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È Makinq
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- Materiâls
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Flow
.A lean material-handling guide for operations,
- production-control, and engineering professionals
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By Rick Harris, Chris Hârris, ând Êarl Wilson
il Forêword by Jim Womack, Dan Jones, John Shook, and Jose Ferro

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A Lean Toolkit Mêthod and Workbook
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The Lean Enterprise Institute

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Câmbridse, MA, USA.
:Ê wu,r,.rêân.ors

ri Versioh l.o
Sopt€mber 2OO3
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Wkh grarirudero Aft Smâlley,GeorgeTâninecz,Helen Zâk, dnd Offpistc Dcsign
for thok rolo in thc dcvclopmentof ùis worhbooh. E
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o Copydghr2003:fhe Leân EûtoipriscInsrirute,Inc.
One CambridgeCenler,Cambridse,NIA 02142USA
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\t6ion 1.0,Scpicmbcr2003
ISBN 0,97,11824,9-,1 r
\ll 'igh!s m the texr and illùsrâtionsiese('cd bIThc Lcân DntcryriscInsdrute.
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Thanks to my wife Ann for her lovingsupporrin this pfojectând in âll rhât I do.
E Thanks to all ofour clienrsthroughourthe world who work rrirh us !o implcmcn!
E thcseIcan manufactufingprinciples.
* Rick Hârris
E
Wirh grcâtâpprcciationfor tho lovo,friendship,and supporrof my wife Joic.And
E with gratitudeto our clienrsthroughourthe $'orldwho âllow us !o comein[o their
fac;lhiesand lcarnwith ùcm.
E - Chris Hârris

E Wirh gratitudeto rny clicntswho hâveso opcnly âcceptcdapplyingdlescprinciplcs

È in their f{cilities,Thanks to my fâmily and frjcndsbut cspcciâllyto my wifc Susân
for her support,understanding, ând encourâgement in doingwork thât I love.
E - Earl Wilson

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FOREWORD
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When rve launchedLeaftirlg to See(I:lS\ in thc summcrol 1998xs chefirst publicationof
E
the Leân EnterpriseInstitute (LEI), we urgedreadercto startdown a pâlh towardperfect
operarionalprocesses by mappingthe vâluc strcâmfor eâchproductlamily.We pointedout E
thât mâppirg could be donear many levels- from a singleprocesswithin a manufaccuring
t
fâciliryro the completepath from raw materiâlsto the customer.we suggesGdthât the best
plâceto scârtis with the flow of inforrrarionând mâteriâlswithin thc wallsof a sirgle plant. E
In drawinga typicalplantlevelmap,we almostalwâysseegreatopportunitiesfor inlroducing C
conrinuousflow by movingisolâcedprocessing stepstogedrerto creacecornpâcrcclls.In E
CredtingConti uolasFlorl, thc sccondLEI publication,launohedin the summerof 2001,
we askedMike Rotherând Rick l-lârris|o focuson rhe processlevel.
-fhey
describedin C
disconnectcdprocessing
detail how leanthinl<ersâggregare stepsinto compâctcollswidr t
truly concinuoùsflow
E
As witlr LTS, we lrave bcen delighred with the responscto Creatiûg Cotltitluous Floa, \|l\icl\
hassoldmorcdran11,000copiesand now is beingtÉnslarcdinto mlrltiplglângûages. I-lowcvcr,
E
progross in introducinglcân methodson one dimensionolten exposesnew problemson othcr E
dimensions.Recently,aswe haveIool<edat firms introducingcontinuous-flowoclls,wc'vc
nocedrhatoutput from theif cellssdll is uneven.Somesimplcinvcsrigationsbowsthe rcason:
E
The flow ofnccessarymâterialsto thè ccllsis crraticând occâsionallymaterialdeliveryfails. E
In biologicaltcrms,the motabolismofthe ccll now is right but the supplyolnùrients still is E
a problem.So how canyou createa circulatorysystemro take fulladvantagcofyour carefully
E
createdareasofcontinuousflow (includingcraditional asscmblylincs)while âlsomeetingthe
needsofother prodLrction activitiesstill in batchnTode?The methodsare not mysterrous. f
Tbyotaand its alïliated companiespioneeredthem yearsâÉlo.However,rve'vcfoundthat co
E
ùnderscand and applythem mostmanagers, engineerc, toed a friôndly
and mate alsspccialisrs
sensei(reacher)ro walk chemthrougha step-by-stop implcmcntationprocessthât locùsestheir E
visionand targetsdrcif âctions.
-

To fill this needwe arenow publishingthis sequelto Mike Rotherând Rick Harris'C/ealmg E
ContinuousFlou.lt n we movefrom performânce at the individuelcell level to the mate.ial-
handlingsystemfor the whole organism(in this casean entirefaciliry)âs Rick Hârris,Chris T
Ilarris, and Earl Wilsontâke your hând ând leadthe way in Ma&lzg Mdteù.tlsFlou J
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If vou'rcimplemertingrhe conceprspresentedi^ CteatifigCoktittuousFloru,you'realready
È familiarwith Rick, a r.eteranof the shopfloor as a managerin assemblyat ToyotaMocor
Ê ManufacturingKenrucky(TMMK) in Georgetown,KY. Chris ând Earl, .hough,may be
new names.Chris- Rick'sson- is one ola new generationof Lean Thinkers and was
. indoc! nâtedon the 4ssemblylinc at TMMK. Earl,who hasbeenhelpingcompanies geclean
E for the pastsevenyears,wasâ mâteriâlsmânâgerfor JohnsonControlshc., Gcorgetown, KY,
wherehe learnedthe ToyotaProductionSystemby supplyingToyota.
È
Eachscepthe authorspresenÈ * developingan accurace databaseon parcsin chelacility,
E settingup â purchased-parts route,and dcvcloping
mârket,establishinga marerial-delivery
t market-
the informationlinks that connectthe productioncellsto the purchased-pafts
builds on the scepbeforeând leâds!o a more competitiveproductioûprocessthât alsois
E moresâtisfyingto thosewho operateit.
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We warnêdin our Iûtrodnctior,toCte4tingCofitinuousFlolt thot cteâtingcclls is hârdcr
È thânsimply drâwingmâps.And we must wârnherethat creatingand sustainingcherigorous
materiâ!flowsystemdescribedin rhe pagesaheadis an even largerchallengebecausemore
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peoplcand processes aroinvolvedoverlârgerâreâs.It\ hârdwork,ândyou will makemistakes
r-
asyou get started.But the benelitsfor yourbusinessaaeenormous,ândall ofthe knowlcdge
-
voù needis summarizedhere.

r- Giventhe natrrrer:f your châllerge,we areparticularlyanxiousto hearaboutyour succcsscs

and your diflicultiesand to connectyou with the Lcân Communiryat www.leân.org. We
È
âlsonced o heâryoùr sùggestions îor improvingMakingMaterialsFIoza.Pleasescnddrem
E to mmf@lean.ors.

g
Jim Womack,Dan Jones,JohnShook,and JoseFerro
Éi
I-Icrcford,UK; Ann Arbor,MI, [JSA;
Brookline,NIA,USA;Ross-on-Wyc.
SâoPâulo,SP,Brâzil.
Êl

.-ï

www.reân.org
Acknowledgment of Sponsor Support
Prcpâfâtionof this worhbookwasâssistcdby â grxnt ftom LS(; Sl(y(lhefs,
â lirm undercaking its owû leantrânsformâtionaûd dre first organizalion
ro
sponsora Lean DnterpriseInstinrteworkbook.We expressgratirudeto
l,SG Sky Chefs;Gatyllemdq chiefopcrâting officct,LSC Sky Chofs
Amcricaslicgiorr;anclAndroasI(rinningcr,globalscniu vicc prcsiclont
'l-he
operârionâlexcellence. LSG Sl<yChefstearnprovesyou succcssfully
cânimplcmonrlcâno(Dccp$in indùstrics rypioally
nol viowcdrs trâdid(rral
- of costspcrrnirs
,nânufacruring in this casc,a;rl;nccrltcting.[Jndcl$,ricing
drc Instirurcto rrorcquicklysprcadIcânknowlcdgc, ^nd wc hopoothcr
orgâniationswill copyLSC Sky Chefs' exarnple.
ÈlJ
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CONTENTS
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Fore\rvord
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Introductign

a Part l: Getting Started

Part ll: The Plan for Every Part (PFEP)

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Part lll: Developing a Purchased-Parts Market

Part lV: Designing the Delivery Route and

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the Information Management System
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Part V: Sustaining and lmproving

Conclusion

Appendix

About the Authors

References
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E INTRODUCTION
a llccrLrsccontinuous flrxv is a majrx objcctn'c of lcan production, rve have rvolked hard over
mrnY vcrfs [o crcâtetmlv continuousflow in lhe shop-flooracdvitieswc have mxnxgcd.In
=l thc prsr fc\r,vcx.s.wc'vc incrcâsitglynoted corrpaniesrnal<ingprogressin crealingirreasoi
E con!inuous llow âs more and more manaÉlershexr âbolrr valuc-sûcam rnâpping ând grâsp
rhc po$cr of conrinuous-flow
cclls.
E
a IIowcvcr, as rve rvalk through facilities and exâmine eârnestelforrs to crcatc conrinLrolrs
flow, \À'oscc how bâfd it;s to sustâinstcâdyoutput. And ûe problem ffeqLrenrlyis rhe lâck
a oi a le3û materialhandlingsystcmto supporrcontinLrolrs-flo\i. pruccssing,
cclls,srnall-hatch

a ând rnditionâl assemblylines.

a Nlany firciliticsdrat urc lcân in rormsof opcrâtinilthcir indiviclunll)roccsses

'l
dfc srittmrss
p(xlucers in supplying these processes. hey ltrck tr Plan for Luery Pdl, (l'1.'ljl'). (lndood,
=l somc lxcilitiesscom to Iâck â plxn li)r âny pltrtl) l bcv hck â prcpcrly locatcclanclnranagccl
purchased-parts rnark?t. 'l hcy llck N rigorol$ mdterill-deliuery rcrts Lrsingstârclxrd worl(.
a And ûoy hcl( lrrll sigrdls to tightlv linl( thoir arcasofcontinLroLrsflow ro thc supl)l)rof
a mâretiâls.
'l'hc
consequonccis stllrvalion of pfoocssos,loss of flr)$,,rùrd x Iniljor wrstc of
:t cffoft and nrcncy in kccping too much invcncory.rnclspcnclingcrxrnrLrchrimc hLrnring
for missingitcrrs.
=l
lfhe objccrivcoldris rvorkbooli;s to shAqrcn)rouroycsigh!âs 1lmîrragcrxnd c(luip yolr
:t widr drc sl<illsto implcmcrt rnd sùstâinI lc.rrrrr.rtcLirl-brndlingsysrcmwirhin rhc forrr
5l rvallsof voul fiLcilirv.
\Vo'll usc mc$ods ancldrinl<ingbascdon practicespionccrcdwidrin
'fbvota
:r and irs alliliatecomprniesrhât you cân utilizc in âny facility making pLacricrllyrny
typc of pfodLrct.Ir is otu intcnr ct)cxplain chc nccdcd mothodsso sirnply- lcadingyou
a throughr lis! ol l0 qucstiorlsyou need to ânslvcrro crcâtcyollr own marcrial-handling svs-
tcrn - rhet vou n'ill ha|c thc courirgero go our and do it on your own, even ifyou have no
a senseiàt yoùr sidc.
a Only you can suppl\,drc ûeededcoÙrâge, bur we believewe hàve providedthc neccssrry/
:r k n , ' r r l c r J g\.\.,. r r , , r \ : . , r . .r . ,
' ' c
r l , o r r \r ' o r r e. x p c - i e n c c .

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:a Rick Hârris,Chris Fhrris. end Ii.rrl\\rilson
Murreils Inlet, SC; Nlurrellslnlet. SCI:Georgetown,KY
:= September 2003
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lrvelcome to Apex Tube
lat Apcx Tibe Companfis a rypicaldiscretepârtsmanufactùrer,mâldngfuel lineslor cars,trucks,
and hcxvyequipment,Severalyearsago,Apex respondedcopressurelrorr its customersfor
ri=
lolverprices,higherquality,more fie<1uonr
deliveries,and morerapidresponseto changing
rat denândsby tâkingâ hard lmk at ils mârùfacturingoperalions.

rJ One facilicy._ tlrc cxanple usedin CreatingContinuousFlotu- cooka dramaticlcap to

embraceleanproduccionon a plant-widebasisby creatinghigh-pcrformance cells.It also
ia
inrroduccda lcân production-conrolsystemusingkârbân to connecta finishccl-parcs r}rarkec
t- wich th€ pâcemâhcr cellsand the pacernal<er
cellsrvicha purchasedlartsmarkct ncar the
rcceivingdoch.
t-

tl
However,d seconcl Apcx facility- which wc uselor our exrmplc in Makhg MaterialsFlou)
- tool<a rnorcgracltral approach to improvemenc rhÀrsccmsto be cypicalofcurrcnt pracricern
iia mânycompânics. 'l'his
facility,which madcsirnilarproductsalthoughfor differenccusromcrs,
til
stârtcclby consr(rctinga productlamily matrixas shownhere.

Its rnanagcrs
rhcn clrowa currcnt-statcmap for dre circleclproducrfamilli lighccnrcks.

Apex's Product Family Matrix

lnâl

X Y X x_X
I truck S -Y X X X X r \
truck
I X X X X X X .'/
truck À-
J X X X X -k
it X- r X ^

X X X X X X
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Note: tr
Readers familiarwith the current-state
map in CrcatingContinuous F/owwillobserve E
that thisApexsisterplantperformsonlyfive processing operationsto manufacture
fuel
lines.Tubeextrusionand end-forming are performedat the Apexheadquarters
activities tr
facility,whichsuppliestube partsto the Apex plantin our example.
ll
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Apex Light-Truck Fuel-Lines Current-State Map
tr
tr
tr
tr

fft
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1u
fJr
t-^--J
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 \i\_\ :r:.::r.i:cr. Lrndcr\rx)d rhe ad\'ânragcsolstafting ùrh â pull prxlucrion-con.roi s\sisnr
:: .rr .: ini.hcrl-grrxls n.rdict ro rhe pacernakcrcells,crcatcdby moving anclcornbininX
:l:. irr. rr',(c\\ \rcp\. llLrrùcv rvcrccaurious.As a fir.srstep,drcy decidedro crcârclhe
!.1i. bLrrrDrinrrrinrhcir rrâdirional\lRP productionc{)ntrolsysremând thcif rradidonal
nrrrcri.rlhrncllingsrsrern,which broughrpartsto rhe cellsjn wbole pallet loedsas rhey
.rrn\cij l.,rn sLrt)plic.s.

Apex Light-Truck Fu€|l-Lines First Future-State Mâp

PRODUCTION
CONÎROL

\ û
LI
r-h
!---a-
r-h
q-ï

\ AâÊefiblyCell
1/
,À*----ft I
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 \s .rll of thc product farrilics wcrc convcrtcd tu ccllulâr opcrations - with five cclls for
rhc lighr-ûucl( hmily, three fbr the auto làmily, four for the heavy-truck famil-v,and tlvo
for the heavy-equipmen! famjl-v,for â totâl of 14 - a new layoLrtfor the Apcx plant wâs
crcated(sh<xunbelow). Notc thât a considcrablcamount ofspacc *'as flcccl in transirromng
fiom the trâditional process-villa€ielayout to a cellular configuration.

Apex Overhead Layout

,",1"r.
-tt'
r pallerof
_ purcnaseo
paftsin
invenlory flowrack tr
Inventoryis deliveredlrom the dock to Lhecells on a palleL.
tr
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Continuous-Flow Cells That Don't Flow Continuously
Apcx man:rgcrs initillll\ $erc clûrcd\'ith ùeir accomplishments. f'or errùrflc. in thc ljr'r
celi conve(ed (lrr light rruck fucl lincs)thcy cut drc spaccrcquircdby 75% from the .rmount
nccdcd undcr thc origin:rlp()ccss-villxgclayout.At the sâmetilne, when everydring\'ù\
opcrrting Ùcrlcctl!,they.educed product;onlead rimc bv 35% and morc than dorrblcd
plo<lLrctivitr as picccspcr prcductionxssori.rcpcr hour.Similârleûpsit
.rsnrcasLrrcd
pcrfornancc occrsion:rlly$'cre achieved in every cell.

IIowcvcr, thcsc lcvcls of pcrfrrr'rl1ancc

rvorc achievcd oûly rvhcn drc cclls flowed continLroLrslri
llnlbrtunacely,it xrou rvâsippllrcnt thât !his nolrnallywas not the casc.liot cxarrplc,wbat
shouldhîve been â steâclvoutpur of 90 fucl lincs pcLhorrtin lhc IighG.ruckocll L)cglrtto
fall short as thc novclt_vof thc nc!ï sysrcm w{Jrc01Ï and mrûxgcment lftcntion shilied !o
ol'20% soonbocirrrcthc nornr,ncccssitrringcxpcnsivcdail),
othcr issucs.lndccd, shonfrLlls
ovcltinrc.llvcn rvorsc.rhcscshortfàllswcrc cnxtic ând unprcdirtrblclioùr hour to hour it(l
dxy to da\,,nrrliing it (liilicult lil produ<,tionù)lûagcfs ro l)lilù.

li)rtrlnrrcl11,,^l)cx hrLl instxllcd ând fiLithfully usocla prodzction anabsis brxrd (rls<t ctllxLl
n prob[ent-soLuingboard) ncxc to cvcri, ccll. À1tcl a fov rvcchsofcrraric proL[rcti(nrin thc ncw
cruscsof producti(lnstoDpâgos
cclls,thc nosr irnl)ort,J11r wcro crsv to scr-:lncl srrnrnrrrizc-

Prodriction Anâlysis Chârt

Line
Fuel-Line
cetl BarbSmith

OuantityBequired Taktïme
690 40 sec.
Sign-off
{houdy}
6-7 90/90 90 190
7-b 90 t79 EO / 169 fiieeing paft5

a-9 9A/02 270 / 251 fiiesing paft'

9.'14. 90/71 360 / 322 wrongpâr'ts

1 4 . 11 90/90 450 I 322

90/44 540 / 406 wrongpa|t5

9Atb6 630 / 494 rni6singparLs

i!. '2.: 60160 690 J 552

OI
',3ô 694 / 690 (2hr.35 min.)
 =

Apex Pareto Analysis

45ô/,

40%

35./.

30Yo

25o/o

20.Â

15o/o

1îEo

0%
MissingPârts WrongParts Mâintênance Ouâlity Olher

Reasons
lorfâiluroto maintâinoptimumcelloutput

By aggregating the resuhsof rhe producrionânâlysischarrsfrom all 14cells,Apex rnanagcrs

wete able to constructa Pârecoânalysisfor the €nrirefâcility that showedthe leadingcauses
of prodùctionhâkslhroughourrhe plant.
E
E
The messâgcofthe Pâretoanâlysiswâsclear:'l'herootcauseof ahemostseriousproducÈion
intefluptionswâsunreliablesupplyofthe righcnumberofgood partsro eachcell.When E
materialsconsisrentlywete availableto the cells,the productionassociates
often wereâble
to meet dreir productionrequiromentwithoùt overtime,
E
E
This finding setApex managers ro thinking.In rhe spiritof goingro rhegemba(the shop
flooror, literallyrranslâted,the acù,ralplace),they decidedto rakeâ wâlk throughrhe plant t
to understând tIe accual,flow ofmâteriaisfrom the receivingdockro rhe cells.As they did rhis, E
theycalculatedthe âmoùntofinventoryin the plântcomparedwith whâtrheyhadexpectedro
find basedon lheir success with creâtingcells.Apex managers thenhad a secondr€alizarion: E
The amountolinventoryon handhadnot fâllennearlyâsmùchâsthey hadexpected. E
E
G
E
A bir of rellecrion sho\\cd rhe reâson:Ahhough Lheân\ounr of \\.ork-in-proccssinrenron
rrrDrn thc ccllsbctrveenmachincshad becn dfamaticâllvreduced,indeeddo\\rrto zero
in sonc cascs,largc amounts of invcnt{rry still wcrc pilcd up bcsidc chc cclls. And this s;s
the problem.

An examinationofan areaârourd a typicalcell showedtwo pâllctsofmost part numbcrs

rvcre being kept near the celi, one to supply curren! production ând ore es a bâckup. Nlost
mâûâgersLlid ûot trust tho currcnr Apcx mâtcrial-handling s1'srcmand had insisrcd on
large buffers of purchased pûrts in an effor! !o ensure steady producdon for thcir arcxs.
(Yct,ifonicâlly,thc mountainsof partsstill werc not ensuringsteadyoutput.)

Excessive Inventory Around Cells

I
I I
T I
Most Apex cells keeptwo pâlletsof
TI eachpartnumberaroundthe cell.
I IT

I denotesone palletof inventory

^s the tcrr))c{)ttinuc(lits \ùrll(,it wàs soonrpparcnrchatthc porfornrancc

of thc matcrial
hâncllingsvs!onlNirsllcruâll_v
evcn wo.serhàn ir lirst àppcîfccl.'l'hcApcx managcrskncu,
thrt thc srInc prrr nl|rrbcls wcrc usoclby a numbcr oi c(jlls,but they soonrealizeclthâl
pelle.sof prrrs ol drc srnlr:pârr nurrlberwerc srorcdbcsiclccvcry ccll that uscd ûe pan.
This grcath incrcrscdrhc rmounr of pirr$ in the plânt ând mâdc it difficLrhco dctcrlninc
rhc truc lo cl oi inlcntorr' lbr crch pan-Âs a resultof rhe inabilityto rrâckmâtcriâls- rhc
linel disco\er\ofthe tc.rn.surlk - pans rvcrcfrcquendybeingexpeditedfrom suppliersat
high cost n hcn thc\' $ crc ircrùall\' ir\,âileblein âdequâte quânt;t.ysotuetuherei\ d1c p|?,nt.

PAFT: GETTNG STARTED

Redundant lnventory at Cêlls
r\s a fcsuh of rhcif wâlk, Apcx managers suddcnlycould seethxt they had createdlean
producti(ù wirhin their cellsbùt had rerainedan expensiveand undependûblemass
production mâterial-handling s1'stemto supplychccclls.
'I
his producedmâny Lrndesirable
consequences:
. Pfoductiù1opcrâtors
ând sùpcrvisorsrverespendingvaluabletime iookingfor palts.
. The cotâlinvcntoryin the plmt wàs1àrmore thân necessaq,.
. Nlânydangefousforl(lift movcmcrts\À.crcnccclcdto supply thc pxllct loâdsof plrrs
t()lhc cclls.
. The costoloxpediting"missirg"mxrorial(muchofwhich rvasiû drc plantbut
ilrrpossiblcto locxre)wâsmore lhirn ir lhousânddollarspcr week.
. Ovcrrimc ro mâl<oLrpproductionshortfallsdue to wrongor missingl)âr!swâsâ
mâjorplânt expense.

'lb
usca biological analogy,rhc incliviclutl
ccllsnowwcrc hc.tlthy,
bur thc circulâtory
systcnr
\vîs clllrsrûgthe wholc orgllnismto lècl sicl(.

Redundant lhvêntory ât Cells

Part#99009IsweeLs Part#99009I2weeks Part#99009Iaweers

rgweeksg:iJ,'3"îi:
53JIJJ3"î[? lsweeks
lz*eers 53iJJ3"1[î
Thereare 26 weeksof part#99009on the Tloor. È

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 Targets for a Lean Material-Handling System
To crearea leanerplant.Apcx managersneededto introducea ieanmarerial-handlingsvsrem
to make materials17ot,rhroùghourthc facil;tywith much higherâccuracyat much lorver
cos!.Specificâll\:
thcv needed:

. A proccssfor dcscribingwi!h greâtprecisionhow everypâft would be managedtrom

- the reccivingdockro ;rspoinrof usein the plânl
. :\ purchâscd-prrrs
markernearrhe receivingdockcohold andconcrolthe necessary
parts.
. :\ prcc;scdcli\crv sysremto get the paft$to the poinr of use.
E
. i\ prcciscsignâlingsyscemthar eachprodùctionâteawould usc ro pulljusc the partsic
ril
nccdedfrom thc purchâsed-parts mârker.
Èt
:\pcx nranrgcrsrhen drew â rew future-statemap wi$ the îeâturesindicatedlrcre.
5 (\orc rhrr for thc momentApex will conrinueto orderpurchâscdpartsthroughils MRP
s\srcIn.l.urrhcr down dre roadic plansto extondirs purchâsed-pafts pull sysrcmdirecrly
r.i-
oLrrnr supplicrsand bypasstho MRP Similârl$ on rhe orherend ol rhe valuesr.cam,ftc
ruthorizrr!ionlor ocllsto prodùcegoodsevenrually\'!'illbe ûiggercdby pull signaiscoming
fionr rhe ouscomcr-cnd of chelacilicy,)
I

tl Apêx Light-Truck Fuel-Lines Second Future-State Map

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- | ,s l-.@rî@t I
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lr PANT: GETTING
STAÊTED
Basedon extcnsivccxpcriencewith materialsmanagemert,we can estimatereâsonâtrlc
targetsfor the performanceof a lean material-handling
systcmfor the Apex fàcility 1n
comparisonwith the currentpcrlormânce(srown belou).

