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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- Defines operating tasks
- Standard operations
- Operation types that are outside process
- Tracks no cost operations for costing purposes
- 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
- Defines operation move and queue times
- User can backflush labor, material, or overhead
- Defines alternative operations and processes
- Parallel and overlapping operations
- Establishes unique or standard labor rates for a contract
- Engineered time standards are supported by routing
- Calculates run times by batch, family, and operation
- 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
- Calculates the production rate for multiple routings
- Automatically calculates the setup and lead time of each operation
- Separate setup time to be calculated with run size
- Contains fields for quality specification per operation
- Calculates total lead time and capacity requirements for an operation
- 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 operations
- Near real time, same as except
- Calculates scrap and yield factor by operation
- Projects designated for outside processing are identified with a supplier code and include subcontract costs
- Near real time mass change and delete
- Generates reports on mass changes or mass deletions affecting products, BOMs, etc.
- 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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