Achieving the velocity of manufacturing

摘要

Finding the right pace for a manufacturing process is anything but easy. In the old days, when manufacturing was characterized by batch production and long part runs, the right pace was the fastest possible pace. A typical machine setup took a substantial amount of time, so profitability hinged on amortizing that setup time over the longest production run possible. Manufacturers ran the equipment as fast as possible for long periods of time to make vast batches of components. Warehouses were full of inventory. Every accountant's nightmare, work in progress, ruled manufacturing.