Pitch Interval for Same-Pitch ProductsDon’t sweat the small stuff
Mon, 01/26/2015 - 11:16
Pitch interval (Ip) can be thought of in two ways: as a unit of time representing the (usually) smallest common pitch shared among a range of products, services, or transactions that are being produced, conveyed, performed, or executed by a given… Days Inventory on HandHelps to better visualize the magnitude and investment of excess inventory
Tue, 10/21/2014 - 12:12
The term “days inventory on hand,” aka “days of supply,” along with “inventory turns,” is a measure of inventory investment.
Although turns may be one of the most basic measures of an organization’s “leanness,” days inventory on hand perhaps helps… Full-Time Equivalent MathUnderstanding how to use resources most effectively
Mon, 09/22/2014 - 15:59
Full-time equivalent(s), commonly referred to as FTE(s), represents the number of equivalent employees working full time. One full-time equivalent is equal to one employee working full time. Typically, FTEs are measured to one or two decimal points… Visual Process Performance ToolsReal lean drives measurable operational and financial improvement
Tue, 08/26/2014 - 14:19
In the words of my friend and colleague Larry Loucka, “Graphs are math.”
Graphs often serve as effective visual process performance tools. Typically, these types of graphs fall into the metric category. As reflected in the supporting concepts of… How to Make Your Value Stream Maps More UsefulRolled throughput yield
Thu, 06/12/2014 - 15:53
Value stream analysis is an effective way to identify improvement opportunities within a product or service family's value stream, envision a leaner future state, and develop an actionable value stream improvement plan to achieve the future state.… Plan vs. Actual MathThe challenge lies in the discipline and problem solving
Wed, 06/04/2014 - 11:54
The plan vs. actual chart is one of the most powerful and simple visual process performance metrics. In fact, it’s a sort of Swiss Army knife of charts in that it not only provides insight into process performance but also, by the virtue of its… Available Time for ChangeoversIf you think you’ve got time figured out, think again with <em>Ta∆</em>
Mon, 04/07/2014 - 09:29
Available time for changeovers per period (Ta∆), also called available time for (internal) setups, represents the time per a given period (e.g., day, shift, week) during which a machine, equipment, or resource can be changed over (i.e., from one… Triangle Kanban SizingTakes the guesswork out of supply and demand
Wed, 03/12/2014 - 15:48
Triangle kanban, one of three types of signal kanban, is unique in that there is only a single kanban per part number or stock-keeping unit. Accordingly, kanban-sizing math has nothing to do with determining the number of kanban; that’s obviously… Heijunka CycleA foundational element of the Toyota Production System
Mon, 12/16/2013 - 10:53
The Japanese term, heijunka, also known as level-loading, production leveling, or production smoothing, facilitates system stability by addressing workload unevenness (mura) by leveling both volume and mix over time (see figure 1).
Heijunka also… WIP-to-SWIP RatioMaintenance counts as work-in-process, too
Mon, 11/18/2013 - 17:38
The WIP-to-SWIP ratio is a simple comparison of a process, line, or cell’s actual work-in-process (WIP) count vs. its standard work-in-process (SWIP) inventory. Among other things, a process’s target condition reflects the consistent execution of…