Apex Material-Handling SysterYl

Current-Stâtê Target

Materialhândlerson production
floor 14 5
Percentoperatortime retrievingparts 10-16% o%
spacerequiredto
Percentof mânufâcturing
store parts inventory 20%
Totalplantinventoryturns a 15
Parts inventoryât cells 2-3 àays 2 hr.
for partsdelivery
Forklifts 7 o
incidentsper year
Forkliftrecordable 13 o
Averageproductionper shiTt/target
productionper shift 552/690 690/690
Dailyovertimeper light-truck
fuel-linece 2 hr.35 nj'in. O fiin.

Costof overtime,entireplantper week çt9,500 6o

All expediteddeliverycostsper week ç1,4OO 6o

The Key Role of the Production Control Department

Ifs onc thing() dcsirca bcrtermaterial-handling sysrem; it's quireanorhorth;ngt.-
achieveand sustainit. As always,managcmcnc anclorganization arc key.Apex therefore
neededto focuson an ofccn-ncglccccd groupin its orgânizâtion - the Prcd.uction E
Cofitrol Deparbalefit* and give it centerstage.While this grouprvascallcclPror-lu.tioD
Control ât Apex (and often is câlledlogÀrlcs Corltrol, Matetials Cantrol, or Inuefitary
E
Coztrol in orhercompanies);t âctuallydidn't .orlfol ânything.lt plannedthe rveekly E
schcdulcând thenfunctioûedasan expediierto chasem;ssingparrsândhcadoffshurdowns
due to lack of naterials.
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T \rsr .isç:L!sJ!,r rcr ir:r1izcI).oducrionControl ând rnâkc ;r â cen!.alfigure in irs
::.:::::. I l,'{ cr.r. !o bc succcssfirl
I)rocluction
Conlrolcouldnor work âlonc.ft needed
ir :', :-J ,,nc c,,rncr oi r daortol..loot mtlterials tnargle thar includes rhe Operacions
t l)cn:n;ncn! rnd rhc Industrial Ongincering Department. In your operation,ofcourse
ihc n.rnrcsli,r thcsc rctivities may be diffcrcnt. Rcgârdless,someonemust bc tcnding
-
r' tr)ducrion ronr()l (includingcxpedicing),productionopeûr;ons,ând layout
Èl pl3nninr. ,\pc\ reedcd to tighdy coordinatedre effortsof thc thrcc groups.

al

!a
Door-to-Door Mâterials Triangle
I
ProductionControl
Èl

!l
lndustrial
Operations Engineering
!a

{!l As ir movcd?rheÀd with implcmcnring a lcm mâlcdal-handling sysrcm, Apexquickly

learncddracchangcsin dre sysrcmnocdcdcobc discussed and rgrocdt<)by .rll rhrcc
mcmbers(}1!hcmâtcrials trianglc.Orhcrwisc, sctiousproblcmsrvcrcsurcto arisc.
Thc proofofthis principlccarncoarlyin Apex'sinplcmcnrâtionrr1lhcnew mârcriâls
svstemrvhcnProducrionConrroldecidcdto crcatcân âislefor â plânncdmatcrial-
dclivcryroùtc.lndustrialEnginccringdcsignedthc aisloand passedthe projecton ùr
È rlrcl.'rc;lirics
DcpartmcnlHowcvcr,i! tumodour thetthe pro!:luclion operacions in
,.!
the âreânccdcdâcccss ro an immovàble wârcrlinc direcrlyabovethe planncdaislc.
'l'hc problcrt just
urs ceught bcîorcrhe srartof constrlrction,but âll of rhe planning
{ ellln r'.rsu rstcd ;rndirnplenentârionof ncw deliveryroutcswasdclayed.

à Às l rcsul!of ùis rnd orhcrcxpcricnces, .^pexmanagcrs insriruteda decision-making

rule tlrâr\rc rrrsc\oLrro copr. Proposalsto ^ltet dnythingâflècringrhe managemenr
of materials $ idrin rhc frcilir\ no\! mlrsrbe signedoff b\,eachmemberof.hc door
to-doorrrâtcriâl\!rirnglcbclifc implcmcnralron.

-.?
PAFT GETI '.iGSTABTED
 steps

Getting Started
Oncc Apex had revitalizedicsProductionConrrol
Deparcmentwichnervleadership andclearrcsponsibiliry
for drc dooÈto-doorflow of m^tcrirls ând clxriflcd dlis
deptrtment'srelacions widr the orhef key departments,
ir \yâsreâdyto qùickly implomort â loânmarcriâl-
hândlingsystem.
'T'his
involvcdfoursirrplobut dorrrxnding
stcps:

1..Developt PIan for EueryPart (PFEP),,\ (l^t,\b^sc

lor cvcrypârtnumbcrcnteriûgdrc plân!!hâtcontains
choparc'.s
spccifications,supplicr,locdtionof supplicr,
storàgepointsJpoint of use,râtc of Ùsâge,ând othcr
importantinformacion.

2. Creetea sil;.glepurchased.-pttttsmarket fot ^ll p^tts

cntcringthc plancând implcmcnrcârcfulfulcslbr
i$ mâûâgement,

3- lnitiare ptecisedelirlery/o?rtesro move âll mâteriâls

within the plant, ucilizingstandardwork.

,1.Intcgratcchcrcw /rraterial-hafidlifig
systemwith the
information managemer?, sysremthroughthe useof
pull signalsto ensnrcrhatonly chcpartsconsumccl
by the cellswiil be replenished.
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I In rhc prucs.rhcrd$c rvill plovide vou rvith all thc inftrrmationand rrcdrods
r.rr ncctl ro rrlic thcscsarncstcps.Wc'll do it by rvaikingyou through 10 sirnplc
I qLrcstions. px^'iding anstversand exênlplcs.llccauscthc lervardsoftîking rhesc
\rcp5 rlrc lbunLlxnt fi)r xny opcrarion, lofs eierstrrtcd righr n(rw
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I ls Your FacililyMore Complicated?
I We'vechosenthisApexfacilityfor our examplein thiswork-
bookbecauseit is relativelysimpleand makesa simpleproduct.
I Thismakesit easyto illustrâlethe keyprjnciples involvedin
leanmaterial-handling. However, your facilitymay be more
I complicated. Forexample,you may hâvefâbrication areas
workingin batchmodethât supplyintermediate goodsto
f yourfinalassembly cells.Or yôu may havetraditionâl âssembly
I lioesratherthancells.And your productfamiliesmay have
muchlowervolumeswith widervarietythan at Apex.As we
I proceed throughthisworkbook, we will keeptheApexexample
in the foregroundfor easeof illustrating the keyprinciples.
In
I the Appendixwe will discussbrieflyhow to dealwjth more
I complicated situations,

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Start With Flow And Pull lf You Can
It is âlwaysbestto starta leanimplementation in a facilityby
introducing â pullsystemfrom the customerbackward at the
samêtimeyou mâkeproductsand materials flow forward.
However, we lind that manyfirmsfocusfirst on cellularization,
followedonly later- and sometimesmuchlâter - by a pull
systemfrom the front (customer end)oJthe {acility.

In lightof this wid€spreâd practice,we havetreatedthe intro-

ductionof a leanmateriâl-handling system- with pullsignals
from production cellsbackto a purchased-parts marketand
with materialsdeliveryfrom the mârketto the cellsonly in
response to thesesignals- as an isolatedactivity.we show
how to introducethis systemin a facilityretainingits traditional
MRPproduction controlsystem,with no leveling,no
finished-goods market,and no pull signalsto supplierc,

However,pleasenote that firms thât takethe prcferrcd palh E

and introducea completepullsystemwith heijunkaas they
introducecellswill find thatthe methodsfor introducinga
E
leânmâteriâl-handling systemdescribed hereare perfectly E
compatiblewith the completepull systemand easyto âpply,
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The Plan For Every Part (PFEP)
I
.\p€\ manascfsrealizcdrhar to introducea leanmatcriai-handling sysremrhey would neecl
ir () undcrsrrndeveryrhingaboutthe handlingof everypârc How is thc part purchascd?
il I lo$ is it reccivcd?I-lowis it pâckÂgediWherc is ic sroredl[,low is i! delivcrcdcorrspornr
of uscin the faciliryl
a
In fllcr, nruchof this irformation cxisted,but it wasstored!n many diffcrcnt placesundcr
I
rhc conrrolof mânymânagersand mostlywasinvisible.Apex thcrcforerook thc critical
!l srcp ofcollcoringalllof thc relevântparrsinformationin one plâce- the plan for Every
Pdlt (PFEP) - and makingrhe inform,lrionvis!blc ro everyonc.
'I
bc simplcscpachto visibiliry wâsto crcâreâ spreadshcctto ârrâythc datâand makc ir
!a
îvâilàblein elcctronicform to any user.(Flowcver,Apox manâgcrsâlsorcalizcdthar as
!hcir business grewrho numberof parcnumbersmightincreasc andtluc a! somopoir[
rhcv nljgh! wânt comigrarcrheirdatâro a dambase.) Usinga spreadshccror a databasc
has
oÏo criticrl advantagcs:First,it makesit possiblcto son clataby manydiffcrcntcâlcgorics
i (c.9.,odcr liequency,conrâinerdimcnsions,hourlyusage).Second,ir permicschângingârd
rd(lingcalcgorics with r minimumâmounc of efforu.
As wc will sec,rhcsecapabilitics
will
bc crllcdon dr manypoin$ in developing thc Ieanmateriafhandling sysrem, whercrhc
u.rtchxrrcl for thc PFEP must 6e flexibility.

!l Ouestion 1: What inforlnation should you include in

your PFEP?
al
.\licr sonrcclrclirl thinking aboutrheir likely informationnceds,Apex managersdeciclc<J
aa &) includcin rhcirI)l:llP rhe infbrmarion shownin rhechârron the followingpage.(Asit
h.rppcncd..\pc\ sclccredrhc nlostcommoncategoriesof partsinformat;onlhât wc ôoserve
conrpenics using.Ilorlclcr. *cn facilityis differentandyou will no doubrfind thatthe
I inform3r;on nccdcdin \our PFEPrvillbc difierentin someways.)
Al)ex PFE P Data Elements

Part# N}mber useà uo iàenliff lhe malerial in the lacility

Description Mâaeriâlname(e.9.,lrane, bolt,nut, yoke)

DailyUsage Aveûge ânount of mat erial useAh a àay E
UsageLocation Procegelarcâq wherethe mâterial i5 u^eà (e.9.,Cell14)
E
StorageLocation Aààree, (locarion)whercthe fiâterial ie etorcà
E
Order Frequency Frequencythat the tnaterial is o?àercàÎrcrr, the su??lier\e.q.,àaily,
weekly,monLhly,as requireà) V
Supplier Nameof T-hemaferial eupplier
E
SupplierCity CiTy\\here Thesupplieri5 locateà
E
SupplierState 9t àve,province. reqion,or àibrrict wherethe eupplieri5 locaYeà

SupplierCountry Country wherer.heeuppl;erie locateà Ê

container Type "(ypeof lhe c.onIai.ler(e.9.,à<penàable,

rcurnable) E
ContâinerWeight WeightoI anemptyconxainer E
1 Part Weight Weight.o11lnit oi material
È
TotâlPackageWeight Weightol a fûll containerof malerial
t
Container Length Lengthor depth o+the conrainer

ContâinerWidth Wiâthoi xhecontainer G

Container Heighl Heiqht ol lhe êontainer G
UsâgePerAssembly Nuft,be|of pafts requireàlor 1linisheà proàucI G
Hourly Usage Mâxitnufi numberof pieaesuseà per hour
G
StândardContâiner Piececount of fiaierlal in 1conlainer
Ouantity E
ContainersUsed Mâxifiurnnumberof êonlainergreauireàoer hour
Per Hour E
ShipmentSize Size ol a sia\àarâ shi?menI in àaye (1weekçhipment = 5 àây5) E
Carrier Cofi pany pr oviàanqparLs-Nrangp s ervice9
orT.aT.ion
Ê
TransitTime kâvel tirne reqùiredlrom the 5v?plierto xhe facilit'y (in àay,)
Ê
# oI Cârdsin Loop Nunbe?of pullsiïnals that are in the ,y'tem

quality,ew. Ê
SupplierPerformanceSupplier nting lhât incluàes
?erforrnance on-timeàelivery,
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a Fill the PFEP

a .\. sc hr!c norrd..\pcr'rntanrgcrs ucrc cpitccaurious

ih. cr.!rion oi r lcrn matcri.rl-handling system.
aschevapproached
'l'hcy
dccidcdro gain
a trnrili:rri!\\\irh (he ncs s\srcmb.. fillins in lhe PFEP spreâdsheet for
onlr .r ringlcs.orkccll (=1.+) proclucing Iight-cruchfuel lines.They then
pl.rnnciJ ro crc.rrca prrrchascd-pârrsmarke!only for the pârcsus€din this
a rcll. iûd rhcnto introducca dcliveryrouceândpullsigrâlsonly for this
ccll t.r proccdurc$'e will lbllow in this workbool(âswell). h this rvaythey
=
hopcdll) fulh Lrndcrsrând how rhesysremworkcdbclorccxrend;ng ir

'I
his n.* sccmcxccssively caucious, andyou ûây choscrc implemen!all
li)Lrrof drcsesrepsfor ân cntircprocluct fam;lyor even1bryoLrrcntifcplan!
if it is vcry sirrple. Llowever,in dccidinghow b.oâda projectro rakc on wc
rlrgcvoll|to follow somesimple âdvice:Srdr,r/ith d scopeyau orc ceftain
lo11clfi lnanage.'7l\issocmsobvioùs,but wo ltaveseenmany instanccs
*ùcrc narragcrsried to devcloprhc PFDP plùs the purchasedlansmrrkct
înd rhc dolivcrysystemÀllat oncelor largefaciliticswith manyvaluestrcams,
rncl rhey revor gor rho projocrfinished.Oq even rvorso,lhcy rool(shorrcùts
rhrr coml)romised the quali!yof dlc dataândsùtk rhe offorclrom rhooursct.
It'snrLrch botrcrto startsmàllby implcmonti,rg â hillh-quâlity
cxâmplcof
!hc cnrircsystcnînd chonto oxpandon yourinitialsucccss dranic is to get
-
in orcr vourhcad,fril, ândhaveto sltrt ovorâgain or simplyro givoup.

The Role of the PFEPin Smoolh ProductLaunches

ln additionto the management o{ currentpartsfor currentproducts,
Apexintendsto uselhe PFEP whendeveloping newproducts, with a
rule that no new productcan be movedto the productionprepârâtion
stagewithoutdocumenting completePFEPdata.Apex managers
believethat an accurâtePFEP, developed and testedwell beforethê
beginningof production,will be a powerfultool forthe development
team in guaranteeing trouble-free launches at targetcost.
 Apex PFEP

rypô wt.lrb.) wr.06.r M.lrbt

13224 coôôêdor 2760l

'6ô "c"fia -è"'ry6"à"'

r"r"ii"i *ui""r cr".r"*r oH

llocauscApex scarced rvith only onecell,thc mînrrgerstooksl)cciâlcrlrcin clcsigning

thc l'Flil)
bectrusethel' l.rnewchatrheywould $oonbc cxpânLlingit () includc^ll livc ccllsproduoing
thc light-truckproductfaùrilyândcvcntuallyto evcryproductfâmilyin thc plant. lhey
wxntcdto âvoidâny significanc oldre clltcgoricsin chcPlrlal)âsdtc irrplcmcnt.rtion
rervorl<
progresseci,anddid chisby thiûkingcâfcfùllyfiom ftc outsctrboucclâtirolcmcûtsthâtodrcr
pArtsrbrougbout thc plantmigbtrcqrirc.

Noto tharApcx cntcrcddâcàfor câchl)IrEl) cltogorvirr thc smâllcstolcmcntpossiblc.lhd

thcy uscda singlccntry1brcontainor sizc- c.g.,l2 inchcsrviclcby (r inchcshighby 10
F
inchcslong- ir wouldhâvcbceûimpossjble ro sortjust by hcight.Yetthisis oriricâl
infonnàtionfor dcsigningstorugclocarions.Âpox drcrcforocrcatcdâ scpârîrccatcgor,v lor ç
eachdimcnsion(rvid$,hcight,ancllcngch). Sirrilarly,ilApcx haclcntcLccl thc cic-v,
scdtcj
andcountlyof $c supplicron onc linc it wouldhlvc becninpossibleto sortb-\'stirteo. B
countD,.Yetthiswill be importântiûfo.mâtion in dle Îuûre for ûinking aboutorgnnizing E
milk-rundeliverieslrom supplicrs.Apcx rbcrcforcdividccladdrcsscs into thrcccolumns.

I
Ouestion 2: Hor / vvill you maintain the integrity
of the PFEP? t
We're aiwaysamazedto seecompaniesstartout to oscabl;sh â PIEP by plâcingthe tâskit
I
the handsof a spocialrâskforcc,$,ith little involvementby line management. This may be
nôccssâry!or even the bestway to get started,bur often there simply is no planlor horvro I
maintainthe PFEP onceiCscomplecc.Wirh no onc taking rcsponsibilityfor mâintenance,
the accuracyof chedatastartsto d()teriomteâlmostimmediâtelyand manycompaniesarc
bcrvildcrcdasto rvhl'.
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= 15 61 20 Dôy. Vitén

e
a .\pcx uvoirlcdthis pitfall by appointingone personfrom drc l)rxlùction (iJrtrol l)cpx.tnlcnt
a r\ ric l)lLIt mdn.lger. Wbilo smallcr facilitic$ likc Apex cltlr âppoin! one pcrson !o m:rùâge

a thc I'l l.)P lirr cvory valuo strean, in thc crriro plant, lxrgc fâcilitics rr.ry nccd scvcr.rlP|EP
assistrnts, assigncclto diffcrcnt producc-fanrily
vîluc st.oârns.ln our cxpcricûcc,hâvingonly
()nc I)l:l.ll)nrrnlrgor,
with Nsistântsil noccssâr')',
will Lrsually l)1.'l,lll
mcîn 1lmorc âccrrrârc

.\lthoLrghdre I'l,lll) is âccossiblo

to rrnycDlployocin tho ooml)aoyncodinijdro d:lta,irz
r{ l)l:1.1)tndn.lgcl is the only intliuidual urho can change and ultdate the PlitiP Apcx also
institLrtcdgrriciclinos chatrcquircdovcry par! !o l)c docùnlcntcdin thc Pl,'l,lPrnd xpD.ovcd
'l
b\ rhc l)111,)l)
Inàûàgcrbefbrc it coùid .rppc.rloû ùc shop iloor'. his wrs aicloclby a PFEP
(:hd !:c Rcqucst liorm (see next page).

l\ cstultlishingrt l)l.EP nrânrgcrând dcvclopingprcciscgrridolinoslor changcsin rny

inti,rrn:rrion
in drc PFllq Apex ensureddrat the PFEP is ahvaysup ro darcand rccompaniccl
h.rp.rpcrtrailofch:rngcs-Ildoncproporly,thisâlsomâkcsitimpossiblctocbengelrpânon
lhr rl,r,r s itlrorrtcomlnunicrrirg thât chângcto all affcctcclpnrccsscsand ro rhc kcy plâyersin
:l:. r)r.rn:rgcrùcnr
r)ldooÊto-door mererialsflo\,!,,âll ofwhom rvill acccssApcx's PIiEll

I )r::r:r-a'rrinc opcrrtior)s.^pex's ProdùctionContfoi l)cpârLmcntwill uso rhc PIrllP as a

=
-* :rirrrn.c rr knou rlhrr companvsuppliesâ parr,wlrerechesupplieris locetr:o,.no
z :r'. ::: r::rk.. t,),lctthcprrt. Opcrarionsrvill usc chcPFIIP in an emergency, such âs
. . :r: , :.: i,lrlr sirh pLrrchrrsed
par$ qualiqJ.lûdustriâlEngilccring will usc thc PFLP
=
: ::::-:::.r . ;rr.,rncr,linrcnsions
rnd dcsign pans-presentâtion
devices.Ifeach ofrbese
= - : - : _ - - . . r . l r . i : r : . : l c i n | r r m r r i o n i n d r c a b s c n c c o f a l o rpmr oa cl e srsh, c q u â l i l v o f l h c
, : : : : : : : , : : : . , : r : i . iJ c r c r L o m r c .
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Apex's Change Requêst Form

PFEPChangeRequestF orm
Apex ProductionControl
CurreniDôta Chânge
Paft # 13590
Description
DailyUsage 690
Usaqe Location Cel|14
StorâgeLocation Mârket
OrderFrequency Daily
Suppl fhe Cabby
Supple r City Dayaon
S u p p el r state OH
S u p p el r Country U9
Contaner Type Exoenàable
Contaner Weight(lb.) 5 2.5
1 Part Weight(lb.i o.o5
Total PackageWeight (lb.) 10 7.5
Contaner Length(in.) 12 6
Contaner Width (in.) 6 t
Contâner Height(in.) 6 12
Usageper Assembly 1 t
Hourlyusâge 90
StândardContainer Ouantity 100
t
ContainersUsedper Hour o.9 E
ShipmentSize 5 Days
Carrier Vil:.nn E
TransitÏme 3Dày5 E
# of Cardsin Loop 2.7
SupplierPerformance 2 E
Explainthe reasonfor change: E
Metal lo caràboalâ conTainer

E
Personsubmitting
Position E
Date
Approvedby Production Control E
Approvedby Operâtions
Approvedby Industrial
Engineering
E
E
The personsubmittingthe form only fills in the fields in the far right column that need
t o b e c h a n g e di n t h e P F E P E
E
t
a
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a
'I'hc
a and properl_\
managed,
filled rvith partsinformation,
PITEP.oncccarefulh-esrablished,
enabledApcx tor
a . Ilcgin crcarionof its leanmaterial-handling
e subsequentlydevelopicspurchased-parts
systemand
rnarket,delivery
a rouces, and pull signâls.

a . Srorepertirent cuffent dataon all parlsin one ceûttal,

a âccessible
locâtior.

. Sorcpartsdataby variouscategories,
EI suchâscontaiter sizc,
sùpplierlocation,and dâily usage.
a
. Providequick response qucstionsrogârdingparcs
to opcrations
EI andsùpplie(s.
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ls the PFEPLoan?
Ël ls development and updâtingof the PFEPa value-creâling process?
rl No, becauseit doos not directlycreate value from the standpoint
of the cusfomer,instead;it is imporiant incidentalwork that will
Ël increase the percentage
significantly of value-creâtingâctivities that
occurthroughoutyour plant.
Ël
N4any Iirms believethey havethe functionâlequivalent
of â PFEP
rr "somewhere in the sysiem,"andwonderif creatingandcontinually
:l updatinga PFEPas a distinctdataset reâllycreâtesvâlue.Our
ânsweris that when informationis in manyplacesand hardfor
:r everyoneto see,value-creâting throughoutthe planl
âclivities
can't be supportedwith accursteand timely information.Wâstes
:l of manysortsbecomeunavoidable.
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 Developing a Purchased'Parts Market
Wirh irs PI.EP establishedfor work cell 14,Apex had the necessaryparts
inlormationro continuewirh thc implcmeùtâriorof rhe lem mâteriafhandling
s-ystcm. Thc rexr phasewâsdevelopmenrol a purchased-patts ûlatket - ^
singlelocerionin Apex to hold a controlledlovel of everypurchâsedpârcuscd
for work cell 14,As dre implcmcntationp.occeds,ùc markerwill cxpandto
hold all purchâsedpartsfor thc light-truckproductfamily.Finally,asâll producc
familiesare addedto the material-handlirgsystem,every purchâsedpârru$cd
in rhe Îâcilirylvill be s|oredin the purchÂsed-pârts
mârket.

We willfollow Apex throughdre slepsic took to crearelhe mârke[i locating

rhe purchrsed-pârtsmârket,determining thc mârl(ct\sizeincludingthc
correctinvenroryofcach parrnumbcr,and establishingguidclinesfor operacing
[hc mârkct.

Ouestion 3: Where do you locate your

purchased-parts market?
Apex sct an areaasideneartho rcccivingdockin thc facilitylor rhc purchascd-
parrsmarket.This locationallowsquick deliveryfrom the dock to sroragerâcks
in the market.While the marhetinitially held only partsfor work cell 14,Apex
nranagcrs sclectedan arealargeenoughto accomrnodâtc a mârketstockedwith
pur.hrsed pârtsfbr the entireplânr.(Fortunately,Apex hâd beenable ro free
!hc necdcdspacenearthe receiving dockfor thispurposeasa resultolprevious
sork esrablishingcclls.In facilitieswherethis is not the câse,we ùrgemânâgers
ro r3kc rhe c\rrâ rroublero locatethe purchased-parts
marketascloseto the
rcccirin.l àrc! ùspossible,evenifthis requiresrelocaring
produccionactivitics.)

