In my last post, I started to look at factors that affect the efficiency of your line, in particular the percentage of value-added time by the operators. For this I have a good data set with fifty-three different observations. One major factor was the speed of the line. Faster lines are not only easier to optimize, but they also yield more benefit for the optimization. In this post I will look at group size, as well as comparing Japan and Germany, final assemblies with subassemblies, and passenger cars with commercial vehicles.
Efficiency
Effects on Efficiency—Takt Time
On the Benefits of Putting Your Processes Close Together
What Percentage Value Add to Expect for Manual Work?
In my last post I described a quick-and-dirty approach to estimate the percentage of value add (i.e., the efficiency) of manual work. While the value is only an estimate, it is a measurement that you can take quickly and easily even in passing for a manual workplace. You simply count when a person is adding value and when not (i.e., waste). This post will look into more detail on what numbers to expect, and what to do next if you want to increase this percentage of value adding time. Let’s have a look:
How to Estimate Value Add for Manual Work – How to See Waste!
One of the necessary tasks in becoming leaner and improving your industry is to eliminate waste. I like to use a simple approach for measuring waste in manual work to know how good (or bad) the current situation is. To explain my approach I commissioned a few animations. Let me proudly present my approach and my animations, so you can also estimate the efficiency of manual lines when you are on the shop floor.
More Reasons for Working Less
You probably hate long drudging hours working in the office and feeling really worn out at the end of the day. Maybe you’re sitting in an office working right now (and of course your reading my blog means you are working 😉 ), knowing that you will be worn out at the end of the day. This post is especially for you, looking at work hours and productivity. The good news is: Less is more, but don’t overdo it!
Diseconomies of Scale
How Cheap Can You Make it?
I was on a quest, a quest to find the cheapest ballpoint pen possible. And what I found was amazing. Modern manufacturing has achieved stunning productivity, where even a complex product like a ballpoint pen can be produced at costs that were unbelievable only a few decades ago. While everybody can make a pen, the goal in manufacturing is always to make it cheaper! For the same functionality, the customer will almost always go for the cheaper products. Let me show you the results of my quest.