Lean Principles | Overview of Lean Principles |
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Page 7 of 10 Continuous Processing and layoutFor those who produce output in the material world and need space and equipment, the connection of the customer to the supply chain also suggests profound physical changes.Continuous processing suggests that each unit of output will be passed from one process step to the next as soon as a step is complete and provided the next process step is clear to receive it. Small 'batches' may still be used. Each unit spends no time waiting for other units to go through the same step behind it. The queue between steps is eradicated. In line with traditional thinking and its reliance on batch production techniques, the individual steps in the process can become departments or divisions within themselves. This is perfectly synonymous with the general division of labour and skill specialisation within traditional Western businesses. Large groups of large machines organised in the same space. Homogeneity is easier to control. Isn't that right? If batching and the recovery of 'fixed' costs ceases to be the goal and is replaced with an emphasis on speed and meeting the needs of the individual customer, the focus returns to having each homogenous product process situated so that the interruption of physical handling and movement of material between process steps is minimised and building of Work in Progress is outlawed. This may mean that where you had one machine producing large batches for a number of downstream processes that diverge into a number of discrete product processes, you now need more machines of that type producing smaller quantity and separated into discrete process line. Ouch! That's a lot of moving that needs to be done and by the way, what type of thinking is driving your capital expenditure budget on plant and equipment? Are you getting six machines that will do ten units at a time and support six discrete product processes each with its own independent customer demand level or one machine that does 60 at a time regardless of the real pull from customer demand? Yes it does matter! Continuous Processing is the blueprint for wiring up the production process to the customer. While there are various models for continuous processing production systems, they all share the premise that if there is no order from the customer, then generally nothing should be produced. Nobody wants serious inventory or work in progress. Each operator can reject input to his or her station from the previous process step if the quality is bad and that Work In Progress (WIP) is strictly controlled and minimised. This has the excellent effect of making idle process points of capacity imbalance and waste transparent. It can also look like anarchy to the untrained eye. There are generally no daily production plans and all the performance monitoring is visual and simple. The traditional apparatus of executing the production plan is redundant. This extends to layers of ineffective direct management. |