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=

,À:- ! . \ . ! c r \ c a r _ r a - , 1 s a rl : : - s , , , : . ( : - 23
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Aoex - The Purchased-Parts Mârket in Place È

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'ilfi"'" - Ë:;,Tff"I:i'iï]"*
inventorv low.aôk
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EliminateTriple Handlingof Materials
Toooftenwe seeone personon the receiving dockremovingmateriâlfromtrucks I
and settingit down.Thenânotherpersondoesthe paperwork to receivethe material,
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sometimesneedingto movethe materiâlseverâltimesin this process. Finally,a third
perconmovesmaterialto storagelocationsin the facility.This triple hândlingis wasteful. I
It alsocreatesmanyopportunitiesfor errorsand damagedor misplaced parts.
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l\/aterialhandlersshouldmovethe materialsas directlyas possibleJromthe truckto the
purchased-parts mârket,eliminâting one or more unnecessary stepswhile improving .:
qualityand accuracy. Of course,in a perfectworld,deliverieswould go directlyfrom the
dockto the value-creatingcellsin one step.Unfortunately,this is rarelypossibleexcept
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in plantswith ultralowproduction volumesand smal!numbersof partsper productor I
in plants where pans aredeliveredin production-reâdy
kiLsby ân external supplier.
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Ouestion 4: lruhat is the correct amount of each part
to hold in the market, and how much space \rvill be
required to store each part?
'Iir
lal oLrrùcir purchascd-pârrsmârket,Apexmarage$lirst reededto calcûlaterhe maximlrm
anount oferch prrt nunrberrhet\r'ouldbe requiredir dre mârketto suppor!normaloperrtioni
bv \rîrk ccll 1-1.'lhis nreantderenriningcheaverage dailyusageofeachpartnumberro be
storedin the nrrrket.the receiving shipmcntsizcof cachpartnurrber(in daysof usagc),
'l
and ûc ncccssarv buffcr (in da),sof usage)lbr eachpârt nLrmber his irlormârionpermitled
x c0lculîrj(rnof dle mâximuminvenlorylev€lfor eachpan.By caiculacing rhequant;tyof
cont.rincrs nccclcdto lxrldthisinvcntorylevclandrnulriplying by tho physicaldirncnsions
ofcrch containelApexmânagers !heocouldcalculâce chetotâlamountofspâcerequircd
in rhc mrrkcrm storcthcscpxrts.

l.irnunutcl),,thc hardwork requircdcoconstrrrctand fill in rhe PFDP was now payingoff.

\4rny of dresecâlculârions crn bc pcrfonncdvcry quickly \\.ith datain rbc I)FIill

Determine the Maximum lnventory Levels

Apexl)egânby definingchcmâxirnùminventory]cvclsfor câchpÀrtuscdin worliccll l.l.
Wo'll follorvthcrr thrrnrghthe procossfor one pârt,#13,1.56,
à hosc.Âpox dctonrinocltho
pllnncdÛrtximuminven|oryir the mârkcrlor rbispârtusingclrcfollowingformrrlâl

PlânnedMâximum Invenlory Level=

(Dailyusagex Shipmentsizein days) + Purchased-parts
buffer

'l
hc shipmentsizeis basedon the d.eliueryfrequencyûànslatediûto a numberof dâys
of prtxlLrccion
invcntory.

Shipment Size

Deliveryfrequency = Shipmentsize in daysoI production

1 lrme per week 5 daysof production
2 limes per week 2.5dâysof production
5 tirnes per week 1 day of production

r',ir:. \o:r rcfcrcd ro rheirPFEPto gatherdàte(dâilyusâgeandshipmentsize)

oqq- D:\E-oo\cÂr :a-trs:- rr:-c'.i::.:-

Apex PFEP

oâi4Ôi

c;llÉ M*k"i

aeo cer 14 lta-d 3 wa"l ComriÉao" Ci.' I Ji

'l
he buflèrfor thispartis the amountof invcntoLyth:rtnccdslo bc kcpr on hxndbcyond
thc minimLrm shipping(lurntitvro cnsurothxt pxrtswill âllvrysbc xvailîblclor procluction I
'lb
noods. oxlculÙcthc âpp()l)riarc bufforrcquiresconsidcring ir nllmbclof variablcs
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involvingbodrprdur:tiûr vxriadons ât ^pox andvâriâtions in thc dclivcrypcrforrranccof
he v.uiablcs
sLrppliers.'I ^pcx considcfcd thc l)ulIcrfi)r purt+13456woro:
in cstâblishinij I
SupplierPerformânce:
. Ounljryhistory
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. On-timcpc brmrncc
. llcliabiliryo1trensportâtion
mothocl I
. Physicâl (listàncc
to supplicr I
. Risksof bâdwcâthcror othorrnoonc()llablo
factoLs
in dolivoLy
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Apex Performance:
I
. Vâriâtionsin usâgeof chepârt by rlrc ^pcx prodùcrioncells
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Âpex managcrs
'fhis
roicrrcdto choirPli'lil' rnd foundrhatpalr#13,156 is supplicdby SunN41g. I
compâryis locâtedlessthân150milesfron theirlàcilitt' (rvithinlour hoursby trLrck)
andhasa rccordasan cxccllcntsupplicr (Whcn the P!'Bq Apexhâdquickh
cstablishing
dcvclopedâ rrdimentârysupplierrrriûgsysremdretrângedfrom J for Excellentto 5 for Bad.
Ifyour lacilityalready hasa supplicllaring sysccm or supplicrscolccrrd in plâcc,incorg)r'rtc
rhoscranl<ings inro youLPFDP Ifyou hck t supplieÊrâtingsysrem,startoff asApex did.)
I{owcvcr,the designâted transportatior carrierlinking Sun and Apex waserrâtic,dclrvcnngâ
,l.r)c 'rl' or c da1l..rre
for mosr.hipmcnt'.

Lookingar Apexinternalopcrations, ir wasappârcntthat proLluction

of products re,1L rrrrrr
rhis part xlsowrs quite vxriâble,sometimeseveû doubliûgîor a da-vâs an extrashift rvrs rrrn
ro rrcconrnrodatea spikein dernand fromdrecustomcc Apcxnccdcdto cnsurcthetinrcnton
 s a5ory') Fyd"'

!r,rson hxnd ro mcct ocll 14'srrcrage d:rilyusageof690 units oithis parcnumbel ovcl an
cxtcr(lcd pcri(xl.ln thc ptst to dcal rvith thc shiprncncvarirtionsjLrsâgc
vlrrirti(nlsixnd
oncc-l-rIcck shipmcnrsfr)m rhc sLrpplicr,
Apcx rppârondyhad l)con cxr.yingl)otwcon
6,(X)0and 10.(XX)itcnrsof pârr#13456.(Acruâlly,it lvâshad to bc surc l)coiuschislo c
ol invcntory hckl wcrc difficult to find, cvon thoughcvcryoncat
rccordjion thc irnr(Joût
^pox sri(i thc! "knor"' thc typic.rllcvcl.)

Apcx ùrnrgcrs \\,ould havc likccl to iix drc problcms nfclrncic carricl pcrlbrnùncc:lnd vltrying
pnrdrrcrionlcvcls bcfirfccstÀl)lishing
tho pùrcbâscLl-l)âr'ts
nlxrkot.Ilowcvcr',ir rvoultlclcurly
bc sonrctinrc boli)rothcsc problcmswcrc trchlcd, so Apcx rrrnlgcrs choscto hold cnoLrgh
ùco(ls
iDvcntori,ro tlcrl rith thcsc vâriâtionsin ordcr to irlwiryssupl)ortDro(lLrotior

Apcx cilcuhtod thnr thc plrchesocllartsnradrotshoulclholclonc dly of bulièt (690picccs)

() covor rhc vdfiirriorlin inccrnrlrrrnulircruringLrsrgcand onc addiri(Dàldxy of buffcr (690
addirionalpicccs)ro covcr rhc vlrixcionsin perlbrnânceoitlle càrrier,for r total of nvo
days'rvorthof parrsrcquiremcnts(1,31t{) rrnits).(Rcmcrrbcr û^t thc cerficroftcn dclivcrcd
â dây lato bLrtthcrc wâs lcssthan e clayof transittimc bctu,ccnApcx rnd thc sul)plicriû
câsc1tncxpeditcd shipmcnt shouldbe requiredto sùstâinproducrion.)

'l'hese
consiclerâr;onscsrâblished dle maximùm inventory to be held ir dr(- markct âs 3,450
(the sizeof thc normalrvccklyshipnront)+ 690 (to dcal with productionvarirtion)+ 690 Go
cloalwich ca|ricr variarôn) : 4,830 pieces.'I his wâs â striliing contrast to the 6,000 ro 10,000
iÈn1s ofpart #13456 rhât were believeclto hâve beer held in the past.

Planned Maximum Inventory Level

(Da;lyusagex Shipmentsizein days) + Purchased-parts

buffer
(690pieces x '1,380pieces
5 days (1 time per week)) +
3,450pieces + 1.380pieces = 4.830pieces
Calculate the quantity of containers
\pcr's pLrrch.rscd-pans marlict must bc sizcd co accornmodatc drc maximum inlcnrory
'lb
lci cls for all parts, cven though the market rareiy $,ill have .he n1âximun1on hând.
cleternine the âmount ofspâce required, Apex managersused the informarion in ùe PFEP
for parr T1.j456ro calculatehow many containersof parts needed ro be stockcd ;n thc mafkct
ât thc mâximum invcntor,vlcvcls.Thc calculationis as folkxvs:

Plannedmêximum inventorylevel
= Maximumquantityof containers
standardcontâinerquantity

4,830
= 161maximumquantityof containers
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At thc mâximùminvcn(x,vlcvcl, thc Apcx plrrchasccl-l:larts

rnrukotrnuschxvc thc crplbility
of storing161contâinersof partS13,f56fbr worh cell 14.LlecaLrsc
Àpcx set up rhe Pl.'l.ll)
co.r'cctly,
thcy \vcrcâlso:tblcto dctcrnrinc(tLricklv
ùc stotagc spaccnccdcd.l'lachcontrincr
fiJrPârc#134.56is 6 inchoslonit,so966iùohosof râcklongrl)$ill bo noodc(l() s()roI61
cortaiùors(1(r10oùtâincrsx 6 iDchcs).In acldition, rLrc(r inchcsrvicic
drc contrinors

llv usingdroscdimcnsioùs, horvrrLrchs|accis roqrrircci

^pcx oouldoxsilycalcLrlato in drc
mârkctto stor'ctbc mlrximurrtmountof mercrirl(966inchcsx 6 inchcs= 5,796s(luâro
inchosof lacl<spaco).

Ncxt, Al)cx trànsldtcdchchcight àn(l1[idthiûfo.mxtion(5,796squr.c inchcs)inm Dhysicâl

srorrgcclimcnsions for the mârket.Thc tcrm dccidcdto uscrollcrrrckswirb stoaâgc rows
7 feet dcepand6 inchcswide (84inchcsx (r inches=.50,1square inchcs),rncâningthcrc
woulclbc roomfor 14containcrsin crch row.'lwclvc rorvsrhcrcforcwcrc nccdcdto hold tr
rhc 161contâincr'sof prrt #13456(.5,796squâreinches+ .504squxrcinchcs= I L5 rows,
rvhichis thcn rouncledup to I2 fows).And Apcx dcsigncddris stolagcspeccas four rorvs
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widc âùd three (^vs htgh kee fiext page). E
Apex PFEP E
6/16/03 Vlan€ser:Jim
Back E
wr. I b.) wr. lL5] h. [b J E
,m cer 14 Mùkd
3

Maûêr
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ixwask cômt Bsds. cirlinnari
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 \. \rrsr\ IedLrrrrirlIn{inecrjng l)epârrmcnrbcganro physicâllybuild rhc market.rt \\rs
.rIicnilrc i', kccping ir .rsr)criblc .rspossiblebecâuseof drc Pcriodionccd to change.ack
r,,nil:Lr.i:i,)n'-r' \ i,lumù\. \ rricr!, rnd sizesof parr containcrsin rhe mârketchângc.li)r
:t c\iùi]i.. rt,,rc \p.rcci(r pdrr=1.i.+-5fi \rill bc nceded as soonas other light-tflrckprociuct
system.Apex used cxistingrxck m.lerixl
.cll' .rc rLldcilro thc Ic.rnnrarclial-handling
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The Powerof FrequentSupplierDeliveriês
I As Apex managerslookedat the maximuminventorytheywould needto hold
à for part#13456, thatthe majorityof it was necessary
they realized because of
the infrequentshipments fromtheirsupplierTheyusedthe sâmesimpleformula
T lor the plannedmaximum inventorylevelro calculatethe effectof increasing
the frequency of suppliershipmentsfrom weeklyto daily.Apexmanagers
I foundthat dailvshipmentswould reducethe mâximuminventorylevelby
il 2.760pieces,or 57okl

iT PlannedMaximum InventoryLevel

- (Dailyusagex Shipmentsizein days) + Purchased-parts

bLrffer
(690pieces x 1 day (5 timesper week))+ 1,380pieces
T
690 pieces + 1,380pieces = 2,070pieces
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:t Because Apexwâs receiving weeklyor evenlesstrequentshipmentsof many
of its pârts,
theseinventorycalculations soonhâdthe secondary effectof
;t bringingto lightenormousopportunities for costsavingsacrossthe entire
- facility.Th;srealization and Logistics
triggeredan effortin the Purchasing
Departments pick-
to considermilkrunsfor dailyor evênseveral-times-a-day
:r upsof manYpans.

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a !'!n 4 È6n :i.Ër i,i U$gêconlaine|oty'pslHoul

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 $ he.e possible and appropiate, but âlso purchâscd new râck systemsthat easily could be
confisurcd in mânv different wavs as rvell as moved to other locations in ùr: mârkcl

./qrrangement of Part #13456 in Mârket

. Eachrow is 6 incheshighand 6 incheswide.

.4 rowswide and 3 rowshigh.
. 11 rowswith 14containers = 161containeis.
and 1 row with 7 containers

Patiencein InventoryReduction
As Apex mânagersconstructedthe PFEethey discoveredsomethingwe believeis true in
manyfirms:The dataon carrierreliabilityand internaldemandfor partswere not robust.
Whileeveryonehad a strongopinionon how thingsworked,harddatâwere lacking. tr
lfyou find yourselfin this situation,with lotsolopinionsbut not muchreliableinformation, E
we urge you to follow Apex'spracticeof erringon the side of câutionand assumingthe E
worstâboutupstream re'iability
anddownstream variability.
Thiswill meancarryinga
higherlevelof inventory ât the beginning oTyour implementationoTa leanmaterial- E
handlinqsvstemthanyou will needlâter,oncebetterdataareavailable andthe sources
of variationare identifiedand removed. E
Bemovinginventories on a "hope" belorethe truestateoI the systemfully is known E
and beforecausesof variationare identifiedand removedusuallyleâdsto failuresto
supportprodÙction andwastefulfirefighting. outcomebecause
Thisis an unacceptable
E
systemmust neverput the customerat risk.However.as you retain
a materiâl-handling E
(orevenadd)inventories thatshouldnot be neededin the longtermwith a truly lean
materiafhandlingsystem;carefullynoteeveryinstanceand developa planto get the E
excessinventoryout as quicklyas possible.
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r= Ouestion 5: Ho\./trdo you operate your

purchased-parts market?
r:i
\î.\ i::-::,i:.:. nc\! lrrr in pleccthe ttxrlsandguidelines
necessary
for
r= cÈ::s:l:;\ ,.i:ri!ing rhc markct.\'oushouldlollowa similarplanl'hen
r= t:.ii::..: ir, pùt \{)rrrmlrkct rûtousel

r= A- S€lêctthe corect storagemediato hold parts.

B. Dev€lopan âddresssystem.
r=
C- Put in plâceproceduresto plâceand pick parts.
r=t
D. Put in placeprocedurestor reacting10 inventoriesbeyond
-t the maximumlevels.
E. Determinethe minimum inventorylevelsand reorderpoints, and
put in placeproceduresfor reactingto minimum inventory levels,

A. Select the correct storâge media to hold parts.

.\pc\ ilrsr consiLlcrcdthc typesof storageavailâblcto hold pàr$: flow râoks,
prllcr sr{)ragc,înd stotdgclbr low-volumcpârts.(A mix of thcsosmrtgomodiâ
scncrdll! is in usoÂrfÂciliticssuchâsApox,â high-volumelow-mixfnoility.)

l)rrrson flow rxckswill hold chemajorityofchevolumcofApcx'spurcbascd

prrrtsrntl rrc thc proforrcdmcthod of storâge.Flow racksarc idcal for drosc
ptrls rhdrconlcinro ^pex rhâtarc no! on a pallcrând lhat â lnâteri4lhândler
crn nrovcls dirccrlyâspossiblc fromthc dockontothc rdcks.Bùt flow
rtrck\.$ hrrh rre cànrcdto flow matcrialto thc fioût of thc ràck,lllsocân

Flow Râck
 =

accommodale partsfrom a pallet tha! are unloadedonto the aacks,

providedrhatrhe volumcof pârtsinvolvcdandthc lâborneededto
unloâdthem are lo$,.

Palletstorageis necessarywhen Apex receivespartsthar arc too big andl)r

too heavycofit on any ofthe flow racksor when producrioûvolùmesâre
very high aûd/orthe standardcontaineris very large,makingit wascefulco
unloadpartsoffthe pallet and onto a llow rack.In rhesecases,rhe pallets
aremovedto a designatedlocationin the purchâsed-pârts mârkeLPartsor
contâinersare then moveddirectlylrom the pallet onto d)e cart delivedng
parrsto productions;teslvithin the plâût.

Pallet Storag€ to Delivery Devica

Pallet to Del ivery Cart

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Apex alsohasa considerable numberof partsthât comein high-qùantity

containers,suchas fasteners.Apex plansto delivertheseiremsfrom thc E
marketon a replenishmentbasis.But insceadof dclivcringa whole box
of fasrenerscodre cells(with daysor weehs$,orthofmâreriel),Apex
E
mâteriâlhandlerswill scoopout a smallamountinto a smallercontainor E
and deliverthacquântity.
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B- Develop an address system. E
Sctting up their purchâsed-pârts mârketrequiredApex to developa formal E
âddresssystemfor storagelocationsin the marketso it would be casyto
storeâûd then retrieveeverypar!.Apex crealedaddresses by usinglerters E
to identify a part'sverticâlplâcemencoû a rack(the râck level)and numbers C
to ;dendfyits horizontxlplâcement(the rachrow).In addition,an areanumber
ùâs neededto identify which sectionofthe marketaherackwasin bccausc E
the purchased-par[s
For exâmple,
marketwill eventuallyhousemany sectionsof râcks.
the locâtionlabeled1, A4 indicatesrhatthe par!is lound;n
r
secrionl, on le\.elA, in row 4. 3
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 What About My ExistingStote Room?- And Wont My Parts Wark?
In implementingleânmaterial-handling systems,we'veencountered many
to
managersretuctant dismantle theirtraditional
central
storesholding
purchased parts.Oftenthey claimthât simplyleavingpartsout on racksin
ân openareawill leâdto partswalkingaway\knownin somecompanies
as shrinkage).

Our experience is that gettingrid of your centralstores- by movingâll

productionpurchased partsto the marketnearreceiving while moving
work-;n-process to smallwork-in-process (WlP)marketsnearthe process
producing them - will be oneofthe bestinvestments you cânmake.
Everything suddenlyis transparent and materialsare mucheasierto manage.
In the sameway,because visited
the marketis cleârlyvisibleândfreqLrently
by membersof the Production ControlDepartment, we havefoundthat
walkingpafts geneftlly is not an issue.Of course,you mây havea Tew
high-costitemsneedingspecialsecurity, butthesecaneasilybe lockedin a
speciâlrâckin the purchased-parts marketwith a ProductionControl
employeekeepingthe keyor accesscodes.

imflcmcnrcd ao addrcsssystomfor drc cntirc lilcility

Ar thc sâmctimc, Apcx mxn?rgers
dut dcsigntcs physicâlspotsin chophnr rc rcltfcncc thc locxtiorrof crch ccll. This rlrrs
rrotivxtcd nor.jusrby rhc nocds ofthc ncw mâtcrirl-hândlirll systcm,bùr by pasroxpcricncc
in vhich Àpcx had rroublodclivoringaccurùelyto work locâtions e.g.,mâohincs,colls.
.rsscmblylincs. fhis wâs becàuserhese locâtions moved as ûe facil;ty changcd ând therc
sysrem,whioh can bc a significrnt problcm in îty hrge làcilily
\\ r:i no stâble ?rdclress

Irrh ccll dr ,,\pexnow is indexedto rhc ncarcstcolumn.For cxamplc,rvorhcell 14 ts

,rrl.jrcsscd.rsC3. This addrcsssystem indicates rhe generelâreain the plancwhcrc a ccll is
und.rdrlitionalh,eachcell is clcarlyidcntificdon chcfloorwith â visual(usuallyâ
l,,c.rtcJ.
i.rrgc.i,rnhrn(ins ovcr or ncar drc ccll).'I'his systemmakespârt deliverymore cfficicn!
.r,i :cJu.c' rhc rinc ir raliesApex staff to attend to an acciden!or emcfgcncy

\:r:l::!r.rl.vgcticilir\'.\\'ithhLrndrcdsofthousândsofsquârefeerormore,anâddress
.r.::::: :. .:: .,tr.,rlrrrc
rnusr.rndlou mâ),nccd to bc even more precisewith âddresses.
|of
.\.:::.:.. :: ::i. 'r.Jr bctu ccn columnsis greârànd mâty cellsare locâted1\,irhinthc spân.
\ :r :::... :.r.1 :, -r-:.i: rhirrl clcncnr ro rhe addresslocation,such âs disranccrelâti\c rLr
r r . . 1 , : : : r :I : : : : . : = ; : t r .* r , r k c c l l l l c o u l d b c d c s i g n a t eàds C 3 - 5 - t l i i t h i nl i u e l e e t o l
t,,lr::r:: ( l I: .,1. ::.rr i.: l.lDirrl r. rrscrhe sânrecolo. fbr â ccll'ssign as is uscd for rhe
..ii. iir:ir:: -.:.i.

=t rr:- 0 : , , , ,c- , \ c ! , _ r a ! : s : 1 ,;:-< ',ri:<:-

Apex - Vvork Cell 14 Located Near Colurnn C3

.^,4t. '3ifr",' -B:i'?if' I::lllll.,

"!t- invên1ory ilow rack

E
HandlingNuts, Bolts,Fasleners,and Other Small ltems E
The leanmaterial-handling systemshouldcontrol"nuts E
Minl:Max2 and bolts"inventoryin additionto mâjorcomponents.
but this usuallywill not occurby storingtheseitemsin E
flow racks.High-standard-quantity containeritemsshould
insteadbe storedon â shelf,mostlikelyin two containers E
- the onethe materialhandlerworksout of and a backup.
Ë
Thismeansâ minimuminventoryof one containeron the
shelves(whichmay be lessthanfull) and a maximumof 3
two contâiners.Relocating this type of item from production
areasto the purchased-parts marketdrastically reduces 3
the levelot inventoryacrossthe plantbecausemultiple
Shelf storagefor high-
areascanuse partsfrom the sâmebox in the purchased-
3
standard-quantity
conratnertrems pârtsma*et insteadof eachâreâholdingits own box. I
I
_
 of localionsin dre pLrrchascd-perts
The addressing marketand productionarcasin thc fecilin
rvill bc ctiticalrvhcnApcx cstrblishesthc informationlinks to rnove. parr liom its Iocxrion
in chemàrket (1, A4) () rr (1)rk cell (1,1,CJ).

C. Put in place procedures to place and pick parts.

l rntctl to orqanizcthc purchascrl-parts
Âpcx nrLrnagcrs markcrto makc it as casytnd
cfficicnrrs possiblcro |rad pans into thc markcrând thcn ro pick partsliom the màrkct for
delivervto thc ccll.'lhc\ dlsowenled to maincainstriccFirsr in First Out (FIFO) rnventory
m.rnrgcmcnr50 rh.rrplrrrs$ould not stâgnate.lb acconplishthesegoals,they lxiclout the
rnlrkcr Nilh /oad rrislcsund picl< eislcs (ds shollk on the next pdge).

'l
hc krurilislcs. l hich lrc Lrsedlessflequendl.,permit parrsro be loadedin thc brcl<of rhc
-fhis
florv rrcks lnd trr ilxl dol'n to rhc froncof thc racksf<rrpicking. insurcsl'lliO. ln
c.rntcrlilxi raclisgct licc hclp îrcm grâvity in pushingrbc rrcxccoûtairrcrol Prrrs
.rcltlition.
to bc pickcd r()rhc liont of dre r1ok.

'l
hc pick rislcs rrcrc sc! Lrpso thâcrbc dclivcry-rcutcopcrâtot(ùc cnpkrycc dclivtring
tlrc pxrrr ro rhc $1)rlicoll) rJrî m.rkct rttondrnt (if somconobcsidosrho rou!o opcrîmr rs
I(radingthc rlclilcrv rlcvicos)can picli frorn both si(lcsof the âislc.llccxuscl)ârtst.c
picl(cdTi()0rrhc r'nrrhotmorc frcqucndy (for cxâmplc,ovo.y hou,) thlû thcy nro loâdcd
(oftcn oncc r tlul or cvcn oncc â wccl()! it is l)ârticulârlyiml)ortântto or'cttcrlrlcfÏrcrcnt
li)r rhc picl<or.
worl(sprlco

Material-Handling Job Descriptions

Delivetv-RouteODerafor.This memberof the ProductionControl
Department is responsible for physically deliveringpurchased partsto
productionareasand collecting pull signâlsând emptycontâiners from
productionareas(i.e.,work cells).On a coupleddeliveryroute,the delivery-
routeoDerator alsowill Derformthe dutiesof the marketâttendant,

MarketAttendant:FhismemberoJthe ProductionControlDepartmentis
for pickingpartsin the purchased-parts
responsible marketand loadingthem
operatorusesto makedeliveries
ontothe cartsthat the delivery-route to
productionareas.On a coupleddeliveryroute,the routeoperatorandthe
mârketattendantâre one and the same.On â decoupleddeliveryrcute.the
marketattendant pickspartswhilethe routeoperatorperformsdeliveries.
The mârketâttendant may alsobe responsiblefor signalingthe needto
expeditepârtswhen inventorylevelsreacha minimumandfor managing
overflowmateriêls whenthe mâximuminventorvlevelsare exceeded.

