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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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During a recent conversation with an Industrial Engineer at a structural HVAC manufacturer, he brought up this startling fact: according to a comprehensive analysis of their manufacturing errors, 40% of errors originated outside of the plant floor in design and documentation issues.
I was also recently reading a chapter in Lean Manufacturing for Job Shops (Tristani and Irani) that introduces the concept of process control. The following statement resonated with me:
" . . . consistent inputs help give better internal work-center-to-work center quality, which tends to lower the amount of re-work a job requires. That means the work content is less, product cost is less, and product lead time through the shop is improved."
I believe that many manufacturers overlook what should be one of the easiest and potentially most critical input to control: their manufacturing documentation.
In high-variety manufacturing (HVM), by definition, there is variety and variation of products manufactured, and, in many cases, uniqueness of product. That means that the manufacturing documentation which details the specific requirements of the specific product or product variation to be manufactured is absolutely critical to the effectiveness (productivity and quality) of the manufacturing process. More . . .
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Inputs, Process Control and High-Variety Manufacturing |
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May 2008 |
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High-Variety Manufacturing Professional Community |
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The High-Variety Manufacturing Professional Community, http://highvarietymfg.ning.com, is growing rapidly. The site has a global reach with members from the US, Greece, Sweden, India, UK, and many other countries. The community, founded as a resource and networking site for anyone working or interested in high-variety manufacturing is free and open to all. Please join us. |
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Print version of Value Chains, May 2008
Questions or comments, subscribe? Email us at: services@valent-group.com Copyright © 2008, Valent Group Inc. All rights reserved. |
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Valent Group News |
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Stephanie Green, Principal, is working on the Lean guidebook strategic initiative of MESA, www.mesa.org. MESA is an association of manufacturers/producers, solution providers and industry professionals, promoting innovation and best practices sharing, with a goal of delivering valuable knowledge around operations-centric enterprise solutions. The Guidebook should be released this fall. |
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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. |
