Introducing the only course available
on:
Concurrent
Engineering and Build-to-Order for
Low-Volume/High-Mix Environments
This unique combination of leading-edge methodologies is based on the multiple
books both these subjects, with the latest being:
• : “Design for Manufacturability: How to Use
Concurrent Engineering to Rapidly Develop Low-Cost, High-Quality Products
for Lean Production" 2020 This book had revised editions published every
couple of years since 1990, based on the authors 30 years of experience
providing DFM classes to clients in many industries..
•
“Build-to-Order & Mass Customization; The Ultimate Supply Chain Management
and Lean Manufacturing Strategy for Low-Cost On-Demand Production without
Forecasts or. Inventory.”
Dr. Anderson is the only consultant or author who has
written leading-edge books
and conducted many customized classes on both these subjects.
The Need for a course on DFM and BTO for Low-Volume/High-Mix
Companies struggle to build many product variations in low volume, because
most of our experiences, classes, and books are based on
Mass
Production , which only works if it can amortize lengthy setups and a
plethora of expensive tooling over large batches or long runs. Sound familiar?
Read on:
The Class on DFM and BTO for Low-Volume/High-Mix Environments
BUILDING LOW-VOLUME / HIGH-MIX PRODUCTS QUICKLY, EVEN
ON-DEMAND
The best solution to this conundrum is to
concurrently engineer flexible processes. Here is how to do that for two categories of
manufacturing processes:
For flexible processes, like machining and
any computer-controlled (CNC), process, which are capable of programmably
building a wide variety products on-demand providing the following criteria are
satisfied:
• Quick loading of raw material stock. For quick loading, standard
raw material would be loaded or fed into the machine tool as:
• long bar stock that would be feed into a machine tool and automatically cut-off after
machining, as is often done in lathes or screw-machines, as shown in the
last illustration at the site on
Cellular/Flexible
Manufacturing
• cut-to-length from a central “source cell” in which
• the cell could also cut pieces on-demand for each "user” See
illustration of such a “source cell” for sheet metal at:
http://www.halfcostproducts.com/scm_cost_reduction.htm
• the cell could be a kanban source that makes several bins (or stacks)
of parts before the matching bin at the machine tool empties. See
illustration of a two-bin kanban system at:
http://www.build-to-order-consulting.com/kanban.htm
• Pre-cut stock can be quickly loaded and clamped into :
• flexible fixtures
that are versatile enough to accept
all stock (or parts) in the cell. Several flexible fixtures could
be permanently mounted on a machine tool bed.
This example accepts three families of rectangular parts and one family
of cylindrical parts. Parts are dimensions with GD&T with all
"X" direction dimensions referenced to the horizontal "X bar" and
all the "Y" dimensions referenced to the "Y bar, that is affixed
to he machine tool bed. The "Z" dimensions are referenced to
the machine tool bed surface.
• flexible or specialized fixtures could also be
affixed to pairs of "pallets" that can be loaded and clamped down
off-line and then swapped into a standard position on
a machine tool bed. For multiple sub-groups in the family, there could
be a unique pair of fixtures for each sub-group.
• Quick-loading Programs. CNC machine tool programs can be
quickly downloaded from (a) library of pre-written programs for
pre-configured variations or (b) programs written “on the fly” from
dimensions that are loaded into “templates” in parametric CAD, which will
then generate CNC programs, as shown in the “CAD/CAM” station in the
illustrations in the
Mass Customization
article.
For inflexible processes, like castings,
forgings, stampings, molded parts, and bare printed circuit boards, consolidate
many shapes into only a few versatile versions, to greatly reduce tooling costs
and setup charges. If you don’t do this, every shape will need expensive tooling
and long setups for each batch of parts, which will then be built in batches and
inventories to amortize these costs.
SUPPLYING PARTS AND MATERIALS FOR LOW-VOLUME/HIGH-MIX
• Standard raw material grades. Raw materials
should be
standardized on one grade, usually the best
material, the best strength, the
best finish, the best purity (etc.), and the best availability. For
existing products, it should be possible to do a global conversion to a
"better than" substitution for each material that has too many versions.
For instance, the author, as Manager of Flexible Manufacturing at
Intel's Systems Group, converted all 5% tolerance resistors to the 1%
tolerance family also in the database, thus cutting in half the number
resistor types in all factories.
- Design new product families around aggressively
standardized parts and materials so that they can be always
available or spontaneously pulled into production with the following
techniques:
• Steady flows of aggressively standardized parts and materials can be
arranged to flow into the plant. Just match the tonnage in to the tollage out.
• Automatic resupply can be arranged with:
Beware of situations where suppliers
are trying to "pull" your parts
from their warehouse,
which is not a consistent source of supply. Worse, if the supplier is
out-of-stock, it will blame your forecasts.
- Build parts on-demand in your own factory
If your suppliers can not do this, you may have to using all the principles
presented herein.
If part and material proliferation is preventing you
from doing any of this, identify the cause and do appropriate remedies (next).
Causes and remedies of problems
building low-volume/high-mix
The biggest supply chain and operational challenges occur if a high-mix of products comes
with a high-mix of parts and materials. Next is what must be done to stop
the causes of all these problems.
• Stop taking all orders. Many companies
want to raise sales, and sales bonuses, by taking all orders, regardless of how
hard they are build and supply, how much money they lose money on a
total cost basis,
or how much they add to a proliferated “mix” of un-synergistic products
• Rationalize away the worst of the proliferation. Product line
rationalization, based on total
cost, can identify the least synergistic products with the hardest-to-get
parts/materials and then drop then immediate drop from the catalog or web-site.
If these are really must be sold for some valid reason, then the acceptable
choices are:
• Incorporate them in to a synergistic new
product family
• Outsource them to others, even competitors (to keep them busy on those
while you use all the principles of this site to leap forward).
• If Sales and Marketing are convinced these products will really make
money, then isolate them into a self-supporting “profit-and-loss center”
which will do what it takes to build these with its own people, without (a)
draining away people building the cash-cows or development new products or
(b) having to be subsidized by overhead, which, without a
good cost system,
will then ultimately be paid for by your best products as a “loser tax.”
• Stop acquiring more of a “mix” of parts and materials. Order
fulfillment problems get exponentially worse when a bad acquisitions policy increases the
mix of “orphans,” that have no synergies regarding parts, materials, or
processing. Most industrial orphanages are caused by
looks-good-but-ultimately-counterproductive acquisitions, which can be avoided
and rectified as follows:
All merger and
acquisitions must immediately stop acquiring incompatible products,
especially if they and all their parts are to be dumped into existing plants,
which may have been optimized for your current operations and your supply chains.
Formally, this can be done by (a) adding this criteria to the “due diligence”
that is supposed to be done before acquisitions, (b) ensuring that Operations, SCM, and Engineering managers have veto power, or a least scrutiny, over
proposed mergers and acquisitions, and (c) achieve real
“organic” growth by implementing all the
principles on this site rather then going for the illusion of growth through
mergers and acquisitions. For more, read the basic warning article
on mergers and acquisitions .
These are the general principles. Pass
around this article or URL to educate and stimulate interest
In customized seminars and
webinars, these principles are presented in the context of your
company amongst designers implementers, and managers, who can all discuss
feasibility and, at least, explore possible implementation steps
In customized workshops, brainstorming sessions
apply these methodologies to your most relevant products, operations, and supply
chains.
If you want to discuss Low-Volume/High-Mix
by phone ot e-mail, fill out this form:
copyright ©
2021 by
David M. Anderson
Book-length web-site on Half Cost Products:
www.HalfCostProducts.com
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