P A F TI : D E V E L O P
NG A PUFCHASED
P A Ê T SM A R K E T
 =

Operation of Apex Purchased-Parts Market

I
materiâlflow
Load Aisle

1ililil1I l l i l l i l l l
I Pick Aisle

I
il1ilil1il ililililr l

I LoadAisle

MaintainingFIFO
When â part numberrequiresseverallevelsand rowsof racksit
is importantto maintaina FIFOsequence. The mârketattendant
E
should pick in a standard
sequence - leftto rightacrossthe rows
-
E
and top to bottomthroughthe levels and attacha smallsign
or tag to the row ând levelbeingpickedto indicatethe nextpoint E
in thè sequence from whichto pick.Meanwhile, the racksshould
be loâdedfrom the rear basedon which rows are emotv.Note E
that steadilyreducinginventoriesthrough more frequentdeliveries
FIFOby reducing the numberof
E
simplifies the taskot maintaining
rows and levelsneededto storea given part number E
t
E
G
E
E
F
I
il
T
t D- Put in place procedures
the rnaxirnurn levels.
for reacting to inventories beyond

I \\-l:,.::':::..rr.rkin!olthet11axil11uminvenlorylevel as rf this amount\i.ill ncvcr bc

hold partsin excessofthe
rr.::.i:.:. Il,r'crcr. it is ren Iikely rhat Âpex r.ill occasionalll'
I *:....:::rr-:':
.rnrrLrntthrrrciln be sloredin rhc purchascd-pans mârkct. l his may be beceuse
i| : :r ..-;'r.ii,:ror crships.bccarscApcx opcrâtionsunexpectedlylàil to consumethe pfedictcd
:::: ,:r:r:.rircr.rrcplcnishmcntor'dcrhasbeen placedwith a supplier,or becausean incorfcct
:
:J.r r. pl.rrcd.:\pc\ musr hâve e plan to deal with rhesesiruarionsin a consistcntmânner,
T rr.i ihi. inr {)l\cs cs!ablishingan ovcrflorvarcaadjrccnt to dre marhet.While the nanrral
:r'iincr .f nrnagcrs is to hide ùese exccssinventolics,Apcx rranagcrst(xJhthc oppositc
-
.rtJri(,rshrnd nr.rticrhcir ovcrflorvrrcx îs visiblcas possiblc.'lhis îttracls artcntionând
I ûi.lscrsr push ro finrl trut why the €xcessinventoryoccurrcd.

- 'lir
a boarcldrat clcarlyindicâtcswhlrt is in ùc
nrrrnrgcthc ovcrilowrLcâ,Apcx cstâl)lishcd

i rrc.r.rhc rcrson ir is thcrc, ând a pllln to gct thc malefialou! of thc ovcrflorvarcl. lJsing
rhc boarclrcrluircsdisoiplinc,but ic bringsproblemsto light so that rhcv quichly crn bo
= rcsolvcd.^pcx rlso put in plâcea systcmto gcc Dxrtslionr tho o\,crflolvrrcr l)âckto lhcir
propcrlrration in rbc rnârl<ot.I'hc mârl<c!ttcncl:rnt wrs lssigncdûc clailvtasliofchcching
I
I
Overflow Board and Overflow Area
=

à
The placement of informationon the over-
!r flow boardmirrorsthe placement of actual
inventoryon the floorof the overflowârea.
= Foreachactiverectângle of the overflow
board,the partnumberis identified; the top
of the diagonalrepresents the daythe over-
flow was received and why it occurred; and
the bottomof the diagonalrepresents the
dây the overflowis to be removedandthe
= planto accomplish thistask.
rhc o\ crflo$ boardaswell as levelsin rhe purchased-parts marketand relocâtinglhe excess
inrenrorJto dre marke!assoonasspaceallo\r,s. (Once the leanmacerial-bandling
systcmrsrn
opcrâriur.ân cxccllcntkâizcnprojcctwill bc to trâckthc causcsofoverflowssystemâticxlly
to
dcrcnnincthc rootcâusexûd insmllâ permaûentfix for the mostconmon t,vpesofoverflows.)

E. Determine the minimum inventory levels and reorder points, and

put in plâce procedures for reacting to minimum inventory levels.
'l'he
inal tasklbr Apex managersir seltingup the purchâsed-perts mârketwasto dete(mine
whcnthc amountof partson hanclfcll ro a crisislcvcl ncccssiraring âctionto prcvcntx
'l'his
disruptionin productionin rhe plant. point is calledthe minimum inuentotyleuel.
Th;s lcvol cân bo rcâchcdwhcn â supplicrfxils to ship thc rcquostcdalnouûqthe lirrrier
encoùntersa problemen route,the Apex pâats-ordering sysremfails for somereasonto
orderthe righcarnountof parcsin â rirnclymrtnncf, or Apcx produccs morc
considcrablv
thao plânncd.

Sctringdrc minirnum lcvcl of invcntofywils :r policy dccisionmorc complicrrcd!hân

escablishingdrc maximumlcvel.Aftcr rvcighingthc cosrsofcarying cxr|a invcntor"v ,rgrin't
drc cosrof lostpfoduction
ÀndLlis,appointcd customcrs dùc to â Iirckof l)xrts,^pox sotthc
rninimumlcvolfirrcachpîrcnumbcrat the pointwhcnjusr cnoughmaterirlwrs still on
hrnclsosupplicrpartscoùldbc cxpodirod () drcûlcilitywitboutI prcdùction oporlti,'n crt)cri-
'l
cncinga panssbortagc. his wâsvcry diftcLcntfrcnr rhc wây^pcx hrd opcrâtcdin thc pâst
wlrcn àn cmcrgcncywàsùsùâll_v not dcclercduntil irnopcrâtionâcûrirllyran out of Partsand
stoPlredProducihg.

With dro now systcnr,if $c invonmryrcdchos thc minimnmlcvcl.ir indicâtcs thÙ clrc
m lnficturing1lrcâprodLrcedconsiderâblymorcthânexpecGd,rhàttherewâsÀbre?rkdown in E
rhe reorderingprocess,
or thât â p.oblemoccurrcdwiù thc sqrplier Nlorcimporranqit signals E
rnustbc trkcn iùncdirtcly by thc Pfoducddr(ldrtrol Dcpârrncnt.
lhltt countcûncasuros
E
E
Markel Mesheswith VariousReplenishmentSystems
t
Notethat the purchased-pârts market,s designedto interfacesmoothlywith a true
pull-replenishment systemto the suppliersonceApex putsthis in place.Thiswill E
involveremovingsupplierwithdrawalkanbanfrom containers as theyarepickedin
the marketand sendingtheseto the suppliereitherwith the returningtruckor by E
someelectronicmeâns.Howevet it also is possibleto operatethe reorderingsystem
throughthe MRP(asApexcurrently does)or with a manualschedule. Ourobjective
E
throughout thisworkbookis to provideguidanceon howto installâ leânmaterial- E
handlingsystemevenwhenotherelements oJa complete leanproduction system
arenot yet in p'acein youroperation. E
t
E
F
When to Expedite Parts?

I have to take
action immediately.
We've rcached the
minimum level and
Ë must expedite parts!

,t'.-,B^
Flow rack in I
Ëil"lî.ï,h, attendent

J'**'
For workcell 14,Apcx calculared the minimuminventorylevelfor part#13456
from Sun Mfg. as follows:Deliveryis weekly,but Sun cân be dependedon
ro expeditethc pansin six hours,includingthe time to communicatethe
needlor ports,1-hisis becauseSun carriesâ finished-goods inventoryof two
daysand the climacein the areawhereSun and Apex opcrateis quicemild,
with few ffânspoftintcrruptions.Apex felt comfortâblervith the six-hour
expeditetime and set the minimum inventorylevel for part #13456at 1B
containers.(That'.ssix hourstimesthreecontainenusageper hourat maximum
outprJt,as shown on the next page.\Shot)1d the purchased-partsmarketever
run downco18conrainers ofparr#13456,Produccion Controlautomaticallywill
triggeran expediteorderto Sun,with considerable confidencethacthe parts
will arrivebeforethe operat'onsusingthis part run out.

IfSun rvasnot carryingany finished-goods

invcncoryApex would necd ro
rakeinto accountSun'sexpeditedprod.uctiontime lor this partand addthis
inrervalto rhe minimuminventorycalculationofsix hoursworchofcontainers.

Shouldthe inventorylevelsin the purchased-parts marketreachthe minimum,

Apcx cmplolccs :rlwavsrrcat this situâtionâs il there areno parts auailablel
'l'o
crcxrcrhissenseofurgercy - the sameurgencythât âppliesto not mâking
a shipmenrro rhe cusromer Apex hasput in placean escalationprocessso
tharclcn onc knons of thc problcm:The individualpullingproductfrom
the purchesed-par$ markerfor deliverymustnotifythe sùpervisor, who in
 =

Minimum Inventory Level calculation

Communicateând set up truck = 1.0hr.

Loadtruck = 1.0hr.
In transrt = 3.5hr.
Fromdockto operations = 0.5hr.
Totalexpeditetime = 6.0hr.

Minimumhoursin purchased-parts
market = 6.0hr.

6 hoursx 3 containersoer hr. l#13456from PFEN = 18containers

minimum

tùrn tclls the producrioncontrolmânâger.Eâch stepolcommunictrion shouldtakeno

longerthan 10minutes,which meânsthârthe productionconrrolmânagerknowsof the
parcsshortagewiùin 20 minutes.

Confirrning the l/Veakness of Previous Procêdures

As Apex managersmoveddre purchâsedpartslor work ccll 14into one centralizedlocation
and establishedprocedurcsfor managingchemarket,cheybeganto confirmwhat thcy had
stronglysuspected.

They lound rhatApex previouslyhad:

. Much morc invcntoryrhanneeded(not only ât cell 14 but throughoutthe light-truck
family,bccausechesamepart numberswere sto(edât everycell).
. Too manyof somepârtsbut â dângerouslylow amountofothers,bccausothc truc inven-
tory situationcould nor be visuallyconfirmed.
tr
. Outdâtedmâteriâls,becauseof thc lack of FIFO. E
. No effectiveaontrolof invenrory. E
E
E
E
E
E
E
3
3
E
r
 Expediting BuleAppliedto High-Ouantity Containers
The minimuminventory/expedite ruJeis applieda bit differentlyin the case
of high-quantity containers, suchas thosefor nuts,bolts,and otherfasteners.
Theseare not expedited whenthe inventoryon handfeachesonly a single
containerbecause a containermay hold10,000or more partsand lastfor
weeks.Instead, whenthe inventoryreaches one container, a visualmarkis
placedin or nearthe container showingthe levelof partswithinthe container
thât rnarksminimuminventory. Thismight be at the levelwherethe box is
onlv one-thirdfull or evenless.but the câlculation is the sameas for low-
quantitycontainers: Determine the rateof consumption of the partin the
fêcility.Thencalculate the expeditetime requirêdto obtaina new container
\see the Minimum lnventory LevelCalculation). Then placean expediteorder
whenthe quantitvin the box reaches the minimumlevel.the amountcalculated
âs just sufficient
to sustain pfodLrctionLrntilthe new partsarrive.

Minimum LevelsAre Helpful,But You Slill May Needto Expedite

H systemthat you are implementing
The leanmaterial-handling is basedon
=l your productionoperations
havingwhatthey need,whenthey needit. lf the
partsreachthe minimumlevel,it shouldbe ân emergencybecause, without
5 promptactionby ProductionControl,operations will run out of parts.lf this
happensexpensive expeditingmay be requiredfor sometime untilinventory
g getsbackto the necessary
levels.And the customerbeyondyour facilitymay
be disaooointed.
5
:! But pleaserememberthat implementing a leanmaterial-handling
systemwith
a purchased-partsmarketdoesrot meanyou'll neverexpeditepartsâgain.
:! Youwill. Butnow you havea systemto reactto a minimumleveland getthe
partsto operâtionsbeforethey run out.And you will havea systemthatflags
:! everVinstancewhenthe minimumis reachedin orderto searchTorihe cause
and a Dermanent fix,
f,
5
:a

P A R TI D Ê V E L O P I N
AGP U R C N A S E D . P AM
FATÊ
SK E T
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
É
Designing the Delivery Route and the Information
Managernent System
With its pulchascdparrsfor work cell 14 in onc ccntrâllocation- in the new
purchxscd-parts market- Apex wasrcâdyto developa materiâl-delivcry route
to efficiend-vmovc parrsfiom the markercothc ccll. (Sooûwe will showhow n)
cxpxnddle rou!e!o coverâll ccllsfbr the light-truckproductfîmily xnd ùen expand
ic furthcr to covcra sccondproductfamily.Wc ârcstârtingwith â singlecell to l<ccp
thc cxplanrtionsimpleand !o showhow you canbuild routescell by ccll.)

Apcx nrlnagcrswrLntcdro cstablish

an infolmâtion systcmxnd dclivcryroutetbât
necdcd,in thc qLrrntitynccdcd,whenthoywcrc
onlvthc pârtsopcrâtols
dclivcrccl
nccdcd,and whcro rhey were necclcd- dircctly to the operâ[ors'fingcrlips.
'lb
do dris,Apcxmânâgcrs
ncedodto:
. l)cfinc how comovcpartsfrom chcpurchàscdtarts
markctto thc ccll
rrnclplor drc routechcpârtswoùldtravel.
. Iùsrll1rn informacionsystcmùsingpull signals
to cfiggcrrcplcnishmcnt
of prL* lnd controlrhequântityof rnàtcriâl
dcliverics.
. Idcn!iivprrrs-deliveryrequiromcncs lor rhc firstcellàndthenroll up rhcsc
rc<luircncnts
to fill rhc dclivoryfoutc.

o'uestion 6: How do you convey parts from the

purchased-parts market to the production areas?
i\pc\ $ ill gc! frrts fronrthc mârkerto work cell I4 (ând soonto thc other cells
producinglight-rnrckfuel lines)via a clcsignrteddeliveryroute that uscsone-wây
rnd r\\'o-\\r\' !islcs to nalie partsdeliveries.Thc delivcry route will consistof
dcsignatedstops.point oÈuscdclivcry pointsfor eâchpart,and precisctirncs
and quantiricstlr nrrrerialdcl;vcrics.Stândârdwork will be dcviscdfor every
àctioninvolYcd.

In prcparationfor thc chrngc ro l€ân material dclivcry Apex mânagerstold oper^ors

in chc work cell rh'r! lbc ne$ nretcrialroutc rvouldbe like a bus routc throughâ
city, droppingofl passcngcrs (their purchasedparts)and picking up passengers
(cmpq, partsconrainers. pLrllsienlls.aod - pcrhâpsin the fulure - fin;shccl
goods)ar rcgularintcrrxls. l his is ver\ difièrent from Apcx's prelioLtslbrm of

P A B T] V :D E S I G N GT F ED E L I V E FÊYO U T E
 =

Delivery Routes Mimic City Streets =

I\4ainStreet
tn =

StateStreet

- - - - L-

Y
É
deliveryin which chaoticmâterialhandlersrushedâbourrhe fâcilicy
deliveringpartsbasedon urgentneeds(much lihe a taxi driver Iooking E
for faresand movingonly one passengerî! a timc). E
Apex managerstook the followingsrepsto developd1edelivcryroutel E
A. ldentitythe deliveryaislesin the plant.
É
B. Selectthe conveyancemethodto deliverthe parts.
E
C. Determinethe stops and deliverypoinis for the route.
D. Creâtecorrectly.sizedpoint-ot-useracksat deliverypoints. E
C
A. ldentify the dêlivery âislès in the plant,
E
When plotting the deliveryroute,Apex managerslookedfor nacurally E
occurringaislesin the faciliry They designatodboth one-wayand rwo-way
âislesthat could flow out ofthe purchased-parts marketto lhe work cclls
B
and efficientlybackto the market,focusingfirsr on deliveryto cell 14in the [3
light-truckprodùctfamily.
û
Managersdeterminedthe maximùmlvidth for the deliverycartsto be four È
feer and madethe one-wayaislessix-leetwide (with one extrafoot on each
sideoîâ deliverycân).The two-wayaisleswere 1Z-leetwide in orderco
accommodate rwo cartspassingeachother,an importantconsidemtion for
the future when other delivcry routesâre âddedin the faciliry Apex managers
a
cleârlymârkedthe aisleson the floor ofthe plantand incorporared visual r
cuesin the form of arrowson th€ floorto showthe directionoftraffic. s
â

= \r,.\ r,,. -i:-::. : -::.:.:..i.1,\cr\rislcslouldbcsafcandcfficicnt.Aclcarrulcnas

t.:.,:' :. ::.: : .,: :::.,::::.,1'.iclircnrchiclcs nould nol be allowedâny\r/here
but in d)e.islcs.
=
.\..ri : : -.:-:.. -.,i:.c.rnd psrnrission. r\ secondnrle providedthâr material-deli\cr\'
-rr.ir :1r. righ! ot-rlav and ûat ùe aislesmust be kept clearof employecs.
,: -i r.:rrrcrions.'lhis.rllorvcdApcx toutc opcrarorsro pcLforrnclclivcricsin.r
- . .:: :: :::.,:rncrrr.ins st.rndrrdizcLl
lvork.If ft)Lrtcopcrxbrs xrc forccd to dcvi.rc tftnn
-
: : .:-.::.r.,rLls.rk dLrctu obstûcles,dle predictâble lrequercy ofdelivcries is sure to suffer
Ii:-ir..j. r,, 'rrc\s rhc irlporr:rnccofrraintaining prcdictablcfrcqucncv,cvcn thc plânt
= 'r ,:ri:.r r{rccd rhxr if il disclssionwas necessary with the rolte operrtor,!he plânt mllnâgef
r' rriris:rlk riong \\ ith rhc opcrxrorro kccp chc rourc on schodulc.)

= \pc'. nr.rn,rscrs
dcsignatedrhc rislcsâs sho\rn bclow.

Aoex - Market and Aisles in Place

trf"H rhtrSl #.)g * Shipping

{ i:tèDo "@":. "@*' "C+'. !.

I
I OperationsOfficeAreâ
''(S'&'
..'Æ$ 'rË$ /.tr\. ,{L\

:
'@" '@l '@" i5ôxi:.
; t!.
,F
Ê^Ë: Et_
t
.tSit G-$
Q^()

.i.
tt
r :;i*"
 h
E
E
B. Select the conveyance method to deliver parts. t
\\'irlr rhe .isles in plâce,Apex wasreàdyto selecta conueydn.eneùod ro travelthe aisles
F
rnd cozrle] pâftsfrom the purchased-pârcs markercothe cells.There eremany different
mcûods and more [han on(rtype may bc appropriate;ndre samefacility (seesidebdron E
next pdge).Apcx r!,inagcrslookcd ât thc optionsfor thc light-truckpr'ocluct
family routc
E
xnd choseto usea ruggerpùlling â rumber ofcrrts, with eâchcârt holdingpurchâscdpx.ts.
'fhey
concludedthat their facilitywastoo largefor efficientwâlkingrouresand rhat the t
volumc ard wcight of thc pâr$ madc bicyclc-pulledclrts imprâcticxlxs wcll. Fork lifts
E
wclc nrlcdout at the outsetascoolârgeând toodangerous.
E
Note that the volumeof partson a rorrtedecerminesthe exâc!numberof cansneeded.
NorcalsothatApcx spccificdthârthc car$ bc q ad-stcer - with all fouf tircsâblcto ru r G
in orclcrto rcdÙccchcturning.adiLrs of drc cârtsùndcnâblcâislcswith sh.rpc.corncrs. B
3
Plotting DeliveryBoutes B
Aislesdo not haveto be strâight* althoughthat is usuallybest.They E
do, though,haveto be clearlymarkedând sizedcorrectly for the form of
convêyânce. Manyfacilities
currentlyare not set up to flow material, and B
manuTacturing
traditional practicesoftenhave led to placing inventories
and finishedgoodswherevertherewas room,withoutconsidering the E
tlow o{ material.
LD

lt also is commonto encounretmonuments- lârgeprocessesor machines

that areextremelyexpensiveandfrequently impossible to move.Thesewill
needto staywheretheyarefor now;aisleswill needto go aroundmonuments. tÈ
RoutesAccommodateMonuments- For Now

monument

aisle

i&

tr\-
-!

ConvevanceMeihods
. Tugger:Ihis is usuallythe mosteffectivemethodwhenthereis â considerable
distancefrom the purchâsed-parts marketto deliverypointsand a considerable
volumeof partsneedsto be moved.Thetuggercan pull multiplecartscontâining
materiâlfor multipledeliverypoints,and it can maketurnseasily,especially
when pullingquad-steer carts.In the besttuggerdesigns,the driverstands
insteadof sitting.This makesfor moreefficientdeliveryâs the drivermoves
easilyon and olf the tuggerto placepartsat theirpoint-of-use.
lt makesfor
betterergonomics as well.

TuggerPullingCarts

. Walking:Thismethod,in whichthe materialhandlerpushesa cart holdingthe

parts,is bestusedwhenthe productionareais very closeto the puachased-parts
marketandthe partsârecompactand light.Walkingalsomay be appropriate if
tuggercannotget through.
the designof an areais suchthat a motorized

. Bicycle:
Thismethodalsois usefulwhena molorizedtuggercânnotget through
an areaand morepartsneedto be conveyedthanan operatorcaneâsilypush.
Howeveta bicycleusuallycan pull only one or two cartsof lightweightmateriâI.

. ForkTruck:Facilitiesshouldstriveto restrictforktrucksto the shipping

and receiving docks,allowingthem on the production flooronly for special
circumstances suchas constructionor moving pieces oI equipment, A fork
truckis expensive,requireswide aisles,may causeseriousinjuries,and is not
an efiicientmethodof materialmovementbecause it can only movepartsby
full palletseventhoughproductionareâsare betterservedwith smallamounts
delivered freouentlv.

P A B T! D E 5G N N GT H ED E L V E RR
YO U T E
C. Determine the stops and delivery points for the route.
.\pcx managersrefcrrcLlto a cuffenl plant-floor layout (carefullydrawn lo scale)crlcstâhlishân
inirial order of sropsând delivery poinrs for work cell 14 as well as other cells thât worrld be
âddcd ro the delivcry route. Thcy toted the discancesbetwecn stopsbecauscthis determincs
thc precise rravel times for â rollte operirLoaWhen necessaryApex mânâgcrswent on chc
plant floor tnd meâsured the distanccs.

Note that rhc prccise locations where mâtefial will be delivcrcd - the deliuery points -
are diffcrert îrom chc points wherc the tugger âcllrâlly stops - tha deliuery-sto[)lo.tltians
1'his is becauscApex managorsplanned stop locations whcrc material can be delivcftrl n)
both siclcsof the aisleanrl to severalwork cells.By scrtingup thc sropsso Ûat mukiple
dclivcries can bc mâde lrom onc location, Apcx's delivery oPcrxlorscân sâvc time becitlsc
thcy do not h.rvc to get on and off the tuggcr to service cach dclivery poinr.

ft would bc ûice ro lhinh thrtt thc spccifics of the delivcry routc c{n bc dcsigncd in an officc
usingâ simplc formulââùd widrout toed for detailcdstudy on thc gc bâ llut this i\ not
possible.Apcx mântgers lâid out a prcliminâry roûte:rnclcâlc lâtcd the cxâct mâlonal volumcs
'l'hcn
to bc clctivcrcd m thc cclls (as wc \r,ill oxPlain in â momcnr) dlcy lcstod rbc routc. As
!r rcsult, sol]lc stop hcâlioDs wc.c changedând somo dclivcrics wcrc combincd or givcn thcir
orvn stops, At rhe encl of this Pr'occss,whon chc locîtions woac I(nown to bc corroct, cùch
clclivory scopanclclclivofy poinl wâs clcâfly mârkod, w;$ smP signsdt câch dclivcfy sroPând
an arow ât cvcry dcliverypoinc.

