Visual Control - Takt based Production Scheduling

[VijayMaldini]

Hello
I am a Process Engineer in a Manufacturing company. Its not a big firm with employees ranging from 11 - 50. I am now in charge of implementing a visual control production schedule and Labour/Equipment utilization. meaning a White board which visually tells everyone whats happening currently.

Our process consists of simple steps:
1. Raw Materials mixing
2. Owen Conditioning
3. Drying and Conditioning in separate rooms
4. Pressing, Shaping and Machining.
The first 2 steps is carried out by a single equipment.
We run only single line. So Immaterial of the customer or the type of parts the same line or equipment are used.

I need to implement a Takt based Production scheduling to avoid scheduling conflicts and to avoid operators working on crazy 'on call' shifts. Once a work order is created and Takt rate per shift is determined, we precisely need these information
1. Which part or work order is running now and how long
2. Machines/Equipment that are busy/available right now and for how long
3. Operators that are busy/available right now and for how long
Also, we need these scheduling done for a period of 1-2 months so that everyone person has prior information about the production schedule and also we can avoid scheduling conflicts when a new Work Order is created.

NOTE: we need all these visually displayed on a white board. We currently do not have an ERP implemented

Hope I am clear
Thanks in Advance.

 

[Jen Kirley]

Good day Vijay,

I am not clear about what you want exactly. Do you want a visual display designed for you?

I don't have one handy. However, I did some looking around and found threads that talk about production control such as I also did a search in the Post Attachments List - see the green button in the header - and found this list when searching for "production" and this list when searching for "takt." I found the thread Production Scheduling via the yellow "Search" function in the blue bar above. At the bottom of the page is a list of related threads you can click on. One of the threads recommended the web site Leanlaunchpad, which looks to have a good deal of insights though they may be trying to sell a service. I am not affiliated.

I hope this helps!

 

[VijayMaldini]

Thanks Jennifer.
Sorry for not being able to be clear.

To put in simple words, After a Work Order is created (Work order can be for an external customer or internal customers), We would like to calculate the Takt rate for an hour and for a shift.

I am planning to install a white board which has the following information planned for a period of say 6 to 8 weeks based on the Takt rate (2 shifts a day)
1. Work Order number (which part is to be produced)
2. How much is planned per shift at the end of each stage (each process step)
3. Operators that are working in each shifts.

Also if more than 1 Work Order is created, I would like to implement a Level Loading strategy.

 

[AdamP]

It sounds like what you are wanting is heijunka, or production smoothing.

Takt is the amount of time per piece, or task to keep up with demand and is determined via total available time in a given period divided by customer demand. Typically the hours per day across a shift divided by average daily demand.

Assuming you have a mix of work orders with varied anount of work content, you'll have a mixed flow which is where the heijunka will help ensure balanced production rather than batched work.

If this is right there's plenty of info on how to - just let me know.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[VijayMaldini]

Dear Adam

Exactly. Heijunka or Level Loading is what I am planning to implement.
But I need one such thing on a simple white board, that can be updated manually (no ERP installed) and which is very self explanatory to everyone in the company.

NOTE: The different work orders might require different set of raw materials/ ingredients but go through similar steps or processes. Since we operate only one line, When we change the Quantity and type of ingredients we have to do some cleaning prior to starting a new batch (Work Order). In that case, which factor would be very critical in implementing heijunka? The Changeover time?

Also It would be great if you could please share with me some examples.

Thanks

 

[wmarhel]

Hi Vijay,

Without knowing your exact process, it is hard to say 100% what may or may not work, but here is a suggestion.

Look at creating kanban for your products, and then using a heijunka board. I have an older post on this forum which has a sample process for using the board.

Regards,

Wayne

 

[djbeatsent]

I set something like this up for our injection molding plant. When an order comes in, it's details (job number/tool number/part number/qty/due date) get put on to a magnetic tag. I then make another tag that states how much material we will need and how long it should take. The board is a simple 14 day calendar. I place the jobs where they should be and draw a timeline for the expected run.

I've found this to be extremely helpful for:

A. Setting goals
B. Cutting downtime
C. Material order points
D. Most of all on-time delivery and production control

Keep it simple, especially at first. The more details or categories you try to incorporate at first, the more changes you will have to make!

 

[mariyafrankjon]

Yes i found the that information provided here is clear and would like to thank you for sharing it.

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[ssz102]

from your information mentioned, i think the Kanban management is the best way for you need, so following information don't shortage:
1.customer name
2.delivery date
3.who or what's equipment manufacture these products
4. the time with produce per parts to needed and the amount time for produced this lots of product
5.the status of other orders including delivery and shipment way