Flow Manufacturing Features and Functions
Flow manufacturing is a methodology used in manufacturing that pulls parts or components through the manufacturing process to where it finally reaches the finished product. Unlike discrete manufacturing which manufactures goods by batch production, flow manufacturing is usually based on single unit production. Essentially a mixed-model production method that operates on production lines that manufacture up to a specific quantity of a particular product each day. These lines also must have the ability to produce unlimited variations of that base product on any given day. Take, for instance, a production line dedicated to building manual car transmissions. A flow line for that product might have the capacity to build thirty transmissions per day. It also would be able to produce the appropriate mix of three-, four-, and five-speed transmissions needed to fill specific customer orders every day of the year. Flow lines achieve this precise level of mixed-model production because they are designed to ensure that each product is built within a specified amount of time. Once the total time it takes to build a product is determined, equal slices of that time are allocated for the performance of each operation along the line. This is called Takt time. In this way, each product moves through the production process at a steady rate from beginning to end without stopping. When executed properly, this single-unit manufacturing style enables products to move smoothly, precluding the need for excess inventory and preventing unnecessary queues and bottlenecks from forming on the shop floor. This syncopated movement of the product between workstations, also known as the drum beat, must be maintained so that the total time to build a product stays within the limits necessary for all products to be delivered on time.
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- Users can assign routing workflows by product or part in different ways, such as flow and pull, subcontract, etc.
- Defines operating tasks
- Standard operations
- Operation types that are outside process
- Tracks no cost operations for costing purposes
- Operation description fields can contain at least 500 lines of text
- Text entry for operational comments (production and engineering)
- Multiple UOM and conversion calculations
- Identifies and schedules rework based on the output of prior operations
- Analyzes rework
- Accepts rework orders or repeat operations and rework routing
- Operation effectivity dating
- Determines excess or insufficient operation resources
- Defines operation move and queue times
- What-if scenarios can be used to determine operation backflushing
- User can backflush labor, material, or overhead
- Defines alternative operations and processes
- Parallel and overlapping operations
- Dual resource requirements
- Indicates multiple routings such as alternate process, rework, batch specific, outside processing, and no charge operations
- Routings for projects and contracts may be grouped
- Establishes unique or standard labor rates for a contract
- Engineered time standards are supported by routing
- Calculates run times by batch, family, and operation
- Near real time routing updates as batch produced
- Tooling requirements and CNC programs
- Identifies tools by code for each operation
- Defines anticipated yield and scrap for each operation
- Calculates the elapsed time of an operation
- Defines multiple production rates
- Manages and updates flow manufacturing by rate or by unit (log ECO)
- Calculates the production rate for multiple routings
- Work stations can be identified online (999 operations)
- Automatically calculates the setup and lead time of each operation
- Separate setup time to be calculated with run size
- Uses labor skills or job codes of person(s) working on an operation
- Contains fields for quality specification per operation
- Calculates total lead time and capacity requirements for an operation
- Uses process numbers to execute global updates
- Perform mass changes based on where the project is made
- Links a process number to operation and routing data
- Item numbers and operations identify where a process is used
- More than one tool can be defined for an operation by using tool information
- Each item can have multiple routes
- Alternate routes
- Alternate operations
- Near real time, same as except
- Calculates scrap and yield factor by operation
- Yield cost analysis
- Projects designated for outside processing are identified with a supplier code and include subcontract costs
- Routings based on item characteristics can be built with user-defined parameters
- Tracks and documents scrap and yield processing by order yield, component yield, and operation yield
- Near real time mass change and delete
- Online inquiries for BOMs and routings
- Routine maintenance report
- Generates reports on mass changes or mass deletions affecting products, BOMs, etc.
- Process documents and specifications routed electronically
- Routing file can be copied and edited
- Maintains file of routing history
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Shop Floor Control Features and Functions
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