A good quality factory schedule is one of the most important factors in minimising costs and creating a firm foundation for continuous improvement. Yet many factory schedules are driven by the knowledge of just one scheduler, without much oversight by senior production management.
Factory Design & Optimisation
Production levelling in the process industry – why bother?
Production levelling (or smoothing) is an important part of the Toyota production system. Here we show why production levelling is so important and how it is achieved in the process industry.
Read moreProduction levelling in the process industry – why bother?
Which of the 5 Production Technologies do you have?
In 1984, Robert Hayes from Harvard University and Steven Wheelwright from Stanford University, joined forces to write a book called Restoring our Competitive Edge¹. In it they identified 5 different production technologies.
Read moreWhich of the 5 Production Technologies do you have?
3 Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence
We challenged ourselves to explain the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence in one infographic and here it is.
Lean tools and their applicability to the process industry
The process industry (food & beverage, liquids, sheet goods, solid & fluid packaging operations) differs from the parts manufacturing and assembly industry, where the Lean, 6 Sigma and Theory of Constraints methodologies were developed.
Here we list Lean tools and comment and how they can be applied to the process industry. In some cases they can’t!
Read moreLean tools and their applicability to the process industry
5 secrets for a successful TPM implementation in the process industry
The term Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) evolved from the parts manufacturing and assembly industry in Japan. Its parallel evolution with the Toyota Production System during the 1950’s thru 1960’s makes it intimately linked with Lean. The concept of TPM can be confusing for some managers in the process industry who ask; Is TPM a maintenance … Read more
How to create a factory performance metric that boosts productivity and changes behaviours
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is often used as the main metric for factory performance in the process industry (food & beverage, liquids, sheet goods, solid & fluid packaging operations).
However, while OEE is a good measure for independent workstations and processes, production lines in the process industry are usually made up of several workstations and processes which are all connected together, rendering the OEE metric less than ideal.
Read moreHow to create a factory performance metric that boosts productivity and changes behaviours
Theory of Constraints tools and their applicability to the process industry
The process industry (food & beverage, liquids, sheet goods, solid & fluid packaging operations) differs from the parts manufacturing and assembly industry, where the Lean, 6 Sigma and Theory of Constraints methodologies were developed. A system to manage bottlenecks within manufacturing supply chains was codified in the late 80’s by Dr Eliyahu Goldratt, and introduced … Read more
6 Sigma tools and their applicability to the process industry
The process industry (food & beverage, liquids, sheet goods, solid & fluid packaging operations) differs from the parts manufacturing and assembly industry, where the Lean, 6 Sigma and Theory of Constraints methodologies were developed. Here we list 6 Sigma tools and comment and how they can be applied to the process industry. Historical Perspective 6 … Read more
How to modify the Lean, 6 Sigma and Theory of Constraints methodologies for the process industry
The process industry (food & beverage, liquids, sheet goods, solid & fluid packaging operations) differs from the parts manufacturing and assembly industry, where the Lean, 6 Sigma and Theory of Constraints methodologies were developed. The unique characteristics of supply chains in the process industry make them less responsive to a one-size-fits-all approach. Performance optimisation in … Read more