Demand Flow Technology vs. Lean Manufacturing - Same method with just another name?

R

rogink

I have been asked to look which aspects of DFT (Demand Flow Technology) are different than Lean manufacturing.

at first glance i think it is fairly the same:
-focus on elimination of waste
-same tools (one piece flow, line balancing, kaizen, kanban)
-the mathematical calculations seems fairly the same as used in lean
I think it has resemblance with quick response manufacturing, in relation to flexible production cells and multi skilled operators.

can anyone explain in a nutshell what the exact differences are?
 

qusys

Trusted Information Resource
Re: Demand Flow Technology vs Lean manufacturing; same method with just another name?

I think that they are the same. DFT takes the move from lean organization , that was derived from Toyota production.
The spirit and the principles are the same. They both are guided by the fulfillment of the customer request. :bigwave:
 
A

AdamP

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs Lean manufacturing; same method with just another name?

Part of our company has used DFT for over a decade and we are now all working together to implement a consistent approach to Lean - so we have had this discussion here and hopefully it will help you as well.

Basically, there is no difference.

DFT was created by John Costanza in the mid 1980s as a way for American businesses to implement many of the concepts of TPS without getting bogged down by the cultural differences between Japanese and American management.

"Lean" as a coined term showed up around 1990 when James Womack was writing 'Lean Thinking' and I believe the credit is given to one of his research associates. It came out of their study of TPS and the Toyota Way.

Cheers,

Adam
 
R

rogink

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs Lean manufacturing; same method with just another name?

Thanks for your input.
but I don't understand that you say basically there is no difference between DFT (Demand Flow Technology) and lean but that your company is now implementing lean...

Is that because "lean manufacturing" is as a name (brand) more accepted than DFT?? or are some small differences in approach if yes;
could you discribe what the specific differences are?
 
A

AdamP

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs Lean manufacturing; same method with just another name?

Our company, like many, has grown through acquisition. We have one part which has been using DFT (Demand Flow Technology) as their approach to Lean for a long time and we have other parts of the company which have implemented Lean in a format more akin to TPS - using much more Japanese terminology, etc.

Our goal is to get all areas using a common approach - and therefore using what works and removing what does not from each of the approaches, so we will end up with a well supported and adopted Lean program.

When we look at the mechanics though there is no difference between how DFT works and any other Lean implementation. It comes down to who brings it in and the terminology used- be it an external consulting group - like Costanza for DFT or any number of other Lean providers, or via experienced internal resources.

One thing that seems to be universally agreed on is that a successful Lean implementation is not about the tools, but rather about creating a Lean/Continuous Improvement culture.

Cheers.
 
R

rogink

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs Lean manufacturing; same method with just another name?

Hi Adam
thanks for your answer
 
D

DFT_HighImpact

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs. Lean Manufacturing - Same method with just another nam

Hi guys

Just come across this discussion on the difference between Demand Flow Technology and Lean Manufacturing. I know the discussion is a few years old, but I would just like to add my comments for any other members that may still be reading.

As majority of members have stated there is no real difference between Demand Flow Technology and Lean Manufacturing when you consider their principles. Both techniques are focused to establishing Flow and Pull through an environment.

The actual difference between Demand Flow Technology and Lean Manufacturing comes about in the way in which they are implemented. In my 12 years of educating and deploying Demand Flow Technology around the world for world class companies the biggest complaint I come across is that CFO?s fail to readily see bottom line improvement from Lean. This is primarily due to fact that companies fail to connect their lean implementations, they look at running Lean programs as a way to cut costs, completely missing the true objectives. They might have some really great Current Value Stream Maps, run Kaizen projects here and there, implement 5S, improve setups on a few machines using SMED, but what they end up with is random acts of lean showing up throughout the entire organization.

On the other hand Demand Flow Technology is a scalable and comprehensive business improvement strategy that utilizes mathematically-based toolset to establish flow and Pull through an organization to deliver response capability, lead time compression and enabling manufacturers to meet the needs of their customers on a daily. Following the structured mathematically-based toolset will deliver mixed-model production flow lines and optimized inventory requirements at each node of the entire supply chain, enabling strategic inventory reduction to deliver world-class customer service.

Demand Flow Technology delivers what CFO?s are looking for; average improvements of 41% in working capital, 9% in customer service levels and 8% in cost of goods sold. Check out this article by MSA (Mine Safety Appliances" discussing the benefits achieved in one of their corporate deployments: Google the following text - "The Win-Win Benefits of Demand Flow Technology."

Read further about how Demand Flow Technology impacts businesses: Google the following text - "Demand Flow Technology Impacts Your Business Part 1"

Hope this helps further readers :bigwave:
 
T

That Wasnt Bad

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs. Lean Manufacturing - Same method with just another nam

Hi,

I saw your clarification on the difference between the DFT and Lean. A quick question, when DFT is definitively meant "mathematically based toolset", what kind of calculation and formula that its used that I can really implement? Most of the items are talking about OMS, TQC, Verify which are conceptual. Please enlighten me with the scalable, mathematical based formula that I can further understand.


Thanks so much!
 
D

DFT_HighImpact

Re: Demand Flow Technology vs. Lean Manufacturing - Same method with just another nam

First, ?That Wasn?t Bad?, I would like to apologize to you for the delay in replying to your post. The notification following your post landed in my Junk box in my email and I have only just come across it.

I totally agree with you on your point regarding OMS, TQC, Verify etc. These are not mathematical based. However, before we are able to start work on OMS?s and other tools utilized daily by the operations team, we need to deploy our mathematical toolset.

Our mathematical tools we utilize during design phases in Factory and Supply Chain Transformations enable us to establish alignment across the factory and entire supply chain. The mathematical tools we have help us model the factory that can transition it from high levels of inventories, low material turns, low levels of utilization, long production lead times to becoming a factory that is truly Demand Driven. In our new Demand Driven operations lead times are reduced, productivity levels increased, and inventories reduced. Ultimately the Demand Driven factory now has the agility and flexibility to adapt to changes in daily demand and one that is aligned to the needs of the customer.

In one recent factory implementation the mathematical tools of DFT established a factory environment were we reduced the number of production lines from 26 to 14 Mixed-Model DFT Flow Lines. In the Mixed-Model Flow Line products with no ?marketing family? similarities previously assembled on totally different production lines are now produced on the same Flow Line. The same toolset further enabled a 10% reduction in floor space, 25% reduction in WIP inventories and a 38% reduction in lead time. For sure this would not be possible with only a handful of conceptual tools.

Without a core set of mathematical tools that are used to create our modeling, we would not be able to achieve the level of benefits that we see time and time again. Certainly, conceptual tools or even individual Lean projects that are not aligned to the overall goal will not achieve the same.

Our mathematical tools are the power and science behind Flow.

For more information check out our website myhicoach.com (High Impact Coaching & Strategies). Also check out the YouTube videos on Demand Demand Flow Technology at and John Deere and Intermec (now part of Honeywell)

Thanks again for your interest.
 

BradM

Leader
Admin
Re: Demand Flow Technology vs. Lean Manufacturing - Same method with just another nam

Team DFT,

I have deleted your last two posts. We are certainly appreciative of you contributing to the forums. However, self-promoting posts (posts primarily intended to promote/ sell a product/service) are only allowed after a sufficient number of posts. See this link:

TOS (Terms of Service) - Elsmar Cove Forum Registration and Use TOS

If you have any questions, please contact a moderator/admin.
 
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