Multiple Deliveries from One

'ff- IFF-F
t
Deliveries
do not interrupt
celloperâtors,
+
D. Create correctly sized point"of"use râcks ât
delivery points.
h crcrriùg thcif rclls (lrrrirg ihr ir.rnslirrmttionol thc pl.rntf|onr .r proccss-
villxgelxvour.'\I]c\ Jllri.rr!J' h.r(lI id sonrcrttcntion to positioningmrtcrirls
c.rsilrrcrch thc p.rrrsnccclcd.I Ioucvcr, thc
so opcfrtorsrn rhc L:clisc,,LLlLl
cffolr hrrl n,rt hccn srsrcnrutirunLluus hanrpcrcrlbl thc contirrucdrrscof
iiilrrll,'lir3l-rtrr'u:
.'i,
Pcdrin1llÈl-ultl
o1Llclilcringnrltcriuls.ln pructicc.cvcn
largcpullctsus tlrc pri rurr rrrcrLrs
when t)oinr',,1rsc,rchs scrc in phcc. pro<lrrction associrtcsanclsupcrvisors lircr,,t
Àùlil-+{4Ê'rto-Ll
iicrlucntlr lrud r.) lcr\c rhcir $o i rlrolsx (l othcr rNsksto nroYcplrftsllonr irli{r lÈn;il),r'! ii i (il
q Ètilo-;tl ril ilgcr'iil til
t h c p l l l c t si n t o p r x i t i , , ni n t h c c c l l s .
1bnOLNùj11.-!ittjI,a !)
Lt-i
Apc). rùunrrsc's no* rcrrlizcrlth.rrthcv nccticcito crcxtc riijhcsizcdporll tltj l^'D Ar,nn \' .i)'!i i)
ol trsL'(l'()Li)rarlr-s1orc,rchp,rrtrrscdin r ccll.'l hcsc parrs-pfcscnt,rtior) iftir(,r,{i'Ll,rillr 6l(q I i.11
rld.rlrr le Oi \t!dlij l 'l iq:l Ilj;,
tlo iccs rlcllrcr thc nrxrcrirls(nrgrn itr slirlcsfionr thc outsidcol ihc ccll
diUÉnitl GliIJ {:tt)a i(t
ol tlrc vulrrcrrcarinur4trrrLrrsinsirlc.Âpcx nnnulcrs
tlircctlvto thc tirrgcniPs
srûÊ{-!B:rù-Ût
tt'lr
to c('rsr cr rhc rplrl)t)filrc poincol-Lrsc
rr:licdorr lrdrrsrrirrlI,lnsinccriûg Lrcl(s i!i\:ili\,,rrùi I iki ÉIr'lrri!'
lirr crLchccll, buscdrrprnrthc contrincrt1,pcsund volrrnrcrn prrrs rlrrr ù'ill l)c L{iIf{'r piÙ.F]orliio/li
dclivctr:dto cuchccll. air'/jr'.tni!i,t l-nïJ'rrL't
ejjiOi
di!iUI1'r:)iltl]
'1
h c 1 ' j ( ) ( I l ( l i s r t , \ t ) c x s c t v c I n x r ! t ) r l t ) o s cl hsc. \ , t ) r l , \ ( l ct r p l c c i s cp l x c cl i n :
tili [r:]l Où:rcrtrr'.,l r;r.,
. l ) c l i v o \ f o r t c o t ) c r r l o $n ) ( l c l i v c rt ) r r l s .
dlai{ld(:]!l r',.!1Ï'J ii(+}:,
. (loll ()pcrrl,)rsi,) plucccrnpt! r()r)t1rir)cr'i
so thrlt thc dclircry rr)ulc dicr i{{n;!.Lrd! \r[], ! i.liiiii
ol)crlr()rscrr l)rciitnr"' r'l), ù'Ai1i iirtir')a.rù.Ûtigl
. l)clivcrr'r'orrtcopclrtors to picli up pLrllsisnxls.
GqTilir(ùlJ l O\1,1/
'ùiri
Y,'|liin]r a4llI \'i'li\'/
.(. I t \ r . r " r \r , . r ; ' r r' r i r l , , r r r (+ùiO '1ir,-ii,(Iil Uf,ri0;
1I€Gl1liEtiÏiD a,{,nù:ri
'l
he Â|cx l'OtI rroliswcrc dcsigncdcrtc{rll! so rhrlt thc (lcli!cr._iourc !fi ! Oi:rnllris a,rrli
otrorxrorcrn rlclivor nr.rtcri.rllionr rhc outsidcol rhc ccll ft) thc poirr ol lf1ia'r n{iiiill, (st I
Lrse,urtl pit h Lrt)rhc crùt)ticsÈon) prcviorrsrlclivcricsrt rhc sLrnrc poinL. iiti("}'€i:ùlil-r.j (:B
-l'hc Ill-rdlio{ti nl
r\pcr |oLrtcopcratof ../ors/,ot go ù,ithin rhc proclÙctiol ccll lnd distLrLtr
(eia.f.,l{ti ttt (ù tt ltn rrt, E
rhc ccll oPcrutor.ll( urllv iùrporrrnt,thc,,\pcx t)ro(luctionrsso(ii cs in tl)o
itf.)(?,fil \'É.1!ri ,'nit€ ' r'.1.
cclls ncr cr rccrl û) lcrr\c l licir \l,o't positionsrc gc! plrf$ or <lisposc
ol'
.ildfi:(aÂrit irdfia+
cnrPt! contlincA. liùrfrlt q,) iln lït,i','i,
'l
hc ncxt chrllcnrc txcin!.\pc\ rrr,rnxsers,
oncc rhc POt, hcationsrvcrc
detcrnincrl. srrs to rlcLjrlctlrc h,i ding crl|rlriit\of tl)c trclis lbr nev pîrts
and lof cmptv contxincr\. \pc\ Lr\.{l.r sinrplcrrrlc thrt thc inbound POU
giuen
rucks should be dble tct hc,lJ tt itt tl:a daliyù\' tolttc rafume o[ d11J'
pdrt plus o1leadàitk)ltaltorit,iintt tl thû prrt.
 Point-of-Use Rack at Cell

î
f
/t>
^-
/\
\/
\

\'*
, (
\

iL I l L lj
Del ivery-route Cell
o pe rato r

lior example, if Àpextlecidcdto opcrâtcthc dclivcryroùtoirt ono hourintr-:rvals E

thiswoultlmcandratonc hour'srvorthof matori.rl isjuscbcingclclivcrcd(l)rcsuming
thcrohadboonrrpr.rll s;gnâlgivcn ù d)c routcopcrà|or in rhc prcvioÙs
hour);onchour
E
of rnâtcr'idlis âherdy in thc POU rar::klrom whir::hchooporatoris staningcowolk;
andonc hourof crrpty r:ontaincrs aroon thc lorvcrracl<.'lirvotarvouldcxll rhisttro
hows line side,one bour deliuerywhcn opcratinga onc-houldclivcry lrcqucncy.

Àpcx bclicvosthisamolrrrof nâterialstorâ1le spâceàt l;nesidewill helpprevcnt

dre deliverl'-routeoperatorfronr rcnrrningpalcsto chcrrarhct dr.rcto a hck of spacc
in rhc POIJlacl<s rnclprcvcntthc cellfromtunningout of material. For cxamplc,ri
the rouceoperatorhasa delivcryproblcnrand is dclaycdfor up ro trvo hours,the cc
opcfâtirrwill srill bc âble to continueproducrionby usingdre materialin chc|ack.
Akernativell',ifa cell expericnccsdorvntirnc,thc nrutc opcratorrvill not be âbleto
drop marerialon the POfl racl<,and insccacl muscplâceit ot thc lloor'fhis servesrs
a visualcontrolthar thcfc is â pfoblemât rhe cell. (Obvioùsly,the team leaderin the
cell or rhc arcamanagcrnccdsto act immediatelyto dealwith the problem.)

50
T!a,o Hours Line Side, One Hour Delivery

t hr of inventory
:,fê:€-: a: ag,,.,,orked on by cel operator t hr.of inventory
. . J . e s . c n i a i n e r so n P O Ur a c k )
:,1::€'la iesignared on pull signa s to be replenished t hr.of inventory

Ilrirri:nt to thc I)l:l.l1lend assurninga one-hourdeliveryiûtcrvâI,Apcx l.as ahlc to calculare

:i:r 'r,,r.rgcrcrlrrircnrcrrls
lbr câclrPOU ruchby doublingthc conrâincrsrscd per hour,drsn
,.r,irrL:.pr(clirr onc cxn.r container'ânddren roundinliûp (rvhcnncccssar'y) ro thc ncxt
(, ni.iincr.lror c\.nrplc, dlc rxck fiJrpârt f13,156on â onc-hour'roulerlusr be rbl(: to hold

POU Rack for Part #13456

Rackcapêcityper part = (containers

usedper hr x 2 hr worth)+ I container*
#13456 = (3 containersx 2) + 1 contâiner
= 7 containers{lfpartial round up to the next fullcontaineù
* This exùa containorâddresses a spaceissuêthat mây ârise- occasionallytherouleoperator
inayarrivea coupleminutesearlyandthe pfoduction operâtormay be a coupleminutes
behind.Whenthe rouie opefatorarrives,there is one hour alreadyon the rackplus pa.tsleft
in the cantainetoû of '".v
hich the productionoperâtorcurrentlyis working.The routeoperator
needsto havefoomto placeonehourof materialon the râck,êndthat'swhy the POUracks
needsto be sizedfor two hoursworthof materialplusonecontainer

\1,cr .rlvrrncorporrrcd
r'erurnchurcsinro thc l)OlI raclis-l-hc rctLrrnchu.c holdsrhc el1]pty
.,,rt.rincrslnrl is dcsignoclso that rhc ccll opcrdtorcân eirsil.)-.rnd
rvith ninirral movcnr:nr
: , i . , . rr b c c r r p o n r h c r h u c c . l h i s l c r s g r â v i c v m o v c i r o r r t o l ' r h o c ot ol l I p o i n tb c l o r vt h c
rrr' rrrl l)rrts.shcrc rhc foutc opcfâtofcân rctricvcit.'lhc feturn chutc shoulcltrc sizcclro
' : . i : 1 . . . r . r c l ] ù r r l ) c r o f c o | t â i û e r s â s t h e i n c o n i n g r â c k s o d r o cocpl lc r a r t x i s n c t e r i n :
.: ,:::rrhcrcrhcrcisnoplrLccropu!cmpryconrainers.Simil.rrly,Apcxincor'porarccle
. .-:::: :!c r.rrk ii,r pLrllsignuls(ar bc oxplaincdin a morncnt),xllowing rhc ccll opcrrft)r
i,LIl .isnrl tir)nrr containcrand, rvith minimÙm eflort aud rnovement,phcc ir
,, :rc:c ir rrurcls out ro drc dcln cry-iolrrcopcra|or.

r,.,:-r.lasa\\ja-F:D:-,.:i!--at-:
Ouestion 7: Hovv do your production areas signal the
purchased-parts market what to deliver and when ?
'l systemis to get the productionârcas
hc rvholepoint olApex's nervmaterial-handling
-fherefore,
cxâctlylhe âmountof partsneededexactlywhen nccclctl. rhinking aboura
signalingsystcmnccdsto beginrvicbthc volumeof materialsneededpel unic rime.

At Apcx, the MRP rvassendinga rveeklyscheduleto eacbccll rvith instructionson r rat to

produce.This produccioûneed then wâsbcing clivirledby the availâblcholrrsof produclion
dLlringthe week cocalculâtcùc trkt time for eachcell. (Rcmcrnbcrthar tâkt rimc is thc
productionrcquircrnencduringa givcn inrcrvâl- in rhiscasea rveelt- diviclcdby aveilablc
producriontime during that irrrcrval.)ln fact,as we bnvcscct, thc Apex cellsvery ratcly
wereable coproduccplocluctscotekr cimefor any cxtcndcdperioddue to partsshorragcs
and mainlcrrarrccissncs.Neverrheless, ,rc lcliuery systemmust be designedwith the
capacityto suqPorttdrgeta tp1ltas determinedby the taht-timecaLculation.

ln Apex'sold material-dclivc.ysystcmd)e Macerials Rcquircmcntl)lânningsyslcmscnt

partsco productionarcesfrom receivingwhcthcr thcy wcrc oocdodof nor - x clxssrcpus,
rrrps on P.lgos2 and 3 of this
systcmslrownby clrcscr'ipcdtrnrws in chovalue-scr'crm
wofkbook.Ar rhc sârno!imc, ccll operâtorswould signalfor panswhcn thcy rlln out, or

Pull ls Better Than MRPBut Not Essentiallo Getting Startedwith a

LeanMaterial"Handling System
The material-handling systeminstalledat Apexwouldworkevenbetter
if the cellswere regulatedby pullsignalslrom a finished-parts
marketat
the shippingend of the plant,with kânbansignalingthe cellsthe itemto
produceand how muchto produce. The deliveryroutesdescribed here
âlsocanbe expanded to takefinishedgoodsfrom the cellsto the finished-
goodsmarketandto bringkânbanfrom a heijunkadevicein the finished"
goodsmarketbâckto the cells.

However,becausefew plantstoday hâveâ completeleansysternin

place,such as the one describedin CreatingContinuousFlowlorlhe
Apex plantnearits heôdquarters, the situationdescribedhereis more
Just notethat a leanmaterial-hândling
typicâ1. -
system with its many
-
benefits canworkwell in thissituation as long as maximumpartusage
per deliveryintervalis careTullycalculated and the deliverysystemhas
the capâcityto supportthe cellsat pêâk output.
 thcy would lcâ\'crhcir iîrk âreasând scourthe plant on â "treasurehunt" for parts.
'fhis
wasa crudeand inelïicientprll system,asshownby the dotted expeditelines
on the value-stream
maps.

By conrrasr.thc nerr leanmatcrial-hândling systen will controlthe precisetimesard

quanriricsof partsdclircrcd ro rhe cellswith a very rigorouspull system,enabling
Apex to rrâckmireriâl and keep invenroryundet concrol.Equallyimportant,cell
operarors$ill dcr otc all of rhcir rime to producinggoodsthât creâtevaluefor the
customer(Or, in the absenceof productionorders,they will havetime for leizcn
or housckccping acrivitics.)

To esrablishthis rype of well-mânxgcdsystem,Apex mnnxgerstook four sreps

you sholld copv:

A. lmplementpull signalsthat enableeachcellto pullfromthe purchased-

parts market only the materialit needs.
B. Determinehow frequentlylo deliver materialto the cells.
C. Determinewhether the deliveryroute is to be co!pled with or decoupled
Irom loadingol the deliverycarts.
D. Câlculatethe number of pull signalslor eachpart.

A. lmplêment pull signals that enable each cell to pull from

the purchased-parts market only the mâterial it needs.
'fhcrc
Pull signalsallow a rvorkccll |o indicâtcâ need for pârrsreplcnish,nent. ar.
manyvaricticsof pull signals(seethe choiceson the next page),^nd Apex chose
pull signalsir the lorm of hanbancards.'lheseâlsocan be usedto signalfie need
for prodnccion(in wlrich cascthey are termcdptoduction kanban),but the ùseof
the cârdsin Apex'smarerial-handling sysremis to signalmaterialhandlersto move
matorialfrom thc purchascd-pârts mârketto the cells.For this pùrpose,they âre
termed w itb drdxaal kanban.

Apex mânâgersâlsoescablished the hârd-ând-fastrrle rhat the pull signelis the one
ând only âuthorizâtionto move materialfrom the partsmarketto the cells:Nothing
moveswitholrt â kânbân.

.\pc\'s krnban cÂrdsindicacethe part number,the addressin the purchâsed-parts

nrrrkcr. rhe precisedeliveryaddress,and the numberofkenban cardsthât exist for
rhrr p:rrrnLrmber at drâtuselocarion.(Remember that the samepartnumberwill
,'ticnbe rr)n\c\ ed t()multiplelocations
at Apex,soit is essentiâl
rhatthe kanban
'ir..iù h,)rhrhc f.rrr nunrhcrândrhc spccificuselocarion.)

L 9 A ! T I V D € S G N l N GT H E D E LV E Â YR O U T E
 F

F
F
F

F
PullSignals
andonlights,emptypartscontâiners,
Pullsignalscomein manyformsincluding F
and kanbancards, plusmyriadelectronic
signals.
F
.,4ndonsignalsareappropriate for large,bulkyitemssuchas windshields
or exhâustsystemsthat are difficultto inclLrde
in a standarddeliveryroute
because When
of theirsize. an operator'sinventory reachesthe reorder
level,the operatorturnson the andonlightthat alertsthe Production
ControlDepartment to bringânothercontainerof material.Materialpulled
with an andonsignalis normallydeliveredon an as-needed basis,creating
a systemtermed variableinterval/fixedamourf replenishment.(By contrast,
kanbânreplenishment systemso{ thetypechosenby Apexmanagers for the
light'truckproductfamily aretermedfixedinterval/variable
amounfbecause
the deliveryintervalis fixedbut the amountdelivered variesbasedon the
numberoJkanbanpickedup by the routeoperatoron the previousdelivery.)
-
. Emptycontainers canbe usedas pullsignals,but only whenthe container -
is uniqueto â pârtnumbefandthe storagelocationis in the line'of-sight
ot the consumingdepartment. lf the consumingdepartment is not within |-
sight,it is too easyto losetrack. By unigue we meân that the partis the
only partin the facilitythât canfit into the containerA labelon a general
purposecontâinerdoesnot mal(ethe containeruniquebecause the label
can be changed.lf you usecontainers as pull signals,then morecontâiners
will needto be purchased with eachvolumeincreâse, and new containers
will needto be obtainedwhen new partnumbersareadded,

. Kanba, is the Jâpaneseword for sign or signboard,and a kanbancatd is

literallythat - a cardthat containsinformêtionincludingpârtname,pârt
number,consumingprocess, etc,Thecard- oftenin a protective,cleâr
-
envelope is attached to eachcontainero{ mâterial.By attachingkanban
cardsto containers, genericcontainers
a facilitycân usestandard-size that
canbe delivered to morethanone locationand holddifferentpartnumbers.
(However, we alwaysrecommendminimizingthe numberof differentcontainer
sizesand havefoundthatTacilities âlmostneverneedmorethanfive sizes.)
Kanbancardsarecostefficient, easyto chânge,and easyto handle.lf
possible, makekanbâncârdstoo big to fit into someone's pocket,which :
helps prevent themfrom beingmisplaced.

:
 Pull Signal

Apex coloÊcodedtheir pull signals(kanbancards)to

each cell.The card for cell 14 is blue.

.\pcr rrscdphin rcct.rngùlar cilrds,but kânbancârdscânbecolor-coded ând/or

.h:rpcd(c.g.,circlo,trixnlilc,square) to matchâ department or vâlueslreâmlhât
'l
rrrcrrhc crrrl. hc goalwhendesigning â kânbânsystemis for everyoncro know
rt u {hncc sùcrc tho crùdsbolong.AII lenl)anscr,,inga givcnccll ârApoxwill bc
to thatccll (c.g.,tlrc carclfor ccll 14is bluc).
cr,l,x-crxlcd

B. Deterrnine horrv frequently to deliver material to the

cells (the cyclê time of the delivery route),
'l
hc nc\r stcpfor Afcx wasto dotornrinc thc dolivorylroqucncyof drc
'l
rorrrc. hc nrrrrciicquontthc dolivcfios(îssuningthc stândîrdconr{incr
'izcslirrclch purtcanbc adjustcd),rhc lcssinvcntofyrhcrorvillbc in rhc
.r'r,:rr,rn<lthc m(ncrcsponsivo$c systcmwill bo to changos in p()duccion
hisisgood.However,
rcrlrrircnrcnrs.'l frequentcleliveries àlsocomewith coscs:
= I h(\ rl$r\\ rc(lLrifc nrorcoffortby thc foutcopcrarorThcy usuallyrcqlrirc
i|. olrr(hr\cr)l ')c\\ alncl smâllcrrotesor contâiners,And theyr(]qùirethe
- . :.cr.lri,,n.f rrrpplicls() focfucc
drcircontaincr sizcsif invonrorios
arccobc
:r.r r...i .r{nrliernrl\\!irhoûtexcessive lâborin the purchâsed-partsmarkerto
:', :.a:: i.,::' ir,!l hrscrto snallorcontaincrs.

: ,:.j.f ih.rcl-,)re |rceda rrldcofïbctweenthe mostefficicntuscof

, ' .::.:,:r::c*,rrr.c\(\hcre longinterl,âlsândlârgeconniûersâre
,,f inrcnrorvcosr(rvhere
: : :: ::::::::-,ci,'n shortintervâls
with smâll
\r,cr ticcidr:dro rrsca onc-hourroutefrequenc_v,

timcs during an cight-hourshift,

: : ::rc n!\r 'hiii $irh rirne1brlurch ard
: : : l : . . i r i r . , \ i ) r c ù . r t p e l t sl i l l b e d c l i l e r c d
 E

tr
F
ro eâcbprod ctiur cell eueryhour ofproductio, bccâusebreâktime plus lunch plusa clean- tr
up pcriodât ùe end ofthe shi[tconsume oneholrrofthe eighÈhour shifr.In thc cvcntthat
F
one or moreproductioncellsnccd to work overtime,the route continues!o run on an hourl)
frequencyand deliverspartsbasedon replenishmentto the cellsrvorkingovcrtime.) F
t
C. Determine whether the delivery route is to be co.rpred \rvith or
decoupted lrorYr loading of the carts. tr
Apex managers realizedthat the work involvcdin deliveringmateriaisto the valuestrcamhas E
crvomajorparts- loadingthe conveyance cartswith the nccdcdmarcriâls basedon the kenbân
signalscollectedon the previousrun ofthc routc,anddrivingthe nrggeroverthc rourco dclivcr G
the parts.Bochloâdinganddclivcringcânbe perlormedby the routoopcr|to|(i1^ couplcd G
/orre) or thc job cânbo clivided,with a marketacrendant load;tgd1cpâtts(Àdecoupled rcute).
G
Our cxpcrienccwith fixcd-time delivcry routcsis thxr loaclingthc cartsgenorrllytakcs
nboutone-rhird of dretime ofoperdringn couplcdrcutc.'lhe syslemcanbo opcratcd widl
one tuggerand routoopcrâtorwho spendsup coa third of totâl rcLrrctimc loadingthc cnrt.
Or thc clccoupledroucecâobe opcrârcdwith onc tlrggcrÀncltwo sctsolcarts. In cbiscâsc,
rhe !uggefdriverrctùrrsfiom thc prcviousroutc,htndsthe cârdsto tbc markc!:rctondirn!
tnd thcn runschoroutoat thc appointcds[irr!cimcwith cârrs
ro loaddlc cnlptysct ofcaLts,
alreâdyloâdedby rhc rnâ.I(ctâtccndânt.

To kccp thc syslemsimplc ir its trial stâge,Apex dccidcd to opcrâtciLcouplcdroùrc with

rhodclivcry-foute opcràtorloâdingthc cartin thc purchascd-pârts
mâtl<et.l,âtcr,âsanorhor
route is âddcdelsewherein thc laciliry,Apcx mây wâ,rtlô cxperimcntwith dccouplcd
-l'his
routcs, is bccâùselongerdecouplcdroutosscrv;ccdby morc cârtscân bc operâtcd
within the samerimc spanby onc deliverydriver wlrile a singlemarkctatrcndanrlottls rll
of drc carts.'Ihiscângreâtlyimprovclaborutilization.

Apcx cstrblishcdâ guideliûe,basedon tb(-expcricncooflcan facilicicsovermânyyears,thât on

its one-hourcoupledroutcthc loâdiûgtime woùldnorexceed33%ofthc totâlonc+ourdelivery
cyclc(20 minltes). Also,the actuâlrrâvcltimo for tbc routc opcrâtor$,oûldnor exceed33%
ofthe remâiningroute rime (c.g.,33%of40 minutes).Ifchangesin the routcshouldcausc
cheroute rimesto exceedrheseguidclines,Apcx nânâgerswill reevaluatelhc rourc.

cuidelines for One-Hour Coupled Route

Maximumloadtime 33%of totaltime 20 min. {0.33x 60 m;n.)

