is started for the product IDs that have been input in the old product ID input area 301 and the new product ID input area 302.

[0054] Furthermore, a plurality of work assignment plans 311 (new production line plans) are listed and displayed on the line design result (work assignment plan enumeration) screen 300. The work assignment plan 311 is accompanied by a detail display button 312 for receiving an instruction to transition to a line design result screen 350, which is a screen that displays details of the production equipment assignment plan for the process. When an input to the detail display button 312 is received, the screen transitions to the line design result screen 350, which is a screen that displays details of the work assignment plan 311.

[0055] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a line design result screen. The line design result screen 350 includes a list 351 of production equipment of existing products to be reused from an existing line among the work assignment plan, a list 352 of production equipment of existing products to be reused and work assignment changed and production equipment to be newly purchased, and a KPI display 353 that displays the production KPI of the work assignment plan (new production line plan).

[0056] 4, for production equipment of an existing product that is to be reused and have its work allocation changed, the update type is displayed as "change to existing equipment," and for production equipment to be newly purchased, the update type is displayed as "new addition." In addition, the KPI display 353 shows the average equipment operation rate, throughput, changed equipment cost, program change labor hours, and process adjustment labor hours as production KPIs.

[0057] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a control sequence. In Fig. 5, as an example of a control sequence, an assembly process in which parts A1 and A2 are assembled by an assembly robot and parts A1+A2 are sent to the next process is shown as a target. In this sequence, part A1 is supplied by a pallet loader 401 (supply A) and placed in a storage area 410, and part A2 is supplied by a conveyor 402 (supply B) and placed in the storage area 410. An assembly robot of a work subject 420 is equipped with a hand tool as a work assistant 421, and takes out parts A1 and A2 from the storage area 410 and assembles them. An AGV 430 sends the assembled parts A1+A2 to the next process (supply C).

[0058] In such a sequence, if, for example, part A1 is changed so that it is supplied by a new process, the takt time may shift if the sequence is left as is, and there is a risk that a wait may occur in the assembly process. If the assembly process is on the critical path, a delay in supply may propagate to the next process, which may lead to a decrease in the throughput of the entire factory.

[0059] Therefore, for example, by creating a new production line in which the pallet loader 401 of supply A is replaced with a different transport means, it may be possible to avoid a decrease in throughput. However, when the transport means is replaced, the control sequence and motion plan of the operation entity 420 also need to be changed, which may result in program change man-hours and process adjustment man-hours, and may result in a decrease in production KPI. By performing Pareto optimization of these production KPIs and showing which new production line plan is optimal, it is possible to easily realize a production line that takes into consideration both sustainability and productivity.

[0060] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the line design device. The line design device 100 can be realized by a general computer 900 including a processor 901, a hardware memory 902 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a storage 903 such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), a reading device 905 for reading information from a portable storage medium 904 such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an input device 906 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a barcode reader, or a touch panel, an output device 907 such as a display, and a communication device 908 for communicating with other computers via a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet, or a network system including a plurality of such computers 900. The reading device 905 may be capable of not only reading but also writing to the portable storage medium 904.

[0061] The processor 901 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The processor 901 executes various processes by executing various predetermined programs loaded from the storage 903 to the memory 902. The programs are, for example, application programs that can be executed on an operating system (OS) program. The programs may be installed in the storage 903 from a portable storage medium 904 via a reading device 905, or may be downloaded from a network via a communication device 908 and executed by the processor 901.

[0062] For example, the differential work identification unit 121, the work allocation candidate generation unit 122, the control sequence calculation unit 123, the motion plan calculation unit 124, the control sequence correction unit 125, the work reallocation unit 126, the new line plan selection unit 127, and the new line plan presentation unit 128 can be realized by loading a program stored in the storage 903 into the memory 902 and executing it on the processor 901.

[0063] The input unit 130 can be realized by the processor 901 using the input device 906 and the communication device 908. The output unit 140 can be realized by the processor 901 using the output device 907 and the communication device 908. The storage unit 110 can be realized by the processor 901 using the memory 902 or the storage 903. The communication unit 150 can be realized by the processor 901 using the communication device 908.

