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Line balancing efficiency is total work content divided by (stations x bottleneck station time). The theoretical minimum station count is work content divided by target cycle time rounded up; any gap between that and the actual station count is capacity paid for but not used. Balance delay is the complement of efficiency.
Line efficiency
Efficiency % = total work content x 100 / (stations x slowest station time)
Minimum stations
Theoretical stations = ceil(total work content / cycle time)
85-95% is good for manual assembly. Below 75% usually means tasks are indivisible or precedence constraints are forcing awkward groupings, and the line should be re-designed rather than re-balanced.
The line can only run as fast as its slowest station. Every other station idles for the difference, which is exactly what balance delay measures.