Mâximum travel time 33%of non-loadtime 13 min. 12 sec.(0.33x 40 min.)*

'I
Totâltime t hr. hr,
+ l f l o a d t i m e w e r e l e s st h a n 3 3 % ( 2 0 m i n . ) ,m a x i m u m ù a v e l t i m e c o u l d b e g r e ê t e r .
D. Calculate the number of pull signals for each part.
'lir
opcr:rt rlr. r,L:l 'r.trr. \l).\ rlrrnlscrsncc(lcd (r cxlcul!1tc
succcssfLrlh
t h c n L r n r l ) !or l l x f l , : L f : n : l r r ' r . r r f r l i ) r ù . r r ht ) x r rn n r r l ) c rl b r c r c h < 1 c 1 i | c r - v
l o c u t i o n . ' l l r irsc , l L L r r r: ,,i: r p i r r c . o l i n û r n r . r t r o n :
1 . ' l I c d c l l . L r ' f r . r L r . r L r . l c t c r r r i n cr L) bl c r r r c h o L r )

2 . l r i c n t i f i l r t l " , ,r i : , r r , , , t . , r so L , 1 , 1 cor t{ d c c o L r p l c d
LsÈfiJJn/airll
3 . l h c n l r l r ; r L r: r . r : r , L n i , , i j r l r r t tso b c d c l i v c r c do n c a c h d c l j v c r rc v c l c l("I!l.û-tt rrnlii:t("]
( s l r i r l r . 1 , : ' , r ,J, r r , , r . r, l, )r l i c , ù , r r i n r r r rnrrs r g cr . r t cp c r h o r r r J
ùir:l L.! iI),.:r,ili
![I!_r;,.]
. 1 . ' 1 1 , . ' r , 1 , , t 1 . , , , , ' , r ,r rl , L
r .,rrnr rt i r i o
( hl c l ) , r f r s t o b c ( l c l i \ c f c ( l ( l i s ' c ( l i n r l r c l ) l : l , l l ' j )
dii ûtii€ lfgur'(] iit fr,1i ii |..
l[1ic Lift, ]iit. oi Ell.
Âs inrlirurc,lc. rlrLr.rhc.\pcr dclilcr'\' ()ulc opcrinofir dris cl,l1rlcdlorrtc ri iiil htJ llllrriir i(!i
r i l l I r l i , r f rl , , , r lt r, r L r r t , c l i i l ] ! i n l h c n r î r l i c ttl hn o( ld c l i v c r yI ).L r r i n g t h c Ûirirrirjr!ln:,l!ilril'i;i(!] a4,
L l c L i r c r1r , l r . r ' r , ,rtl r . r ) L r r c1, | l c , \ l ) c x1 1 ) u rocp c f u r ( n\ \ , i l lI c r y c n r r t c f i r lr t q'j
t,.r ll, ijl,-li{iil6 ill:llrtl
t l r cr c l ' . f r L : c r f c r c 1 r r Lsl li g n r l s r n (cl n r P t )f,o n t l i n c r s O . n c cb l c h u t t h c r !l i\qll i!-llll.l .rliJlq!i l{{:ri
p u r ( r r \ ( ( l l , . r i r .n r l i c r ,r l r cs t i r r co I c r u t o tw i l l I i c l i t h c r r r l t c r i ui lr d i c u t c d \'r!ti!uilqt |5 Erê ùurrrlirilll
,iii il ii.rail:ûiiln lii:iiii
l ) \ r r . l ) L r l' L! r : L l sr r r r l| ( , , r irll r c n r u t c r i uoln t r rt l r cc r f r s . l h c ) r r c o p c r r r o r
LoJ iû.r i{i Éûr. iU{:lj,i:t(:l
\ \ i l l r l r ( r l ) . ! t r r r h c l r c l c u q r i nr n d d c l i r c t t h c r r r l t c r i l l
Lrrl[r] llal]ll ilhu: Iilt
(;J.ttt) i{t 6j.t,cllatgrlii,
k , r n b , L n s l r o r r l ld, c i r rr l , cs ! s r c r r(rx l s ou l l c ( l
l l r $ r i . L , r \l i r l l \ i ! n r l s
ii[) h)t] i\./(1[rùr,!.j
rhc l,rri,.r,r rr 11,.1(,rr))1l his crrl(:rrlrrtion is rrctrrrllvsinrl)lc(nrccrou lcrùr ro
l,roiù' tiçlJt lùrr,.1
r i s L l r i ci ur h r r i ' l r L l r l r c n i nWr:h . c l r h c r o u t co p o r x r ( p r i c h sr r pt h c h l n b l n u t T'li)trilijil'irj'r I l friFra,
r h c ( c 1 , , , . , r , r c l r o r Li rl c l i v c r ri c r l u c n c y ,t h c n r l r x i n ) L rnnr r r n b cor f h , r n l , r r r illio û!l{a ct!.riô(.)
t l n r s , , L r l (, ir ' , r ) r l l \ l , c i o l l c c t c dr ( , u l d l ) c l i , r , ) n cl v ) u a sw o r t ) o
r f 1 , r ' r x l Li or u
n. !rll o_j[, dr:]hyrj;:ti(".!:a
r \ t t h e ' . r r e : r r r . t l r c c s l r o r r l ldr r :k l r r b u rl i r t o n c l r o L ror l t ) u r t si r rr h c l ) O l l ir]riioirlll ri'f;1(;l ir ;l.l
r f ( i l t i i i r r r , r c r r o L r r r l c L i r c n r l i ( n r \ \ , h i c h r hocpcoor lrlr ( ) f\i \s1 ) r l i i n g , r r l ( l l [ii a]rËrdl i io; i'-\(:-r 4t
(;.,ili€ i\,/q,/.r]:
l i x n l ) . L1ni , , , : r . . L , i , l i r i , !hr o. rul ,o l p r r r s r h u t h , r v c j u s r t r c e n d e i i v cl hr ccdr c. l i r r c .
r h c n L r r l , r r, , 1l , . Lr l i . r r r r l r . s \ s r c n iri n x . r ) r r l ? r 1 m r l c* , i l l c r ; r r ,trhl c n r r n r b c r
o l i o r t r Ln c , ' : : r : I r . . r r ] r ( \r r c r o L r ilci c ( t L r c r o \ :

'l
h i s r r r l ct . L ' : l rr . L ,.rL , i t\J 1 1.,L n \d c l i v c r ri i e r l u c n c v : 'hl c n u n b c Lo f h r n b , r l
i n t h c s i ' r c r i . r , , . : , t r . . t r r c s i h e n L r n L ) c r (1) 1( r r ù b ti innt h c r ù t l x i n l L r n r
d c l i v c n r L ù r I r r tI i . \ r : | , . r l r l r c ( l c l i ! c f - \ ' l i c ( t L r o r l c y w r s ( l c û(c) lcl sv c (f lv
3 0 l l r i n r r r c s : r rrr.l, , 1 : , : . r r r : r rh . L r lI 5 n ) j l l l l t c s $ ' ( n rohf p r r r s ( r r c a n i n g a
rnâxinnrnr r)l rr\,)(,,:i..r:,rr.\', LrlLl 1,. 'lcLivcrcrl cvcrr'30 minrrros). ûc nrrmbcr
ofLanbrLnin thc 'r'rc r: , ,i r,. ' \ t\\,) rr)nrrrnefsr threc).Alternrtivell',
i l ' c l c l i v c rirc r t L r c r L r\ , ' : r ,r r . r . . , ii , r \ r h i ) u f \$ h i l c t l ) c p r o d u c t i o rnl t c
a n t lt h c c o n n i n c r\ i / . r . , i : r . . i . . r ' r . r r l r' .h f n L r m b cor f h r n b r n i n t h c
1roùldbc ll rcirlrr
s_vsren) rl]rcrt \ore hor chtr.gi g deljverr
flctlucnc_.-
dr.rnrrtic.rllr.rlirrr' rh. i r.ri rrl]rbcr .ih.rnb.Ln-rn(lrhc.rnrounr
of irrvennrr\it rhc s\ si.rl
 E

F
Coupledvs. DecoupledRoutes F
ALthoughApex initiallywill use a coupledroute,in the luture it may use decoupled E
routes,and it is importantto understand this makesin the numberof pull
the difference
signals- kanbanin this case- in the system.On a decoupled routethe kânbâncards =
are retrievedat the cellsby the routeoperatorand broughtbackto marketand leftwith a
marketattendant. Theattendant fillsthoseorderswhilethe routeoperâtorrunsthe next =
routewith materials that alreadyhavebeenpickedTromthe marketand placedon the carts.
Two peopleworkon the total processlthe routeoperatorand the marketattendant), and
F
two setsof tuggersand cartsmovethe materials. E
Coupledvs, DecoupledBoute E

Route Frequency Availabletime Market work Market work

E
method Ior delivery by market
of material attendant E
Coupledroute t hr, 40 min. 2 0m i n . 0 rnin- >

Decoupled
route t hr. 6 0m i n . 0 min. 20min. E
F

A coupledroute requireskanbanin the systemfor threetimesthe deliveryfrequency(in this

case,one houribecause thereis one hourbeingdelivered, one hourof materialat the cell,
ând one hourof pull signalsbeingreplenished. A decoupled routerequireskanbanfor
/ourtimesthe deliveryfrequency(onehourin this case)because thereis one hourbeing
delivered,
one hour o{ materialat the cell,one hour of pull signalsto be replenished,
ênd
one hourbeingpicked;nthe market.

Coupleand DecoupledFactors

Coupledrouteof t hr. Kanbanfor 3 x the routefrequency

Decoupled
routeof t hr. Kânbânfor 4 x the routefrequency
Apex usedthe coupledroureinfbrnalionand thc formulato câlculâtetine
kâûbanlbr part#13456to workccll 14(ardeliverylocationC3).This means
thatbetweenpLrllsignalscomingrc the cellvia cherouceoperacor,signals
âtaachedro fullconra;ncrs
ar rhecell,andsignalspulledby checellopcrator
thcrcwill ncvcrbc nlorerhanninekanbanin thc lrxrp.

Kanbanin Loop

Hourly usage x 3x route frequency(coupledroute)

= Kanbanin loop
Standardcontainerquantity

Kanbanlor Pârt #13456= I

9 0 x 3
= 9 kanbân*
30
*alwaysroundup to the nextwholenumber

o'uestion 8: Ho\rv do you fill ttre delivery route?

Widr kânbdnselectedâs rlre pull signalmotlnxl,dlc dclivcryrourodosigned,
tlrc dclivcryfrcqucncydctcrmined, andtbc numbcrof kânb^nin thc systcm
scr,dlc only rcmainingtasklof Apcx mânrgerswâsto fill the dcliveryrùrtc.
'l-hcy
scârtcd with deliveryofjuscone part(#l34-50ro.justoncccll (14)and
thcn fiilcd the rourefor rhe cnti.e ccll Àndûon lor tho cntirc light-trùck
pr(xluctf.rrlily.'J'heydid this by vcry carefullyspecifyingthc standâdworl(
ând$e timesfor dle d(-liveryrourc.
'lo
infonnâtionto fill chcdeliveryroùte,Apex manâgers
build up the necessary

A. ldêntify stândârdwork and times for all work elementsthat occur

duringthe runningof the roule.
the deliverytime for all partsin â cell,
B. Câlculâte
C. Add other cellsto the deliveryroute.
A, ldentify standard work and times for all \rvork elements
that occur during the running of the route.
The dclivcrl Loureand âct;onsof thc io te opcrâtor,iust like \r.ofkrbat rakesplacein
cells,needto be governedby stxndxrdoperâtionsso d1cwod( is doneâscfficicntlyâs
possibleand cânbe improved.Apex reviewedcheprimaryrasksofthe routeoperâlor
pickup emptvconrâincm,
dclivelrnacerial, andpickup l<anban calds- andapplicdstan-
dardtines.'llcse timescan be ùsedto câlculxteall dclivcrics$,ithiûApcx.'l'he stxndxrLl
\rcrk t;mcsdrâtApcx uscdfor nrtcrial clclivct\ arc shotunbebw. E
'lhese E
times provider goodstartfor you in developirgstânderdwork in your frrcilrty,
bucsomcaclaptacions maybe rcquircd.Thc clit;calpointis thatyou mustdevclopstlrn-
clarrltirrcsfrrrall rvoll(clcmcnts,âftcrcârcfulcxaminarionofconditions
on rhc gomb1,àndyolrrîâcilirymustnîintrin thcscstxndâds.

Apex Standard Delivery l/Vork Times

1 step(2.5ft.) 0 . 6s e c . v
Trâvelor drivetime (a typicaltuggerspeed
is 220ft. per min. or 2.5milesper hr) = 3.66ft. per sec.
Geton tugger 3.9sec.
Getoff tugger 3.9 sec.
Delivercontainer/obtain
emptycontâiner** = 7,0sec,per container
I Add thistime onlywhendistânce from conveyâncecartto POUexceeds 10ft.
** Includes from tugger,walkingto POUrack,placingcontâiner
takingcontainer on rack,and
gettingemptycontêinerandpullsignals

 standardizedrvork sheet needs to bc cievcloped!o record all the inlormation on thc

tâslc to be cârried out ând the times for eàch ofthose rctivitics. (Apcx will hàvc the rourc
operâtorstake âll breâksand lunches ât the same time âs rhe cells thev àre servicing.)
rË

rÈ

É
Delivery Route Standard vvork
r:

DeliveryRoule StandardWork

Slop lD Action Parts Stop ïme Drivelme

Deliverparts, 13594,13224 180.0sec. 27.32sec.
13997, 13Ma
13215,13456
( c e l l1 4 ) pullsignals

21.86sec.

Total: 180.0sec. 49.18sec.

Total DelivervRouteÎmê: 229.18

sec.13mjn.49sec,)

P A R Tl v rD E S T G N I N
THGEO E L V E RR
YO U T E 61
Apcx managcrsalsorequiredrhe deliverycartsro be loadedin a standardized manner.
'I
hey derermireda best positionfor eâchpârt on thc câû, bascdon rhe scquenccof !he
deliver"vpointson the roùte,ând then tapedoff specificarcasofcarrs by ccll. Thc marcrial
\{as ârrângedon the cartsso the deliveryoperatorcanmove thc matcriâlro thc point-of-usc
ncks rvithminimummorionândtimc.For exarnple, materialsfor deliverypointsor the
rightsideof the cartârcplaccdin â stândxrd positionon thc Lightsidcof checan.

Part Locations on a Conveyance Cart

Cartis loâdedin a standardmannerwith pârtsfor cell 14.

All partson the leftsideoJcartdeliveredto the leftsideof aisle;

partson the rightsideof cartdeliveredto the rightsideof a;sle.

.ljmes
Standard for PickingParts
Apex ensuredthat the totâl time to pick partsin the marketdid not exceed33%
of the total routetime.However, because manyApexsuppliers weresending
partsin expendable cardboardpackaging that requiredvaryingamountsof
market-attendant time to open,Apexdid nottry at thispointto determine precise
picktimesper part.As the suppliersmovetowardreturnable containersthât do
not requireunpacking, Apexwill be in a position to precisely
calculateaverage
picktimesjust as it hâscalculâted the timesneededto delivercontainers at the
pointof use.
 B. Calculate the delivery time for all parts in a cell.
llsing thc stanclardtinrcs prcvioush calculated.^pex mànagersdelermined the tinre rcqlrircd
r-
to delivcf onc prr| - $c'11llsc :13.1-56 for an exârnple- ro rhe sropthat servicescell 14.
'1he,v
choseto stan $ ith rhis ccll bcc:ruscit is chc point farûest from the purchased-parrs
mârkerfor rhe light ùLrckprduct l!nliiy, which mahesit simplc to calculatcthc total drive
timc fof rhc rorrrc..\pcr nrrnrgen looked to their plant layout,determinedthc dis ncc to
dre srq), xnd rhcn cxlruhrcd rbc drivc timc.

Apex - Route Distance to Work Cell 14

Shipping

_@^...

4
r'^ n,i
re")'.
Y-ry

100feet from the

market to the stop
.t
1..Æs @ : e:d\'j :.ôôôi:,
' @ . ' .</z.q\
l
EE-
':
æ
Ei,

'Éi.- -:i. r""l*r

"ii'

P A F TV :O É SG N I N GT H ED E LV E R YR O U T E 63
\licr dctcrrrining rlrc total (lisrxnceto and from the stop ât cell 14,Apex rvasable to calculate
rhc rorxl time |o deliver part #13456.(Remember that the frequenc_v of dre routc and contrincr
size ûre critically impor!ânt to this câlculât;onbecâuseth;s detennineshorv man-vcontaincrserc
likely ro be delir.eredand horv many cmpty crlntâincs ârc likcly co bc pickcd up on crch trip.)

Total Time to Delivery Part #13456

Traveltime to cell(100ft. + 3.66ft. per sec.) 27.32sec.

Get off tugger 3-9sec.
Delivercontainer/obtain empty container 21.0sec.
(3 containers per hr.x 7 sec.)
Geton tugger 3.9 sec.
Trâveltime to market(80 ft. + 3.66ft. per sec.) 21.86sec.
Totalïme = 77.98sec.(1 min. 18sec.)

'fhc
ncxt stopfor Apoxmrn:lgcrswas!o cîlcrrlâtchow muchtimo lvâsrc(luirc(l() dclivcr
âll of thc pârcsroqucsrccl
by worliccll 1,1.All of thc irrformaci{)n
thcy nccdcd\vâsin rlrcir
PFIiP sprc.rclshccc.

Delivery Time Per Part - Work cell 14

.ljme
Part # Description Daily Storagelocation Containers lo deliver
usage usedper at stop serving
houJ* work cell 14
13598 Ferrule 690 Purchased-parts
mârket 0.9 6.3 sec.

13224 Con.ector 2760 Purchâsed-pàrts

mârket 12.0 84.0sec.

13997 T Hose 690 Purchâsed-pa

s marlet 0.9 6.3 sec.

13MA Valve 690 PurchasedDartsmarket 6.0 42.0sec.

13215 Tube 1380 partsmarket

Purchased 1.8 12.6sec.

13456 Hose 690 Purchased-pêds

market 3.0 21.0sec.

Total delivervtime work cell 14: 172.2sec.

min. 52 sec.)
* Notethat we haveusedthe averagenumberof containersdeliveredper hour for this calculation
eventhoughit is obviousthat no onewill be deliveringê fractionof a containef(e.9.,0.9contêin€rc
of ferrules).We do this becausethe deliveriesâverageout when maîy part numbersêre being
delivefed alongthe routein different volumes.Forexample, an hourduringwhichoneconrainer
of ferrulesis delivered maywell be the hourthatonlyone contêiner of tubes(part#13215) is
delivered.lf we roundeduo evervamountto the nextfull contâiner andusedihis numberto
calculatethe total deliverytime, we would consistently
overestimête the âmountof time need€d
By âdding.hedeliver\'rimes for eachpart.equesred b-r'cclli4, Apcx manâgers \r'ereâble
ûc rorelroutctimc for rhiscell.Only the time to deliverpansand
to roll up andcelculale
pick up empt_v andpull signâls
contâincrs changed:

Total Time to Service Vl/ork Cell 14

Traveltime to cell(100ft. + 3.66ft. per sec.) = 27.32sec.

Getoff tugger = 3.9sec.
Delivercontainer/obtain emotvcontainer = 172.2sec.
Geton tugger = 3.9sec.
Travellime to market(80ft. + 3.66ft. per sec.) = 21.86sec.
Totaltrâvel and deliveryroutetime to work cell 14 = 229,18sec. (3 min. 49 sec.)

As we can see,it takesone deliveryoperâtofIossrhânfour minutcsto scrviccthis cell

everyhoùr.ft is imponantto nociccthâtthe routetraveltime is only49.18sccorrcls(27.32
seconds+ ?1.E6scconds).

C, Add other cells to thê delivery routê.

Apex maûngcrsnow wcre feâdyto âdd thc doliverytimcs rcquirodto scrvioc!ho ochcrcclls
-fho
in the light-tnrckproducrÎâmily. additional cclls(11,12,I3, înd 7) âddcdân .rddidonâl
688.8secondsro drc routc !imo to dolivcr contâincrsâûd pick up cmpty contirincrsirnd
kanbancardsat cachpointof use(fourccllsx 172.2scconds). Apcx âlsonccdcdto âdd in thc
!imc for lho routoopourorto gcr on ârd offthc tuggerto servicethesecells.Sinccrhc othcr
fourccllsrequiredonly one deliverysrop,chisaddcdjust T.Useconds(onosrrrpx 7.8scconds).
Cells7 and 13will bc scrviccdby the sâmestopâscell 14,ândcells11ând 12areserviced
l;y onc stop.'fhereforeâddingthe lour ccllsadds696.6scconds (688.8scconds + 7.8
scconds)to rhisroure.Bccâuscthc four âddicionâl cellswereon the samerouteto and fiom
rhc purchâsed-par$ mârkerâscell 14,no addirional drivctimc wasnccdcd.(If thisroute
c\prnds bcyondrh(rcurrentrravclpâth lor the five cells,more trâveldistanceând drive
rinrcrrill nccdto bc factorcdin.)

Route Time for Light-Truck Fuel-Line Value Strearn

Travelênd de ivery time for cell 14 229.18sec.
A d d i t i o n adl e l i v e r yt i m e f o r c e l s 7 , 1 1 , 1 2 ,a n d 1 3 696.6 sec.

Totaltr'âveland deliverytime to tight-truckproductfamily 925.78sec.(15min. 26 sec.)

P A Ê TV :D E S ] G N I NTG
H ED E L I V E FRYO U T E
,\ddingrhesefiguresshowsrharrhe rouceoperacor wiil require15minuresand26 seconds
(229.Iliscconds + 694,.6scconds) to dclivcrpans,pick up cmptycontaincrs, andpick up
Lanbancardsat ell fivc cellsproducinglight-truckf[el lines.Apex manâgerstestedând dmed
the deliver,voperationfor this valuestreamand lound their cxlculatiorsto be accorare.

Oncc chcaccuracyof thc calculxtionswâsconfirmcd,Apcx rranagcrswcrc rcaciycoopcrarc

their first deliveryroureaûdgâjnrealexperience rvith rhe system.By kcepingùe tesksimple
- and in parricularby stickingto onc producclamily rvicha simplePFEP - ^pex wâsâble
to quickly installâ leânmàterial-hardlingsystemand obser\,cit in roudneoperâtion,â sight
noneof the managets or opclacorshadcvcr rvitncsscd.

Apex - Light-Truck Product Route

tr# rf",";tr
'@":.
,=st ?"iaE Shippins

!:'@' q9 q9 rrr

!,,9^'r
tr
OperationsOfficeAroâ

I!'l
r Ke.'ô)J
vti./ Si'
EI
,t .'^n,i ,,.p\.
. l
I .iÆ$
'@.' '<,,,,9)
@l '@"
I
v E-
æ
qI,
@ --->

',ir.
-tt_
' r:;lff.

E
We've experiencedthis momenr mxn) rimesj ofcoursc, and r.e alwaysfind rhâ! tbe effecr on
rnanagcrsand opcratorsis qLriteprofound. It ceruinly wâs ât Apcx. As thcy bcgân ro make
mâteriâlsllo\'[ Apcx Dranagcrsând operarorsbegan to wonder how they couLl cvcr havc run
their materiâl hxnLllingin a mass-productionfashion,a method still in use with âll ofits
unavoidâblechaos righr ûcrossthe âisle fbr Apcx's ochcr producr families. lllore imporrânt,
initial succcsswith thc slstcm ansrvered
all of che "ir wont rvork hcrc" argulrcntsand
erergized rlrc Apcx rcam &r movc ahcad quicl(lv !o convert rhe entire fâciliq,.

Scaling Up the Original Route to Make lt Flighly Efficient

'l
hc rrcxt stcp for Âpcx was to optimize dle initial route. Althoùgh d1croutc scrv;ng thc light-
truck \'xluc strcrn ryasfunctioningsmoothlyand lrliminâteda largeâmolrntof invcntory
âncl!hrcc rrltcairls hâûdlcrs(who wcrc rcxssigncdro tho improvemen!l(-âmfor thc lern
'l
tt.rnslixm.rtion),
it rvasnot yct c1ficicnt. hc routc opo.ât{)fwâs dclivcling pans drrring
oûly âl)out I6 lninutcsout of the 37 minutesâvailal)lcoù d1ccouplcd routc,and picliing
rho pîrts in rho nrxrkorrcqLrirccl
only âbout six minutcsof thc 20 nrinutcsavailablefi;r
this onc-horrrr(nrto.

IlccrrrscÂpcx nrînrgcfswcfo os!tl)lishinga onc-llou.oouDIcd(nrte, thcv could ersilv

ticc\ds shaun bebLo,thar an additionrl21 minutcsrnd 34 sccondswcrc rvxilâblo10.
llartsdolivoricson this routoltnd ncàrly l4 minutcswcfc.rvailablcfor pans picking in
rltc purcbîscd-prnsmallioc.

How Much fime is Availâble on the One-Hour Route?

Availabe route time (57min.-20min.loading

time)= 37 min. (2220sec.)

Trâvel/drive
time {180ft. + 3.66ft. per sec.) = 49.18sec

Availâbletime at cells {37min.- 49.18sec.) = 36min.10sec.(2170.8

sec.)

D e l i v eêr n dp i c k - u tpi m e
for l;ght-truck product (172.2sec.x 5 cells) = 14 mil'.21sec.(861sec.)
fâmily(fivecells)

Ïme for two deliverystops

(on and off tugger)for (2 stopsx 7.8sec.) = 15.6sec.
productfamily
light-truck

Unuseddeliverytime on 36 min. 10sec.-

the existing1-hourroute* (14min.21sec.+15.6sec.) = 21min 34secl12942sec'l*
* Apex hopes to add cells to this r o u r ew i t h o u t e \ t e n d i n g t h e d i s i â n c êo f l h e r o u l e a n d a d d i n s
a d d i t i o n a tl r a v e lt i m e .

PARTIV DESGNINGTHEDEL]VERYROUTE
To fill the coupledroute completelyand efficienrlyusc the time âvailable,
Apex managersfolloweda simple processr

A. Identify the mostlogicalcellscobe addedon to the route.Apex mân-

agersquickly determinedthat cells8, 9, and 10producingthe automo-
tive fuel-lineproducrfamilywerethe bestchoices.lfhis wasfor two rea-
sons.First,becausethesecellswork on â commonproduccfamily,thcy
sharethe sâmePIrEP data.This minimizesthe amountofwork that will
needto be doneon uhePFEP bcforeâll threecellscanbe added.
Second,the cellswerealongthe samepath aslhe existingdeliveryroute
as it movedbackto the purchased-pârts mârkct.This madei! easyto
âdd thesecellswithoùr incrcasingthe routedrivingtime.

B. Add the parcsinformacionfor the new cellsbeing considered(rhe

automotivefamilycellsin this case)into chePFEP (Aswe havenoted,
theserhreecellshad idenricalpârtsrcquirements.)

