Flow Production

4 Key excerpts on "Flow Production"

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  eBook - ePub

  Engineering Technologies

  Level 3

  • Mike Tooley(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Mass production generally refers to the manufacture of very large quantities of identical products. This is usually achieved using a continuous flow process where the various stages of production follow seamlessly from one to the next. Mass production is appropriate whenever the market for a particular product is very large and is expected to remain large in the conceivable future. For example, the manufacture of LED lamps for the domestic market in the UK is both sizeable and projected to increase over the next few years, making high-volume mass production appropriate. Mass production is invariably based on continuous or intermittent flow.

  Flow Production

  Flow Production involves a linear sequence of operations with each stage in the process leading to the next. For example, the manufacture of a washing machine might involve the manufacture of a stainless steel drum which is inserted into a stainless steelouter casing before being attached to an electric motor via a belt drive. The various stages in the manufacturing process must be performed in the correct sequence.

  Continuous Flow Production

  Continuous production describes a manufacturing process where a product moves through a series of processes without stopping. This type of production is only appropriate for very high-volume manufacturing and it usually involves a high degree of automation which, in turn, demands significant investment in plant and equipment.

  A particular feature of continuous Flow Production is that each stage of the process must be designed so that it can be completed within a similar time frame. Failure to observe this requirement can result in delays and inefficient use of resources.

  Intermittent Flow Production

  Intermittent flow relates to a manufacturing process where the flow is temporarily interrupted after one or more stages of manufacturing. The flow is then restarted at some later time so that the remaining processes can be applied.

  Note that things can change when a manufacturing company expands the scale of its operation and, as a result, needs to change its production methods. Typical examples might be to change production method from batch to flow, or from intermittent flow to continuous flow. These changes can be expected to increase production capacity. However, other constraints, such as lack of capital for investment in new plant and equipment, may also impact on production capacity.

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  eBook - ePub

  Organisation and Administration for Business (RLE: Organizations)

  • Geoffrey Whitehead(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  What makes an economic batch size is debatable, for example the amount of storage space might be a controlling influence. 3 Flow Production This is the typical type of ‘mass-production’ where there is a steady demand for the product and an endless, repetitive sequence of events permits the division of labour, the use of special machine tools and high levels of power. Henry Ford defined it as follows: ‘Mass production is the focusing upon a manufacturing project of the principles of power, accuracy, economy, system, continuity, speed and repetition.’ The difficulty is that the work is broken down into mere operations, each performed by a different operative. Productivity is high, but boredom soon sets in with the repetitive nature of the work. The use of robots may become possible to reduce these problems. The difficulty is for the worker to realise self-esteem and the respect of peer groups in such a system of production, and the tendency is for those who earn their living in such flow-production systems to realise their true personalities in the non-working situation: the family or leisure-pleasure activities when work is over. 4 Process production Process production is a special type of Flow Production where the product passes through a succession of processes, the output of each becoming the input of the next process, and so on. A number of by-products may result as partial products of each process. Costs accumulate as the product moves through the system and quality controls will be implemented at each stage to determine the results of each process. The separate processes are distinct technically and, while the resulting collection of technology and skill is convenient and economical (all the equipment for a process being gathered together in one place), it may mean more material handling, with the product having to be brought in and processed and then taken on to its next destination

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  eBook - PDF

  Getting and Staying Productive

  Applying Swift, Even Flow to Practice

  • Roger W. Schmenner(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  It can only produce what its process is designed to produce. Continuous flow processes can be very productive and very prof- itable, assuming normal sales levels. Only when sales levels plunge is the profitability of the continuous flow process in jeopardy. 3. The batch flow process. One step toward the continuous flow process from the job shop is the batch flow process. The job shop and the batch flow process have a good deal in common. Their layouts are similar, with equipment grouped by function rather than by product. 5 The product is regarded as moving from department to department within the factory. A batch flow operation depends on information such as routings and process steps, and tracks costs and times spent. However, batch flow processes typically have a set menu of products that they produce, frequently, in set quantities (lot sizes). The batch flow operation is thus somewhat more standardized than the job shop, particularly as it relates to routings and costs. While the job shop usually operates to fulfill an outside cus- tomer’s order by an agreed upon due date and in whatever quantity is ordered, the batch flow operation usually produces in established lot sizes that move into an inventory from which further production or final customer orders are filled. Batch flow processes are com- monplace, especially when one considers all the times “fabrication” must be done. Examples of batch flow processes include much of the chemical industry, semiconductor fabrication, apparel, much of the steel industry, and huge chunks of the metal bending, metal form- ing, and metal machining industries. 4. The line flow process. Between the batch flow and continu- ous flow processes, along the process spectrum, lies the line flow pro- cess. In reality it lies closer to the continuous flow process because it presents some substantive distinctions from the batch flow.

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  Lean Manufacturing

  Business Bottom-Line Based

  • John X. Wang(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  The goals of one-piece flow are to produce one unit at a time continuously without unplanned interruptions and without lengthy queue times. High-variety production is also driven by the needs of the cus-tomer who expects customization as well as specific quantities delivered at specific times. Cellular manufacturing provides companies the flexibility to give customers the variety they demand by grouping similar products into families that can be processed within the same cell and in the same sequence. This eliminates the need to produce products in large lots by significantly shortening the time required for changeover between products. 8.4.2 Benefits of Cellular Manufacturing Cellular manufacturing creates the ability to incorporate one-piece flow pro-duction, which produces multiple time and monetary benefits. First, it reduces material handling and transit times. By having the machinery to complete a certain process grouped together in a cell, the product spends more time on the machinery and less time in transit between machines. Unlike batch pro-cessing, materials do not accumulate at a certain location to be worked or moved. This allows the operator the ability (in most cases) to move the unfin-ished product to the next station without the need of specialized equipment to move what would be a larger load farther distances in a batch process. Lean Production 157 With decreased material handling and transit time, accompanied by virtu-ally eliminating queue times associated with batch processing, comes short-ened part-cycle times, in other words, the time it takes to produce one unit of a particular product resulting in shorter delivery dates for the customer. Also associated with one-piece flow are reduced work-in-process inven-tories. With a continuous and balanced flow of product through the cell, no major buildup of material occurs between workstations eliminating the need of excess space to store in-process goods.

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