Module 05
Production Leveling
Creating Continuous Flow / How SAP system can support leveling in MPS and S&OP
Description
Why Production Levelling? Good planning and following the production schedule are not enough.
Certainly not. Unless the customer’s demand is always stable, repeatable, fully predictable and not variable. Such a case is rare. In most cases, customers provide variable forecasts and orders with many changes in not just volumes but in the product mix. In addition, another negative factor may be the seasonal character of the demand…
Levelling is aimed at building a production schedule which – in the longest possible time horizon - will guarantee the optimum utilization of production resources, especially people and available machines. Production does not like variability, simply because it makes painful losses in productivity. It can also result in both quality deterioration and difficulty in resource planning. Thus, levelling equals production stability.
This part of LEAN Academy will also tell us that production levelling means not only levelling of the volumes, but also levelling of mix, people and flows (4 aspects). We will also learn how to transmit a levelled plan to the production lines in a way which will secure the effectiveness of both production and logistics processes.
Recommended Audience
Schedulers, planners, Logistics and Production staff, Lean Leaders. Optionally finance ,controlling and the Plant Management.
Methodology
Multimedia presentation, short lectures, individual exercises, group activities and discussions and Q&A
Learning Objectives
Production Leveling & Creating Continuous Flow (1-2 days).
- Why is Leveling so important at the production planning?
- Characteristics of “unleveled” production
- What do we level? Learning the 4 aspects of leveling.
- Practical examples of the production resources leveling.
- Takt-Time vs. the principles of leveling
- How to create the MPS and the S&OP plan.
COMMENTS!
- Do we use the SAP system within the organization? An expanded version of this module contains a detailed description of transactions and applications of the SAP’s basic functionalities (not customized!) for supporting leveling, both MPS and S&OP.
- OPTION: deployment of the SAP system for supporting the leveling process!
Tools / Templates / Methods
- Process Analysis. A standard chart for work measurements and analysis
- OBC (Operator Balance Chart) or Yamazumi Chart. Operator Balance Chart in relation to the Takt-Time and Target Cycle Time
- Machine Balancing. Effective machine cycle time calculations and machine effectiveness in relation to Takt-Time.