About the webinar:
In today’s world, most manufacturing companies are, to greater and lesser degrees, mixed-model manufacturers. Over time the number of different models and configurations of your products inevitably grows. New ones are added but the old ones don’t necessarily go away. The challenges of Mixed Model Manufacturing are many, but perhaps nowhere more so than in material flow. Getting the right parts in the right quanties to the right place at the right time is no minor detail.
In this webinar we will focus on one segment of the total material flow value stream: how to design your material delivery system on the factory floor in a high-mix low-volume (for any specific model) production environment.
Challenges and Goals of Material Flow Systems
We will kick off the webinar with a quick formal definition of Mixed Model Material Flow, with examples of the types of industries (many!) that fall into this classification. We will take a look at the overarching goals of a material flow system, and how a “classic” Lean material delivery system would be designed.
Five High-Mix Material Flow Strategies
The heart of the webinar is a discussion of the 5 main high-mix material flow strategies:
- Zero Kitting. In this strategy, the goal is to eliminate completely the need for special handling or kitting. Materials will be delivered using a traditional Kanban system.
- Kitting Cells. In this method, parts are kitted on the factory floor, and delivered to the Points of Use either one unit at a time or in sets.
- Kitting Integration. In this innovative method, a one-by-one kitting process is integrated into an assembly line and designed to run at the same takt time as the line.
- Remote Kitting. Sometimes a kitting process needs to be removed from the factory floor altogether, due to space challenges or safety issues.
- Hybrid Material Flow Systems. With a hybrid approach, several of the above methods can be combined, based on the type of material being delivered.
Each of the 5 methods will be explained in detail, and actual case histories shared.
Material Flow Decision Matrix
Which high-mix low-volume method is best for you? Download a simple but effective Excel-based decision matrix to help you decide.