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Valent Group Inc. |
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Essential Strategies for High-Variety Manufacturing |
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Value Chains |
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There is no universal standard for manufacturing documentation; in HVM, especially, it needs to mirror the variation and variety of product. It must, however, include all relevant content and present it in a way that reduces and/or clarifies complexity. (One common error is to include too much irrelevant information that ends up obscuring the most critical information.) The physical organization must match the workflow of the shop floor, as must the specific presentation match the needs of each process step. That is, a drawing may be needed for some steps, but other steps may just need a dimensional cut list. In some cases generic assembly instructions or drawings may not be needed in the packet itself, but accessible on an as needed basis. The documentation also needs to reflect the needs of the workforce in terms of language and technical literacy.
Too many times, however, the manufacturing department just accepts what it receives as either it doesn't realize that the documentation can be improved or it's been told that that is another department's responsibility and not its concern. Both of these conditions, and the lack of control and quality in the manufacturing documentation, are symptomatic of a larger issue: the lack of understanding that in HVM "production" or "operations" encompasses more than just the manufacturing floor and that, as such, process and quality improvements, whether lean or other methodologies, need to extend beyond the factory threshold.
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Inputs, Process Control and High-Variety Manufacturing cont. |
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Valent Group, www.valent-group.com, a management consulting firm with an international clientele, works with high-variety manufacturers to maximize the competitive advantage and profitability available in the operations value chain. To address the complexity of the high-variety manufacturing value chain, which mirrors the variety and variability of the products, Valent Group uses a structured approach to develop the essential strategies and tactics.
Valent Group Inc. +1-877-919-0492 US and Canada +1-612-328-6713 outside North America
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May 2008 |
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Print version of Value Chains, May 2008
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