Lean production control at a high-variety, low-volume parts manufacturer

摘要

Many companies are interested in implementing lean control principles, such as pull and takt time control. The key to the effectiveness of pull systems is that they explicitly limit the amount of work in process (WIP) that can be in a system. Takt time control is a concept mostly used in final assembly production to efficiently allocate production throughout a factory. Takt time sets a fixed production pace, which is equal to the customer's rate of demand. Pull and takt time lean control principles have mainly been applied in high-volume flow environments in which jobs move through the production system in one direction along a limited number of identifiable routings where as this paper addresses the implementation of elements of lean control for a make-to-order (MTO) job shop that manufactures many part types in small batches. The initial focus was on a production unit at Eaton Electric General Supplies (EECS), the copper bars production unit (CB unit).