All of the partsin this family were differentthan thoseusedto prodùce

light-truckfuel lincs. IIad someparrsbeenthe stme, the rcquircments
would havcbcencombinedwith existingpartnumbersdacain chePFEP
and rhe racksin tho purchased-parts marketwould hâvebecû âdjustcd
(o holda highervolumeof rhoseprrrs.

The aucofuel-linecellsâlso\seremorecomplex,rcquiringapproximately
rwiceas mânypart numbersas the light-truckproductfâmily,but this
presentedûo problem.The PFEB thc marker,and the deliveryroutes
candealwithanynumbcrofpâûs.

C. Establishmaximuminventorylevelsfor the addkionalcellsand calculatc

to hold thesepaûsin the purchâsed-
lhe numbcrofcontâinersnecessary
pârtsmârket,

Wirh this information,managerscould createspacein rhe purchâsed-

partsmarketfor the parcscontainersto servicotho automotivefuel-
line cells.Becausethey had laid out the markctcarefully,with flexible
rackingand with expansionin mind, they quickly were ableto creatc
properstonge for the âdditionalpartsbeing addedcothe mâteriâl-
hândlingsystem.
E

t
E
E
E
a
€ D. Idenrify thc nurrbcr of kânbanin rhe loop for eachparcnumberfor
onc âutomorive-fuel linecell.
Ê

=c E. Identif-v$e deliven t;me for onc auromodvefuel-linecell.

rËl n Add rhc âddirionalâutomorir,efrrellinecellscothe deliveryroutc,

beingsureto add in timc for dclivcrystops.(Addingcells8, 9, and 10
E requircdno addirional rravcldme becàuse the exisdn€!route,whichis
.El servicing!h(rligh!-truckproducrfamily,must pâsslhcsc ccllsro get
backro thc purchasc-parts market.)
tl

= Aftcr fillingrhc I'l lJPrvichparcsinformacion

andesmbl;shing spâccin
thc nûrket,thc nlànàgers delerminedthâtcâchâùromotivc fuclJinecell
E rcquircdsclcn nrinLrtcs anclfoursccondsof deliverytime.This quickly
E indicrrcd ro .\pcx mârâgcrsthât they could âdd all three automotive
fîrril\, ccllsn) rhc roure,ûddingâ totalof 21 minùrcsând 12scoonds.
= 'lwo
.rclclitional
stopsto scrviccthc threecellsâddedanother15.6seconds
= (twos()psx 7.llsoconds).'I'hus, totâldeliverytimc âddcdto rhc roùrc
was21 minLrtcs.rnd ZlJscconds. On papcrrho manâgors hadcroâteda
murcscr\'icing ciijhrccllsrhattook36 minutesnnd54secordsofdelivcry
rinlc(15 nrinLrrcs rnd 26 seconds + 21 minutesând28 seconds).

Whcn r\pcx nrànrgcrsrxn thc routcwith drc threcadditionalcells, drcy werc

eblc to confirnrrhrr onc rcLr!ooporâtorcoùldseûico eigh! cells(two entirc
proclucrf:rrrilics)rvithin an hour'.Actrraldeliverytime initiâlly averagcd
about40 rrinrrtcs.rncl pickingtime in the purchased-pârts markcrrangcd
lrom I 5 miourcsro l7 minurcs.This fully filled route- with the operaror
utilizcdncrrl\ 95%of rhe àvailâble time - wâsâ hugcimprovcmcnt in
Iaborproducrilirl from thc originalstatcin $,hicheachcell hâd its own
marcrialh.rndlcr.
 Apex - One Complete Dolivery Route

tr# ;1;3trdl
uôu:r uôui ffig
Shipping

::"Èf "ô"ii'.

operârionsOfficeAreâ
:p.. re"):
^@-..,
.93o,ts'
Y-lv Y-ry

'vàrt et i !E +ï EI

À
t
I
@,
l l @<_ @<:@ <_
I ix_*
i(-

Et_
Gô

A r o_e - PL cha.ed Ir build .s

û!!L p o r l "o l pd-\ in
'1- invsnlory ilow rêck

Scaling Up the Lean Material-Handling System

to the Entire Facility
With the southernhâlf of d1eplânr now runningon â orcln)ur couplcclrolrrc,mânâgcfs
shifredtheir âttenrionto rhe remainingsix cellsin the plânc,which they put or r seplrârc
coupledroute.They follorveda1lcheproceduresusedto establishdre initial route,but did
thc wholc routc .r! oncethis cime,basedon the cxperiencegainedin sertingup the first
rolrcc.Thcy sooncrcâtccla couplccldclivcry routc for rhc remainingcells that could bc rLrn
in approximately41 minutes(29 minutesto deliverpârtsànd retrieveemprycontârrersând
kanbancardsand 12 minrrresto pick pans).
=

Apex rvill run the t\ro roLrtcsin this configurationuntil all proccsscs
are snooth and kâizen
lcadsto rirrc-se|ingsand fastcrroutc times.lfApex mânâgerscan reducethe tolal route-
dclivcr,v tirnc (nor counring pick rime) to abou! 57 minules - down from rhe currenr delivcry
to|al of xppro\imatel! 69 minu!es(,10minuressouthernrouce+ 29 minutcs northcrnrolrtc)
- thev 1\'il1cxplorc corrbiningchc rrvocouplcLlrolrrcsinto onc decoupledroute.ln this
configuration, rhe routc operâtor will drive lhe entire roùte during lhe hourly cycle as rbe
markct ârtendantfills a secondset ofcarts fof che next mnning ofrhc routc. Tho total nUmbcr
of material handlcrsin thc systcm mighc even be reduced to two (from the originâl 14) ard the
mârket ârtendântwill srill hâve time left ovef t'orother tasl(s,perhapsin moving pans from
q rcceiving inro the storager'aclis.

q
q Apex - Two Delivery Routes in Place
q
Ël
/)R\ Shipping
Èl doah
q1,
:l
..- - @ <-
ir 6è 6ô
rl
it lr g, E
m @ ttl
gt
i!
a
E
E
tJ

@ ---+
' tar lt r:;il'#

P A Ê Î V :D E SG N I N GT H ED E L ] V E RRYO U T E
t
Sustaining and lmproving
UsingÀpex as our example,we havcshownthc stcp-by-srcpjmplementationof
a leanmateriâl-hârdlingsystcm.Afrer startingrvirh one cell and then one producr
îamily - which Apex managers judged to be as big a challengeas they could take
on with a reasonableprospcctof success - Apex addedall af the otl,er value
streamsand finally achicveda leanmacerial-handling systemfor the entire facility.

This rvasa grearachic\'cnlcnrând thc ProdùccionConrrol,Operatjons,and

IndustrialIinginccringI)cpartments wereenormously pleasedwith theirsuccess
îrd with drcir nc\{bund ability to work together.Flow€ver,what may provedle
herdestpartis just beginning. Apexrow mustmaintainrhe material-handling
q'stcmas*,cll as inprovoir ovcrtime by continuingto redùcethc âmountof
offorr fc(tuircdto opera!clhe systemând rhe âmountof invertory in the facility.

OLrestion 9: Hovv can you sustain the performance

of your lean material-handling system?
lixpcricncc hesraughtus thar tho bcscand mosteffcctivoway ro slrstainthc changcs
inrplcmcnrcddrrringr leantmnslormationis throughdâily moûitoringând controlof
proccsscsând rhroughâ formâlprocessof periodicar.rditing.

At ^pcx. dâilymooitoring ândcontrolmcân!hatell aspecis of its lcanmatcrial-

handlingsysrcrrarc observeddâily by supervisors to ensurethât scândardized work
is being donc,drat visualroolsare beingusedto rccordproblems (e.9.,chcovcrflow
board),:rndrbarpcrformâncc meâsùres ârebeingtâlliedând mâintâined.For example,
the ProdLrctionCorrrol supervisor
spendsapproximately one houreâchdayobserving
variousclcmcntsof rbc rouccsand the purchascd-parcs markct.The mâteriâl-
-
handlingrcarr rhc rolrtcopcrâtors,mârhetâttendânt(onceâ decoLrpled route
wâsestâblishcd),and supervisor- meetsdailyat the end ofeâchshift to communicate
problems.A problem-Lrâcking boârdin the mârketservesase lool to recordconcerns
and seeksolutions.Apex alsoestabl;shedperformâncemeiricsfor chisccarnand
trâckedthe merricsby shifr,by dây,by week,and by month.Nletricsfocusedon
delivery(e.g.,srockoursin the sloreor ar rhe cell); productivity(e.9.,adherence
costandarddeliverytirnes);and safctt (c.g.,accidentreportsor injudcs).

't3
PARTV: SUSTAINING
AND IN4PFOVING
 t
;

f
The daily moniroringsupportedlormal audits,which havctwo purposes:First, audits f
cDsurcthât all ofthe ûew cools- tho PFEq the pùrchased-parts market,the delivery
ftrures,and the pull signals- are being maintainedand chatstandardwork is bcing
T
followed.Second,chcyidcntify opportunitiesfor improvemenc- T
Auditing is most effectivewhen done by the overlappinglevelsof managcmcntand by f
teamswi[h membemfrom ProductiorControl,Operations,and IndustriâlEngiteering.
I
Periodic,visibleauditingalsois essendalto dcmonstrateto employeesin the fâcili!y thât
the changesare being susr ncd by mânagementand not by an outsidcrcsource. I
Apex managerstooh five stepsto introducoa rigorous,periodicaudicingprocess: I
1.
'I'hey
taughteveryonethc purposeof the periodicaudits.Thcy cxplairledthat auditing
t
is a simplc but powcrfultool thar holpssustait improvcmcntswhile lookingfo. addi[ionâl I
wâysto improvo.This stakdatdffi1nagement âpproachcomplemenced tllc stahalardtuork
ofthe routeoperntorsând mârkctâttendants.
a
2.'l'hcy carefullytrainedmaûâgcrsât scverallevelsto performcbeâudits.It doing this T
tlrey stresscdthat it is thc p/oc?sstha! is being âuditcd,not individn|.lemployees,xl'd I
rhârrhc rosuhsof everyaudit necd |o bc poscedfor cvcryoneto see.
T
3.'fhey taughtauditingusingthe lcarn-by-doing mcthodthat alwaysworl$ bostfor tcâching
leanconceprs.Lligher-lcvolmâûâgcrstâùghtlowcrlevcl manâgctscoâudit,ând cvcryonc a
fillcrl,ruthisur hcr ou n cudirform*duringtraining. I
'1ihey
4. convenedafter câchround of ^udits to discusscvcryonc'spostodrcsults.Wich I
everyoneinvolvcdpropcrlytrâinedând cognizantof Ieanmatcrial-hâtdlingpràcticcs,
t
thoy could ânticipâteâgreementamongauditorsôn rhc stttùs ol the mâterial-handling
processand the moscimportântcorrecrionsthat would bc rcquircd. I
found duringâudits.Thc plân
5. lfhey developedan acrionplan for the discrepâncies I
idenrificd spccificproblems,teamsworkingon eachproblcm,spccificindividuals I
assignedto leâdeachteâm,âod âgrocd-tocompletiondâtes.The plan wasposccdfor
âll to see. I
IfApex had not strictly followedthis policy,despitethe difliculty ofcompletingfixes rn
!
thc carlygoing$hen manyproblemsemergcd,thcy would hâvebeentelling rhe workforcc, I
"lt is OK to disregardthe standardpracticesthat we havejust put in placc."Atd rhât is the
deathknell ofany improvementactivity.
I
!
I
I
I
I
 Three Areâs Should Be Audited
Apcx dccidedthatthreeactivitiesshouldbc auditcdon a rcgularbasis:ùe purchased-parls
market,the deliveryrou!e,ând rhc pull sigtâls.

1. Audit the purchâsed-parts market,

When establishingrhc purchascd-pàrts market,Apex car-fully specifiedprecisesrorage
locations,labclcdcvcry'krariooandeveryconra;ner, anddcfincdmaximumândminimum
inventorylevels.\è! it soonwâsâppâ.cntfromdailywalksthroughthe purchas€d-parts mârkct
[ha!somcpârrswcrc n(x in rhs lppropriâteplâce(theywereon thc floorrathcrthânilr racksor
in drc ovcrfl$vrrca),s(nnerâckswcrc not clcârlylâbclcdto idettify parclocations,
ândrhe
minimLrminvenror-\'lcvlJlsfor somcpartswcrenocidentified.

Thcscwcrc big prol)lcmsl Apexmanagers immediately co ld socthatxùdicswereneeded

'l'hcy
to crtcb thoscl>roblcmsltnd dovisccorrcctivcacrions. assignedchemârkecaclendânt
ùrough rho markctcvcrydayandvisuallyauditing.Thcy also.câlizcd
drc raskof *,Lrlking
thârthcscdrily îudirswouldbe neededaslongasthe mârkctconrinoed in operâtion.

In rddirioû,^pcx dcrcrmincddra!a wrictenaudicshouldbe complctccl wceklyby the

(lonrrolsupeNisor -l-hey
I)rorlLrction in collâborâtionwirh thc marko!altcndanr. dev;scdâ
sinr;rlcibnr (s,o4z ôulor,) and postcdthc rcsultsweekly for cveryoneto scc. Finally,
l)ccrusctboy knowthârthc âuditsworci criticâlâspcctofstândârdmanagcmont, thcy madca
nrlc dratthcy mustbc co,rductcddâily (visuâl)and weckly(writtcnaudicforrr) wichoutfail
ovonifrhis cdllcdlbr ovcrrimc.

= Purchased-Parts Market Audit Form

No Corrective
Mârket Audit Ouestions Action
Routelâyoutposted?

Routelimes postedand evidencetheyare being tollowed?

All materialin its designated

location?
t
Designatedareaexistsfor the drop of equipmentwhen
a routeis completed(fordecoupled routes)?

a Designâted
âreâexistsfor stagingof loadedequipment?

il ClearvisualsshowdroDoointsfot returnables?

Drop bo\ tor kanbancàrds being used?

il
Cleerlydesignâteddrop for disposabledunnage?
il
All recksclearlylâbeled?
il
All minimum inventoriesidenlified?
ù

I P A R T VS U S T A I N I NAGN D M P R O V I N G 75
2. Audit the delivery route.
r\pc\ âlsokncw thât lcânmatcdâl-dclivcry rolrtcstakc disciplinc.If chcroutcsarcnocrcgularly
rudircd, there is thc possibiiityfor rhe operatorto delivermorepartsthan recessary. !'or
exâmple,earlyin rhe implementationan ^pex roule operatortook out en extaa15minutes
of materialsin ordcr to gainrimc for an cxtrabrcahlatcr in chcday.This sccmcdharmlcssro
thc operâcor, but if this praccicehad beenallowedto continùethe perfbrmânce ofthe system
rvouldhavedramaticallydeteriorated. Similarly,while makingdeliveriesthe routeoperâtor
wasfrequentlystoppedand cngagcdin wotk-rclatcdconvcrsacions. Evcn tho plânt mânâgcr
Ê
rvasguilty ofdelayingthe routeoperatordespitea previousagreemenrnot to! I'hesedeiays
âlsodegradedre performance of chlrsystem.Tl\e preciseti/fting of the lean delivcrysystcm
is thc kcv to icssucccss,

Apex Delivery-Route Audit Form

Ë
Delivery-Route
Audit Ouestions No Corrective
Aclion

vehicle?
Copyof routelayouton the conveyance

lssueslog on the conveyânce

vehicle?

Route-lâyoutdocumentup-to-date
and numberedto
show latestdatain use?

Routestopsproperlyidentified?

All materialdrop pointsproperlyidentified?

and dunnagein properplace

Pullsignals,returnables,
and available{or pick-up?
s
Routeaislesarecleanto allowquick,sâfetransport
of material?

Routeoperâl.or work insLruclions?

hâssLândârdi/ed E
Flouteoperâtorfollows standardizedwork instructions?

All materialdelivered to properpresentation

device E
(e.9.,no materialon floor)?
.E
N4inimum/maximum levelsclearlvidentified
on
presentation
deviceand beingfollowêd? É

Bouteoperator's
breâkand lunchtimescoordinâte
with t3
departments
serviced?

Routeoperatoris utilized95%oI the available

worktime
(on a coupledroute)? E
Latestroutetime/manpower
utilization
analysis E
fof review?
available
E
r-F
At Apex,audiringthe delilcn routcis no\rsimilârro auditing!he cells-Olcrlâpping
management,in \vhichrhc routeopcrrro..!he supe.v;sof,ând thc PftrductionControl
togcthcr.hilsLreerloLrndto bc thc bcstway to coûductthe new approach.
managcr'audit

T'he lbrm shou n on thc pro ious prge is Àpex's route audit form. Wc slrggcstd1âtyou ûse
this forn or dcsignr fi)rnrl)c!tcr sLritcdto your prcciscnccds,and post the resultsweekl-y
lor c!cr\'0ne io \ec,

3. Audit the pull signals.

Auditing rhc pLrllsirn.rlsis x criticaldixgûosticro check the hc,rl!hof lhe matcrial-handling
svslcrn.,\r rhc bcrinning of thc inrplemerurior, ^pex decidedthar crcb roLrtcopcrator
l'orrld rrrdit thc rorrtcrrncce.rchday by focusingon rhc pull sigtals1ôronc part number
grringro r sl,criticlrrcrtion.(Wc call this zznlying the hanbanin the [oop.)'l hc pufposcof
this rLrdiris to cnsrrrcth.rtall of rhc cardsrrc in thc cofreccplâccs.

'I -fbc
hcrc urc scrcrrrlnrclhods!o âud;t pull cârds. simplcsqrrsuscd ât ^pcx, is { sprcad-
shcct sho$ing tlrc part numl)crsrll)dnrmbcf of l)lrllcrlrdsfor crcb l)rrt nunlbcr rclrvo rn
rhc r\srcnr..\ lxrnion ol'tlro l'ormrh.rr;\pcx rrscrlfi)r thc l)ârtsgoing to work ccll I4 is

usc this simplc nxt to :rudicthc kanbanfor cvcry

Oncc u *cck. rhc rrrutcsLrpclvisor'c.tn
pln nrrnrbcrbv nrrking a shsh rnarl<on tho eudit form âs 1lkînbrn li)r crcb Pârtnuml)c. is
locrtcd. ll rnr crrd numbcrsârc loft unmrfliod âr ùc ctd of ùc trip rroùnd drc dolivcry
rourc.ir nrcrnrir cil(l is nrissing.rncl
immcdiàtcco.rcctivcrccionis ùccdcd.

Pull Card Audit Form

Pull CardAudit

Date: 0/11/03
AuditedBy: JoeSmith
AreaAudited: Ce|l14
Part# CardsIn System CorrectiveAction?

13598 1 3

't3224 6 1 8 I
lrain newoperatoron
1 3 5 impoftânaèof ?ullsignals

'I
13997 2 3

P A R I V : S U S T AN
I NGA N Dl [ 4 P R O V I N G
'r7
 It is bcstto auclirrvhilcthc rolrtcis nocrunning(whcnthc opcratoris on breakor at
Iunch)b,vlvalkingthe roureandcheckingoff all the pull signals found.Howcver,if rhis
is not possible,Apex rimesaudirsrvith the deliveryoperâtor.When lhe route operator
.crurnscothc mârhctâftcr completingâ dclivcry cyclc, thc auditordocumenrsall $e
cardsthât areto be filled. (Rememberthat this must be donequickly becâusethc ncxr
delivcrycannotbe late leavingfte purchased-parts market.)Once the auditorhasthe
cn.dcountin thc plrrchâscd-pârrs mxrhcqthc onlyotherplâccfof pull signals is ar rhe
cell, either or mâterialor in the designateddrop box. By tltricklywalkingthe routs,
thc âuditorcânvcrifythc placcmcntof thesepull signals while the deliveryoperaror
is pickingup partsin the market.Doir'rg chisis madccasicrbccausc of rhc stict timing
of the route.Within a few fee!, the âuditorcar âlwâysknow rhe locâtionof chcdclivery
oPcrâtor âcanytime.

Any discrepancies found iû rhe âudit musr bc reseârchcdând cor.ccrocl(luickly.lf .l

pull signâlis missing,
the cellùrnsn riskof nrnningout of nrarcrial.
So everyone must
strcssthc impoftanoc of chcpull-signrlinformationboinghandlcdcorrcccly to sllpport
continuous-flowcells.

\ltrrkingrvithpull signâlsroquiros â ncw culturcin À frcility,ând it is criticalto gcca

firm foundâtion esr{blishcd on how pullsignâlsârc ro bc handlcd.ln thc carlystagos
ol implcmonting . lcànmâtcriâl+ândling sysrcm,Apcx foundit ncccssàry to âualiritl
pull signalsdaily.Only aficr chcrolrtcswercwell csrâblishcd wc.c drcy rblc to rcduce
thc {udit frcqucncyto wcckly.As timc gocson, ùc numbcfof prcblcmsidcntificcli
the âuditsis uscdro decidewhetherâùditingshoùldbc donc mofc or lcsslrcqucntly.

Overlapping Mânagement
A cloarchainofcommandfor ^udirs,ffom routcopcratorto plantmanager,
rvillhellr
ensùresùccesslul
implemertârion
andsùscâinâbilicyofâ lcânmîtcriâl-hândling
sysrcm.

Route Olretutof: Thc ApexroutcopcracoLs audicchcirroureseveryshifr.The inlormrriou

câptùreddoesnot hâveto be writren down Lrnlcss therc is â problcm.'fhc opcracors
first verify thet they are doing the route correctlyàrd to the scheduledtine. Nexc,
they ask:"Are the aislesclear?Are all pull ca.dsin rhe systemlDoesanythingappear

These questionsare an imporcantcheckand balancefor the operator,If the ânswer!o

âny questionis unâcceptâble, the supervisorshouldbc norificd immcdiatclr,.Bccausc
route operâtorsâreoû â strict time schedule,they need to be âbleto do this check
whilc runningrhe rourc.

78
Chain of Responsibility at Apex

1 î f 1 1 1 11
Receivins 1. Delivery and Market Attendant Finish€dGoods 1.
f f

I
@
0
@
I
@
Srpz,'rlso,'r'lhc ,\pcx supcrvisor
dailycheckstharrhc routeopcratorclocshcr auditscvcrydty
ancialsosctsasiclcrhc timo to âudi! one completerouteeverydâ),.ln this wâ)',the sûpervisor
gainsvrlLrùblc knowledge on how rhe rouccs areworkingaswell asimprovcmont idcas.

Productkn Control Managet'fltc Product;onCont(t 'nanagorchccksthc supcrvisor

everydry comâkcsurerhathe is doinghis audits.This is a valuabletime lor the supervisor
to bring up roedblocksthat roLr!copcrarorsarc cxpcrienc;ng.Evcry wock, the Production
Concfolmânrgcrrândomlychoosesone roùte and auditsthat route with the supervisor,
Tàkingthis sinple stepshorvseveryonein the facilitythe importanceof$e audit;ngproccss.

Phmt Managet:'l'he Apexplant rnanagerauditsone entireroute every monrh.He does

this wûh the ProductionConcrolmanagerand the supervisor. This is an idealtime for
ProductionCoorrolto showrhe plant managerproblcmschatarc occurring.For exâmplc:
Are cell operâtorsrcmovingchekânbânât incorrecttimesl Are âislesbeing blockedl
Occurrences suchastlreseareeasierto bring to the plant manager's
attentionwhcn lhe
effcccson the deliverysystcmcan bc shorvnon thc floor

PAFTV: SUSTAININGANO IMPROVING

 Ouestion 1O: Hovv can you identify and remove
additional rrvaste?
'l'here
of improvementoî lhe lean mâteriâl-hânditgsystem- ongoing
are two categories
route imorovementsand invcntofi red ctions.

