Thursday, April 19, 2007

Example of change to one-piece flow

Example of a change from batch production to one-piece flow
Last week I observed a change from batch production to one-piece flow in a local factory. I will write more about this later…

Remember: One-piece flow is not always in one piece!
It is important to notice, that the phrase “one-piece” is not necessarely referring to the fact that products are moving piece by piece. Often it does make sence to accept a small buffer between processes. This often depends on the value of the products.

Make one-piece flow that addapts to real life
Just remember to use common sense when implementering flow and one-piece.
Think of things like

  • Time for operators to have a short brake - e.g. toilet
  • Is the quality of the product unknown or known - if you know that the Q is good buffer is more accepted