Robert L. Rogers: Helpful Tips: Optimized Manufacturing Systems

By: Bob Rogers
My approach to developing efficient and effective manufacturing systems for a given company is:

Audit the customer needs, sales & production forecasting, product mix, expected lead times, supply chain, production constraints (people, equipment, procedures), quality system & history etc..
Analyze the key weaknesses found in the audit then develop a plan using the appropriate methodologies listed here with a focus on Lean processes and customized constraint based systems to address the specific company needs.

There are many Manufacturing Systems that have been developed and published over the past five decades. While these systems can have very beneficial results, the best implementation of these systems of often a combination of proven methodologies and new custom system methods with a key focus on customer satisfaction. Many manufacturing companies need customized manufacturing systems and control methods to optimize: customer satisfaction, quality, product configurations, lead times, and costs for their set of business conditions.

The following is a summary of some key methods that can be combined to create a very effect manufacturing system.

Manufacturing Systems first focus must be on customer satisfaction. Some common methods to assure satisfaction include:

Voice of the customer (VOC)

An information technology that documents customer's expectations, preferences, and aversions.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

The "House of Quality" is a graphical way to document: customer needs, development, processes, and quality.

Balanced scorecard

A performance / metric tracking system including measures and targets for customer objectives.

The leading Manufacturing Systems include:

· Lean Manufacturing (derived from TPS "Toyota Production System")

· TPS "Toyota Production System (derived from Just-in-time "JIT")

Theory of Constraints

Lean Manufacturing

Methodologies that concentrate on only doing work that creates value for the customer. The term "Lean" comes from the ability to work without waste. Main Objectives: design out overburden, inconsistencies, and waste.

Wastes include:

Over production

Over processing

Motion / moving: Operator or machine

Waiting: Operator or machine

Inventory: Raw material and WIP

Correction / Defects: Rework and scrap

                        Demand based manufacturing flow
                                    Minimize cycle time
                                    Minimize inventory
                                    Maximize productivity
                                    Maximize use of capital equipment

Five S

Sorting

Sweeping or Shining or Cleanliness / Systematic Cleaning

Standardizing

Sustaining the discipline

Safety

TPS "Toyota Production System"

Waste elimination

Continuous improvement

Challenge: Learning and spirit to achieve goals

Kaizen: Striving using innovation and evolution

Genchi Genbutsu: Meeting with the source, using consensus, to meet goals efficiently

Respect for people

Teamwork

Long-Term Philosophy

System Methodologies:

Design for Manufacturability

Value Stream Mapping

TPM: Total productive maintenance operators learn and use basic fault finding and maintenance of their equipment

Just-in-time: JIT inventory strategy to reduce in process inventory and increase ROI

Kanban: Scheduling pull systems to produce: what, when, and how

Poka-yoke: Design, fixture, and process methods for error-proofing

Six Sigma Organizational control methods:

The goal: Improve quality by using systems to reduce defects.

Six Sigma defined as: Six standard deviations between the process mean and the nearest specification limit assures not products will fail.

DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control

DMADV: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify

Voice of the customer

Process flow charting

Problem Solving and Decision making

Poka-Yoke

5 Whys

Root cause analysis

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)

Design of experiments (DOE) / Taguchi

Design for Manufacture (DFM)

Corrective Actions

Visual Control

Statistical Process Control SPC

Process capability- Cpk, Cpl, Cpu, Cpm, Cpkm

Run charts Gauge R&R

Control charts

Pareto chart (80-20)

Cause and effect diagrams (fish bone charts)

x bar and R and s charts

Theory of Constraints:

"The Goal" a book by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt is very entertaining, using a business story he teaches managing by focusing on constraints while measuring and controlling throughput, investment, and expenses.

The process:

Identify constraints

Maximize output of the key constraint process

Give full support to the constraint

Make changes to break the constraint

Identify new constraint, repeat process continually

Typical constraints are:

Equipment

People

Procedures

Buffers:

Used to assure that the constraint is always loaded with work