Route lmprovernents
How can routc dclil'cry be improvedlThe most obviousstepsare asfollows:
. Fill the operâtor'swork contcncto maximumefficiency(95%)by continuallylooking
for âdditionalwork contentto add to routesand by consolidatingroutcs.
. Improvethe POU dclivcry râcl$ to makethe operatorsmore efficientby saving
part-placemenrcime.\\raysto do this becomeapparentby simply ob$eNingcurrcnt
Ê
placementâctivitiesduritg l<âizenevents.
. Improvethe conveyâncemethod,mâkingit possiblofor a roureopctftot ro scrvernore E
'l'his
manufûcturingâreâsin a giverramountof timc. may mcanconvertingroutesfrom E
wâll<ingor bicyclcsro tuggersand obtainingtuggersthât âreeâsierfor operâtorsto lrsc.
. Considcrcoùplingor dccouplingcurrentroucescocreatemoreefficicntroutes.As condidons
E
in thc facilirychangc- for example,âsmore worl(comesin - it will bc neccssary
to E
continuâllychângeroùtes,'1'hisshouldbe câsyilthc PFEP is mainrainedând ùe mârkec
coexperimcncwith bctrcr
is carefullydesigncd.And eachchangewill creâteopporcunities
E
designsof rouces. t
As you look for continuous"improvemont idcas,alwaysâsk for opcfatorinpur. limployees E
who run thc rourccvery day âre in â greatpositioncop.oposeimprovementideas. E
Invêntory R@ductions
E
Whcn the Apcx lcan matcriâl-handling systemfirst wasimplemented,mostinventorylevcls E
were sct a little higherthân the mânâgcrsbelievedwere reallynecdcd.Th;s wasbocâusc
ProductionControlwantedto be surcit couldscrveits customcrs - the operatorscrearinÉ{
E
value in cheproductioncclls.llhis inventorycan graduallybe reducedas the ncw systcm =
provesitself trùstworthy.
E
There are two placesto look lor invcntoryredùctionopportuniries.The first is internal.
E
Through rhe âuditsof the pùrchased-parts marketand pull signals,Production(lontrol
sooncan tell ifthere is more inventorychanncccssarySpecificalll',ilinventory levelsin li
$e purchased-parts markct neverâpproachthe minimum leveis(asshown in tbe Currcnt-
E
StateInuentoty chart on the next pagel.it's cimecoreducechemaximlrmlevel ând get
someinventoryout of the system. E
E
C
C
ao C
I
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I Opportunities to Reduce Inventory

a Current-State Inwèntory
Part #13456 Too much inventory in the system
T
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1 3 5 1 9 1 1 1 31 51 7
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I Future-Stato Inventory

a Part#13456 Canyou movethe maximuminventorylevellower?

a
e
a
a
a
a
a 1 3 5 7 I 11 13 15 17 19

E
a The secondoppoirunir) ro improveinventorylevelsis to reducecontainersizes.Apex
mânagersreelizedrharin mostcâscswith â onehour deliveryroùte,âny standârdpack
or containerrhârholdsmorerhânone hourof material addsunnecessary invcntoryand
wasteto the system.Plus,â high-quântity
standardcontainer will crcateân imbâlance
in the route-deliven'$'ork contcnr.

PART
V :S U S T A I N I NAGN DI V I P R O V I N G al
 =

l'or insrance,Apex ProductionControlobseffeddrat the usâgcof pârt#65441ât

rvorkccll 6 is 100picccsper hout but the stândardcontainerùsedfor this parrholds
300 pieces.With that quentity,the operatorneedspartsdeliveredonly everythrec
hours,which meansthe cell is holdingtwo hou$ of cxccssinvcntory Reducingthis ê
inventoryto a small lot- to one hour or lessin this case- canremovewâslefrom
the leanmateriâl-handlingsystem.Smalllots alsocan:
ç
. Improve rhe âbility to delivcr directlyfrom the mârketto the fingertips
of the valoe-creatingoperator. =
. Rcduccthe weight ofcontainers,helping comeet ergonomicscandards É
and minimizing cheneedfor forklift deliveries.
. Rcduceinvcùroryat everycell to the prelèrr€dtwo hoursline side.
E
. Maximizefloor spaccusedfor manufàctùringand minimizefloor space Ê

uscdfor storingmaterial. E
Anothcr advantagcof smâlllors is tha! rhey will allorvApcx ro improvedre rhychm F
of manufacruringprocesses by moro closelymatchingcontâinefsrzosof pârtscom-
ing incocellswich cont{inersizcsoffinishcd goodscmcrgingfrom cclls. For cxam-
E
plc, usageof part#99800ar ccll 2 is 100pieccsper hour.'l'he finished-goods stat- E
dard concâinerfor finishedgoodslc^vingthe cell is 300 picces.A lot sizoof
60 piecesof #99800in â conhincr woùld mcer âll thc requiremcntsof rourcdclivcry
E
(beinglcssrhanthe amountuscdduringthc dclivcryfrccluency), .nd its rclâdonship E
to finishodgoodswouldbe in rhythmbecâuse onecontâiner olfinishedproduct
from cell 2 will consumefive stândardcontaincrsof part #99800.
E
E
Rcducingcontaincrsiz,cs alsowill eMble Apex coreducethe numberofpârtial
contâinenthât must be removedwhen drereis â chângeover to â d;ffcrcntproduct. E
Things alrays can'tbe timr:d pcfectly ând cvcry partiallyfillcd contâiterwon't be
E
oliminâtcdsoon,but thc quântityofpârtiâlcontâirersând the piecesremainingin
the contâiûers
steâdilycanbe reduced. E
To got to smâlllots,the ProdùctionControl Depârrmenrmustwork with dre E
PurchasingDepartmeûrto changetraditionalprocurementpracricesand rcducc E
contâinerquantiriescominginto thc plânt, cspeciâllyât the time ofnew product
intioductions.(Mâny trâditionâlpurchâsingâgreementsarebasedon buying the E
biggestpossiblebatchesfor the lowestpossibleprice,but withouccouncingthe E
inrernalcoststo the companyin hândlingthe mâteriâlsor the costofexrrainventory)
E
3
E
s
t
 Produccion ControlandPurchâsing !vill needto exâninethe PFEPandthc rarios
of pùrchased-parts contâine.sizes!o fin;shcd-goods containcr
sizcsandto cell
requiremenrs. This givcsùcm rhc informrdonto gradoally reducecontainer
quântitics comingfron1suppliers. Until smallercon!â;nerscanbe put in thc systcm,
Apex may find it costeffectiveto rcpacksomcnâtcriâlsinto right-sizedcontâiners
in the purchascd-pans mârkcr.Doingthis,eventhoughit âddsa smallamountof
addirional marcrial-handling cosr,mayproducesubstancialcost reductionsin Lhc
rcst of the facilit-.-and lorvercoralproducccosts.

Kaizen the Lean Material-Handling Systern

Whilc pcriodicauditingof the leanmaterial-handling sysremwilJbringincrcrncntal
ândstcrdyilnDrovement to partsmânagome'rt, Apex mânâgcrs âlsoirrplcmonrctla
flow team with reptescrtâtives from thc door-to-door
mxtcrialstri:rngleofProduction
Conri(t, Indusrinl Dngineeringand Operations. Every30 daysthisgrouplooksdt thc
= bigqcrpicnrrcby reviewinginvencorylcvelslor ahcmond1.Thc flow rctm trâckstho
inr,ontoryircmsândâskstlrc followingqucstions:Llow closohîv.
rop fivc high-clollar
{ wc gortcnm thc mzrximumând minimum levolsin rhc pâst30 clâys? Cân wc rcducc
rho maximurnlevell I.or whichpartnumbcrs$hoùldwc rcnogotiâto contâinor
sizci
'l'bc
.ia ncxcitcm of busincssfor thc flow !ea,nis to fcvicw pcrîotrîncc mcâsùrcs
cstablishcdf<rrchcmatcrhl-hârdlingstaîfând auditsfrom dre prcvious30 daysc<r
€
seeifthere ârereoccurringproblcmsor opporrunitios with tho loaDmîtcrirl-hrndling
É sysrcm!hâtrcquircmodifications ând/orimprovcmcnts. Ilow mùchhâsthc rou!c
opcratorimprovccl?Can wc mâkc thc roùtc more eflicicntl Do wc nccd to âdd a
I routel Cân we eliminâteâ route by decoupling?l)o wc nccd to plan fof âdditionâl
I sropslWhat ncw bus;ncssis comingùât will reqùireroùte chângesi

il 'l'he
flow teâmbringstogetherevcrypcrsonin tbc facilitywho tuuchcsmâterixls
and locuscsrhoircombincdcffrrrcson steadyinprovement.
I
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f V :S U S T A ] N I NAG
PART ND MPFOVING a3
 =

Opportunity for Plant Redesign

Becausethe leanmarcr;al-hândling systemmadeit possibleto clearinventoryfrom rhe
shopfioor,free up floor space,and ensuretimely deliveryof smallamoun$ ofpurchâscd-
partsro work cells,Apex alsostarrcdto look at tho opportunityto redesigrits plant layout
;n ûe futurc, particulârlyilit needsadditionalproductionspace.The combinarionof
convcrtingfrom processvillagesto cellsand aheintroductionofa lean mâterial-handling
systemcanfree up hâllofa plant'sspacefor new business.Notc alsothât ifApex
operar;ons are reconfigurctJ(asshown below),the traveltime in the deliverysystem
will fall, multiplying rhe savings.

Apex - Layout Redesign Creates Production Spâce

E
E
E
Ê

E
,,,41.
-'tt_ I*i,1Tr" E
E
E
E
t
E
E
coNcLustoN
:lhis workbookillustratesanotherstepin the leanmanufacturingprogression manyfirms
tlb
havebeen following.While previousLean Enterprisehsrirutc lvorkbooltshâvcfocùscdor
in-plantand supply-châinvaluestreamsend rhe continuous-flow cellswithin plants,Mahlzg
MaterialsFlottt locusedon the dciivcryof materialsto supporcthe valuescreams acchelevel
ofthe operâringcells.l'his srepis criricalfor reducingand controllinginventorylcvels ro
move closerto a trulv leanoDeration,

In Part 1, rvepresentedthe crfient-srâteofinventoryand invcntorymânâgcment

in thc
Apex facility,aswell asthe targetsset by management for the planl

By the end ofirs implenentarionApex wâsable to mect ncarlyall of its târgcts.lnvcntory

lurns âre st;ll slightly lowerthân projecteddue to problemswirh suppiiersthat câusesome
overflows.Ilowever,rheseshouldimprovewith cimeasApex manîgerslook outwÂrdloward
the supply-chainând seekcoimplementleanmaterial-handling upscrcÂm from dlcir facility.

Apex Material-Hândling Systêm

Current-State Târget

on production
[4alerialhandlers floor 5

Percentoperatortime retrievingparts 10-15% o% o%

Percent of manufacturingspacerequired
to store pa s anventory 20% 1%

Totalplântinventory
turns b 15 14

Pârtsinventoryat c€lls 2-3 àayÊ 2 hr. 2h?.

Forkliftsfor partsdelivery 7 o o
Forkliftrecordableincidentsoer veâr 13 o o
Averageproductionper shift/targetproduction
per shift 552t690 690t690 674t690

D â i l yo v e r t i m ep e r l i g h È t r u c kf u e l - l i n ec e l l 2hr55 min. O ft,in. 12min.

Costof overtime,entire plant per week 619,600 $o 61,500

All expedited
deliverycostsperweek 61,400 6o ç100
 Snnilarly,Apcx nos is considcringrhe inlrodùctionof a finished-goods
mâteriâl-deliren
systemlrom !he cells to rhc shifping rrca. initially rs a stand-aloncroutc opcratingon a
fixcrl-tirrc inrcn.rl. \clding this crprbilir\ Nill prodLrce
additionelinventoryreductions
market and lcvcled pull
aûd fir perlècrl\ $ irh fururc efforls!o introducea finished-goods
instrnc!ions{ionr thc flrnt of thc facilirvto rhc cclls.

'l
hc cxunrplcof.\pcr sho$'srhlt the leân materiâl-handling
s_vslem
requircsdcrailcddata
plùs rccirlcLrlrrions
3nd clrlcùllrions. es rhc srsrcmis inrprovcd,rs rvcll as thc stcady:rncnri,rn
.- of nrn.rgcnrcnr.\\ c cncoLrxgcyou to plâcecxtrâ cmphxsisoû the fbllowingsctiviÛesâs

.-
'l
-= Dtuelolitry thL,I'L111Pol Euery I'art (P|ÈPl: hc l']l.'Èl']databescis drc fbundarion fbr
inrcnton rctlLrction. take rhe tirre to crearca pelfccr PIrEP from thc srart,yorr can
Lf _voLr
--
.rchio c r rlclircrr srstcrrrthrt carlscrvcthc cntirc f:Icilityxrld fci3lâ.ly bo inrpft)vcd.

*<
Bttilding tltt: pttrcbased-2artsmarket:'l'6e rniflict becorrcs c single placc in yollr plant
-{ rvhcrcthcrc is l controllcdlcvcl ofpurch.rscdpartsrvith a spcciliclocntionli)r oâchrtcrrr.
'l
hcrc u ill bc no nrrrc ho:rrcling
anclsrolinginvcntorythroughoutdrc lrLcility.
 rvoll-clcsigncd
pr'clrrsc(i-t)rrlsn)l ictwill rccluccp.rnsinvcrroficsrncl l)ccomctresorrrccofinvcntory
--.q rontrol in r orrrllrcilir\,,firol'cr cndinij thc scârchfor missingDrrts.

D(sitttin! l(lirtt.r rrntrs:'l hc lcan nlrrcrirl-hanclling

systcmdclivcrs\\'lut opcLr.orsnccd,
in rhc <;rrunrirrrhxr rhc) ncc(i,whcn thcy nccd it, xnclwhorc thcy nccd it (iircctlyrc thcir
lin{cnip:.'lhc rlcliicrv rrrrrtcis drc padr thLoLrgh
thc phnc by rvhichmatolialgcrsclclivcrocl.
I{oLrtcs nrm _roursprxwlitgrmcssyplânt into ân otgxnizcdcornnunity.'l hcy
lntl .rtlrlrcsscs
rrrelilic thc 'rrcctsin u cir,v'flowingmrtc.i,ùls
to dlcif propcrdcstinâ.ior)s.
l)oùc right,dclivcr)
ioIrcs ri)r r)nl\ inrpa)\c invcnroryanclflorv brrt alsosafccyand horrsckccping.

hlstdllin! tb lull s\st.rr:'l hc lcân rnâterixliendlingsysremcrn help you âchicvctruly

con!inuou\pro(lr(rir)r)in vorrrccllsor convcntionâlasscnrblylincs by gctringdrc righr parts
ro ùc rrper.rn,rs.rr rhc ritft ri:nc, but only if opetutots cdn frequently signal upstream exactly
ahdtthe\'t,t:dtt.Jit.tùthnonoiscintheinformationflau.Gettingnstâtic-lreepull sysrem
in placc rcrlrrirc.pcr'cr cr.rncc.hrrt ir is thc capsctrnc
of cholcan rnarclial-handling
systcrr
ùxr pxt.sdi\ i(len(l\c\ cr\ dr\.

Im1>n>uing
the ststcnt:I-c,rnnr,rnrrf;rctrrring
requiresaudi!sas â meansm conrinuallymove
rorvâd perlecrion.l-he n tcrirl'hrndlingsvstcmâlsorcqlrircsîudits. Ifthcsc periodicâll,v
âre
conducted ircrossrhc chr ifl ot r)\rnùgcnrcùr.liom aoùleoperârorto plant mânaelerand ircross
rhe ûacefial-hendlirspr rrrnrid.inrprcvcrlentand successâre much more likel\'.

\re hx\e shxrcdrll rhc hnorlledgc

With thesefinalthoughrs you rvillnced,and\\,eNishvou
successin implemenring
!oLrrleùnnlârerirlhândlirgs\'stem.\Velookfor$,erdto heâring
aboutyour progfcss-

P A Ê TV S U S T A I NN G A N D M P R O V ] N G
 APPENDIX

Adapting Lean Materials Handling to Your Situâtion

While thc Apcx facilirv is fairly simpleand its leanmarerials-handling
sysrem
involvcsonll purchasedparcs,conditionsin your facility mây be dilferenL For
example.!ou mav want !o incorpo.ace work-it-process(WIP) mârkc$ itro â lean
ma!erialJrandl;ng sysrem,or you mây wânt to add deliveryroutesfrom production
market.In addicion,the volumesand productmix ofyour
cclls ro a finishcci-goods
opcnrionsnlxy be qujte differenl ùan drosear ofApex. Spccificall)r, yoù mây be
opera!inglow-volumchigh-mixprocesses. In this Appendixwe'll providea few
g.ri,lelrncsn hr,wro proceedrvirheachcircum\tance.

Deliver from l/VlP markets to the Next Point of Use

N{ânyplan$ necd to move macerialsfrom inrermediâteprocessing srepsto
sul)scqucn! s!eps.Unlessdresestepscandeliver pârts
in cortirùoùsflow to thcir
downsrcdrncusromers, sometype of WIP mâd(etand:rmâtcrials-delivcry systcm
will bc noccssary.Undcrccrrainconditions cell leamloaders or machineleûdcrscarr
but we recommendthâr WIP mâterialbe mânâgcdjust
tekc on dris rosponsibility,
ds purchâscd-pâfts ârc manrgcd.Do this eithcr by incorporâtingWIP parrsand
mirrl(ctsinto purchascd-partsdeliveryroutcsor by oscablishing routc
a scparâtc
cxplicirlyfor WIP mâteriâls.

If you rvrnt to moveWIP partsas parrof the purchascd-pâr[s delivcry totrcc,chcrc

musrbc a pLrllsysrcmin place.Llowcvcr,thc opcrationofthc syscemis otherwise
'l
rhc sâmc. hc route driver will pick up cardsfor replenishmentwhen she dclivers
mâterialto production âreâs, just lik(rthe purchasod-parts dcliverysysrcm. The
only diffcrcnccwill bc drat thc route drivcr wiil dcliver mârcriâlfrom ând retùrn
empryconrâinersro rhe WIP mârketsduring the route.

Deliver to â Finished-Goods Markêt

An âttrâcciveexrcnsiorofyour routeslor deliveringpurchasedpartsand pjckjngup
kanbansignalsmav be to move nrarerials from productioncellsto a finished-goods
markerrhar is locatcdncarthc shippingarea.To do this you ù,ill need to estâblisha
pull systembetweer rhe finishedgoodsmarketând the cellsaswell asrouresfor
taking finishedgoodsfrom !he cellsro the finished-goods
market.

-1

-1
APPENDIX a9
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Thc logic of rhis systemis exâctlythe sameasthe logic ofmoving purchasedparts I
ro producrioncells.However,combiningrouteswill requirecareto makc surethe
srandardwork is fully documentedand cân be followed.An inrermediateapproach
I
is to estâblisha separateroùtefor WIP partsand anotherroutefor finishedgoods. I
Youcanthen combinelhe routesfor purchased goods,WIP parts,and finishedgoods
when the lhreeroulesareruûningsmoothly.:fhis will be the approachfollowedat
I
Apex in thc futurc (whichwill havean easiertashthâûmanyplantsbecausethere I
currentlyareno intermediateprocessing steps).
T
Manâge Low-Volume High-Mix Material R€quirements T
Most ofthe Apex processesarchigh-uoluflelorr-h1rr,which meansâ high productioû I
rateofvery few unique prodùcts.Ilyou prodùccâ produccevery60 seconds,you
âlsowould be considereda high-volumeproducer.However,ifyou producea I
productevery30 minu[esor everyhour,you areâ low-volùmeproduccr.Low-mix
T
meansthât â relâlivelysmallnumbcrof finishod-goods parrnumbcrsgo through
one vâluescream. A make-to-orderbusinessis high-mix. I
The material-handling systemApex implementedis tâilorcdto a high-volume
E
low-mix opcration,bu! it alsocanaccommodate low-uolumehigh-mix value E
strcâms.Ilowever,there are significântdifferencesin cheapproâch.To deliver
everypart ûeededto produccthe cntire mix oiproducts in eachproduccionarca E
would placca largcamountof invontoryon the floor. [t would requiremany !
point-of-userâcl$ and partialconrâinersfof the many pârrnumbers.
!
A berterideamay be to do morework in the purchas€d-parts markct in tho form
of Éirtirg. A kit is a sorof partsthat âre collectedincoone contâineror presentarion
!
device,like a shadowbox. This turns many part numbersinto one par! numbcr. I
The kit then is sent to the manuf,rcturing areato producea specificmodel.For
example,a kit might be createdfor the pârtsthat mâke ùp ân âutomobiledashboard
E
for a specific,low-volumehigh-mixcar.Or perhapskits might be usedfor a shorc I
run of fuel sysremsfor off-roadvchicles,as is sometimcsrequiredin Apex'sfourrh
prodùctlâmily.
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When chevaluestreamis low-volumehigh-mix,a kit is one wây to integrâtethe
valuostreâminto a mâteriâl-delivery route,But mânufacturersmustâsk "ls the cost I
ofextrâ inventoryât the cell,becauseoflow-volumehigh-mix,greaterchanlhc cosr I
ofhaving an individualcreatethe kit of partsin the marketi" Oncc ùât hâsbeen
assessed, cons;derthe impâctoflow-volumehigh-mixpârtsbeingdeliveredto rhe I
linc and their effecton workplaceorganization, partspresentation
to the operator,
I
ànd,Llltimâtely, the totalcostro rhe fâcility.
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Production Control,not Operarions, shouldbe scheduling production, ând,ifthis
is the casc,ir is casvto sendour rhe production orderwith the kit of parts.Sending
rhe orderq'ith the kit is a goodwây to concrolproduccionbecauseit esscntiâllytells
rhe producrionope.ârot "Llefc is thc order,xnd here ârethe pxrtsto mâke the
'l-hc
ordcr." actualkitting can be handledby one individualin the purchased-parts
mxrket,if dle purt sizeàllowsfor it, or by a dedicacedproductcell w;chinthc mârkct.
ln the lattercase,product;on pull cardsâfegivcnro thc kitt;ngccll in ùe orderrhat
thev \\';ll bc rcnt to ccllson thc prcductionlloor

If rhe prns are too big or too numerousto hândlein â cell formâqthey cânbc picked
.rndplaccclon .r rackwirh rvheels.'fhemacerials-delivery operatorgoesâroundthe
m.l.kc! filling dlc kir wirh cheproperpnrtsaccordiûg!o lhe product;oncârdhc hâs
bccn gi\cn. i\frcr rho kit hnsbcclrcollected,ir is deliveredto the productionfloor
(in ù coùplcddclivcry routc)or s€t in lhe properlocationfor the route opeûlor to
P;ckup (in d dccorpledroute),

Srrmcrpplicarions nraybe bestsuiredfor a combinacion of kictingandpùll replon-

ishncnt.l.'orcxrnple, fâs!eners and brâckecs canbe replenishcd to productioncclls
bv pull crrdsilr indiviclual partnumbcrswhile thc uniqucmajorcomponcnls can
bo kirtcd. rs prr::viously With carefulâltentioncowork contenqmârcriâl-
clcsoribcd.
hrndling for r L^v-vohrmc high-mixvâlucstreammayinvolveonlya lictlcmore
\1)rk doncin rhc nrârl<ot ândtho uscof marcrialwirhdrâwal asproduccion
signals
signrlsrs \\cll. (ln rhiscâse,the pull signalis not a callfor the nexccontainerof
p:rrrsbur for rhc ncx! kit ro bc collecrcdanddclivered).

\\Iirh nr.rnrparrscorring and going in â low-volumehigh-mixenvironmenqoften ln

kirslnd norsingulùrl)' iclentifiable, sourceof parts
the PFEPwill be an essenrial
infornrerion ro hclpcontrolthc invontory,

APPENDIX 91
 Ê

C
t
t
F
E
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
C
t
RickHarris
t
Rick Harrisis the presidentof HarrisLean SystemsInc., Murrells Inlet, SC, and
co-^r\tl\orol CreatingContinuousFlou,I-le gainedhis leaneducalionasa manager E
in final vehicleassemblyat ToyotaMotor ManufacruringKcntucky (TMMK) and
E
at the TlucsumiAssemblyPlânt in ToyotaCity, Japan.Rick now continueshis
learningby assistingcompanieswirh their leanimplernentationefforts. E
t
ChrisHarris t
of rhe nexr generlrionof Leân Thinkers.
Chris is Rick'ssonand â representâtivc t
He begânhis lean trainingon rhe assemblyline acToyotaMotor Mânufacluring
I(encucky(TMMI() and concinuedhis learningâr ToyotâTsushoAmericâin
E
Georgetown,KY ËIehasa mascerof busincssadministrationdegreefrom Anderson E
University,Anderson,IN. Chrisnow helpscompanies with their leanimplemontation
effortsâsa membcrof HarrisLean SvstemsInc.
E
B
E
EarlWilson
Earl is a leadingpractitionerof leanmaterialhandlingand hasbeenhelpingcompanies E
becomeleanfor the pastsevenyeals,Eatl servedas a materialsmanagerat the E
JohnsonControlsInc. (JCl) plant in Georgetown,KY - â key Toyocasupplier
wherehe gainedextensiveexperiencewith cheToyotaProductionSystem.Prior E
to his tirne at JCI, Earl spent 17yeârsin the matcrial-handling
industrybcginning E
asa mâchineoperatorand ulcimatelybecomiûga mânâgerin prodùctioncontrolând
logistics.Earl continueshis educationâs he helpscompaniesthroughoutrhe worlc E
implementlean initiativesasa memberolHârris Leân SystcmsInc. t
t
E
t
E
E
IF
 R E F ER E N C E S

Florz.
Rother,Mike andRickHarris.2001.CreatikgContinuous
LeanEnterprise Institute.

Jones,Dan,andJimWon,ack2002.SeeingTheWhole.
LeanBnterprise
Institute.

Chet,ed.,andJohnShook,ed.2003.LeahLexicott
Marchwinski,
LeanEnterprise
Institute.
=l Rother,Mike, andJohn Shook.1998.LearningTo See.
=l LeanEnterprise Institute.

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We've tried to mâke this workbookeasyto rrse,with detailedinstrucrions,
simple illustrârions,and cleârexamples,However,we know from yearsof
experiencethat applyingeventhe simplescconceptin a complexorganizalion
is difficuh. So we needyour help. Afrer you havecriedimplemenlingrhe
techniquesdescribedin rhisworhbool!pleâsemail,fax,or emailcommentsto:

Lcan EnterpriseInstitute,One CambridgeCenret,Cambrjdge,MA 02142USA

Irâxr(617)871-2999. Email: mmf@lean.orgr Reachus au wwwlean.org
 59000

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