As a manufacturer there is a series of steps that you can take that will assist you in the design of an optimized production line. One of your goals in setting up the line should be to optimize the flow of products through each work cell, and create a production rate as close to one piece flow production as possible. The rate from one piece flow defines the flow of the production line so that each work cell works on only one product at a time. The queue between work cells contains only one product at any given time. If the queue preceding a given work cell is empty, and the work cell has completed work on a previous product, then the work cell is idle until a product is placed in the queue so the cell can continue work. The target of one piece flow production is to produce no backlog of partially completed products between work cells, but to create an consistently even flow through the production line. Please review One Piece Flow Production Optimizes Manufacturing Automation for further information
The process of setting up a one piece flow production line should start with deciding what product will be manufactured in this process. The rate of production for the product must be high enough to meet the demand of customers. There are some production rates that cannot meet this requirement because of the way production must be done or other necessities. However, this should not keep manufacturing cell designers from getting the production rate as close as possible to the one piece flow production rate.
The customer rate of demand must be calculated for the work cell. This is done by dividing the production time available in a given shift by the customer demand for that product created in that shift. This may seem strange if you have not seen this, but this is the calculation that allows the production rate to be matched as closely as possible to the actual customer demand. If the production rate of a given shift is 5 products at a factory, and the customer demand for the products that the factory produces is only 2 for the same shift, there will be an accumulation of products at the end of the day. Those products will need to be stored in the warehouse, which incurs additional cost. As time goes by more and more products are stored. You should get the picture by now. Producing more than the demand causes a surplus that creates additional cost.
Defining the optimum production rate based on customer demand will allow the design of the work cells of the production line to proceed. The layout of any work cell should be done while considering what resources are required for the tasks of the work cell. Only required resource should be put within easy reach of employees working in the cell. Any other resources should be removed from the area, so that they do not interfere with optimum production. The sequence at which resources are to be included in the work of the cell should also be considered. The arrangement of the needed resources should match how they are needed in processing. The floor layout of any given cell can contribute greatly to the optimization of the work. Work cells that are in a U-shape are usually the best for optimum production and ease of use. Most resources cam be placed in good proximity to where they are needed with this configuration. There may need to be some imagination applied in order to get the shape that is optimum.
After layout is complete the tasks of the work cell need to be divided between the employees that will work in the cell. Again there may need to have some imagination or experimentation to get the right mix of work equally distributed to the employees working in the cell. The work should be split optimally, not necessarily equally, between the employees. This means that the throughput that is required for the cell must be achieved by the work that is contributed by all of the cell workers. Balance of work is the main concern to get the right distribution of work in the cell, so that the right output can be achieved.
In striving to achieve one piece flow production a manufacturer has to realize that the end result of the effort to get this done will result in less warehouse space required for storage of products, lower inventory levels, improvement in delivery of products at the time that customers demand them, and optimization of the manufacturing lead time.
Our consulting engineers can answer any questions that you might have about the automation of your manufacturing or they can supply you with a no-obligation quote for automating your manufacturing. If you have questions about automating your manufacturing or you would like to request a quote for the automation of your manufacturing, please click the “Request a Quote” button below and fill out the form to submit your question or request.