[0064] The above is an example of the line design device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modified examples are included. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to having all of the configurations described. It is possible to replace a part of the configuration of the embodiment with another configuration, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of the embodiment. It is also possible to delete a part of the configuration of the embodiment.

[0065] For example, in the above embodiment, the data stored in the storage unit 110 is used in the line design device 100, but is not limited to this. For example, the line design device 100 may be communicably connected to other devices via the network 50, and any or all of the information in the storage unit 110 may be made accessible, i.e., shareable, or data shared with other devices via cloud storage or the like may be used.

[0066] The above-mentioned units, configurations, functions, processing units, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits. Also, the above-mentioned units, configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the programs, tables, files, etc. that realize each function can be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk, or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0067] The control lines and information lines in the above-described embodiment are those considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines in the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all the components are connected to each other. The present invention has been described above with a focus on the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 100: line design device, 110: memory unit, 111: new product production process information, 112: production quantity information, 113: existing product production process information, 114: work allocation information, 115: control sequence information, 116: motion plan information, 117: production equipment information, 118: new purchase equipment candidate information, 120: processing unit, 121: differential work identification unit, 122: work allocation candidate generation unit, 123: control sequence calculation unit, 124: motion plan calculation unit, 125: control sequence correction unit, 126: work reallocation unit, 127: new line plan selection unit, 128: new line plan presentation unit, 130: input unit, 140: output unit, 150: communication unit.

Claims

1. production volume information including information on when and how much of the product should be produced; Production equipment information for production lines of existing products among the products; A storage unit that stores the production process information of the existing product and the production process information of the new product; a differential work identifying unit that identifies a differential work, which is a work for producing a part that is different between the existing product and the new product, by using the production process information of the existing product and the production process information of the new product; a task assignment candidate generation unit that generates task assignment candidates for the production equipment with respect to the differential tasks; a new production line plan selection unit that uses the operation assignment candidates to select a new production line plan that optimizes a predetermined production KPI (Key Performance Index) for the production time and amount; A line design device comprising:

2. The line design device according to claim 1 , The new line plan selection unit uses, as the production KPI, any one or a combination of production throughput, equipment cost, control program change labor, and equipment start-up labor. A line design device comprising:

3. The line design device according to claim 2, The new line plan selection unit calculates, as the man-hours for starting up the equipment, an adjustment man-hour for the production equipment, a control program preparation man-hour for the production equipment, and an adjustment man-hour for stabilizing a yield when the production equipment performs an operation. A line design device comprising:

4. The line design device according to claim 3, The new line plan selection unit uses a track record value of the adjustment man-hours for stabilizing the yield when the production line of the existing product is started up, and in the case of the production equipment related to the differential work, infers the adjustment man-hours for stabilizing the yield from a track record value of the adjustment man-hours related to work on similar parts. A line design device comprising:

5. The line design device according to claim 1 , a new line plan presenting unit that displays a plurality of the work assignment candidates; A line design device comprising:

6. The line design device according to claim 1 , a new line plan presenting unit that displays, for a new line plan selected by the new line plan selection unit from among the work assignment candidates, the production equipment of the existing product to be reused, the production equipment of the existing product to be reused and whose work assignment is to be changed, and the production equipment to be newly purchased; A line design device comprising:

7. The line design device according to claim 1 , the new line plan selection unit selects, as the new line plan, the work assignment candidate that is a Pareto optimal solution for the predetermined production KPI; a new line plan presenting unit that displays the predetermined production KPI related to the new line plan; A line design device comprising:

8. A line design method using an information processing device, comprising: The information processing device includes: production volume information including information on when and how much of the product should be produced; Production equipment information for production lines of existing products among the products; A storage unit is provided for storing production process information of the existing product and production process information of the new product, a differential work identification step of identifying a differential work, which is a work for producing a part that is different between the existing product and the new product, by using the production process information of the existing product and the production process information of the new product; a task assignment candidate generation step of generating task assignment candidates for the production equipment for the differential tasks; a new line plan selection step of selecting a new line plan that optimizes a predetermined production KPI (Key Performance Index) for the production time and amount using the operation allocation candidates; A line design method comprising the steps of:

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