Every Part Every Interval (EPEI)

The lean practitioner seeks to make EPEI as small as possible

Every part every interval, also known as EPEI or EPEx, represents the frequency that different parts are produced or services provided within a fixed repeating schedule. This fixed repeating schedule is often graphically portrayed, for training purposes and as a scheduling visual control, as a wheel, with the different products represented by alphas (A, B, C) and the wheel indexed clockwise to follow the intended sequence.

EPEI is typically reflected in days or partial days, and represents the time interval between successive complete wheel revolutions or runs. The lean practitioner seeks to make EPEI as small as possible (all the way down to shift, hour, or pitch) to reduce inventory and compress lead time. This can be accomplished by reducing changeover time, reducing the number of different parts (and thus the number of setups), reducing cycle times, and/or reducing the volume of products loaded on a particular machine. Obviously, an integral element of the EPEI calculation is available time for changeovers.

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"Log-Is-Sticks"

But logistics managers seem to use them only when having meals in Far-East tradition restaurants. They much prefer forks instead, to the point that they use the fork concept to mean the range between lower and upper control levels: what's in between, is left to fate, or to the principle that things go has they go. In my more than twenty years auditor's career I just met two - two ! - logistics managers, of the hundreds I audited, who knew what they were doing and how, the many many others ... well ... The point is the poor education that is given to production processes managers in terms of logistics: what they are only required is "to make parts"; what are the resources needed or the cost involved has little bearing. When costs go too high, top management fires people or moves to China. Is that going lean? Thank you.