Rapid response manufacturing

Citation

(1998), "Rapid response manufacturing", Assembly Automation, Vol. 18 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.1998.03318aab.004

Rapid response manufacturing

Rapid response manufacturing

This subject was the second in a series of two-day seminars on effective world-class manufacturing which are being held in the Manufacturing Management Centre at Cranfield University. Others in the series deal with planning for rapid response; process capability improvement; world class product introduction; and continuous improvement ­ teamworking with a purpose. A common style is adopted for each seminar, in which emphasis is placed on the practical implementation issues of concern to delegates rather than textbook theory.

On the first day of each seminar the main issues to be discussed are introduced, with delegates' particular interests and concerns being explored. The presenters tailor the content of the second day sessions around the specific issues raised, with the aim of ensuring that by the end of the seminar delegates are able to relate the ideas presented to their own company environment.

Director of the course is Martyn Luscombe, who is now a director of Cranfield University's Manufacturing Consultancy CIM Ltd, following a career in industry and with P-E International as a manufacturing consultant. He is supported in the programme by Andie Hallihan and Lisa Turner, consultants with CIM.

One of the key concepts in rapid response manufacturing was described as "mass customization", incorporating on the design side a rapid response by anticipation of market demands and design for ease of manufacture and assembly, on the manufacturing side the adoption of systems leading to small batch manufacture, and rapid response planning and operations incorporating a "configurator" system to drive bills of materials.

The ultimate goal was seen as synchronous one-piece flow, as an outcome of cellular manufacturing and just-in-time lean manufacturing. The practical difficulties in approaching this were discussed, with practical examples of approaches made in different industries.

An aspect which often is not given close attention is the organization of the workplace. With typical efficiency the Japanese have names for the different aspects of this:

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  Clearing (seiri): clearly separatenecessary from unnecessary, and remove unnecessary.

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  Organizing (seiton): visually arrange and identify items for ease of use and retrieval.

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  Cleaning (seiso/seison): keep the workplace clean (not pretty) to allow problems to be identified early on.

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  Auditing (seiketsu): continually monitor the level of clearing, organizing and cleaning that is maintained.

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  Consensus (shitsuke): work towards a shared set of values regarding clearing, organizing and cleaning.

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  Safety: improve through better clearing organizing, cleaning and visual control.

Techniques for handling each of these functions were reviewed.

The final session dealt with setup reduction, that is, the time taken to go from good product A to good product B, with the aim of using the time saved in more frequent setups at no extra cost. It was proposed that a video should be made of current setup activities, which could be analysed in detail with a view to improving internal and external setup activities; internal activities being those which can only be performed when the machine is stopped, while external activities can be performed while the machine is running. A standardized checklist was proposed to ensure that all external activities were complete before the machine was stopped. These would include documentation, preparation of dies, fixtures and jigs; preparation of measurement and inspection equipment; and readiness of tools and materials. It was also possible that some internal activities like setting of cutters and storing of NC programs could be converted to external. Internal setup is usually the main focus of attention, and a number of areas for possible improvement were discussed.

Details of the seminars can be obtained from: Mrs Marion Walls, Promotions Manager, The Manufacturing Management Centre, Building 42, SIMS, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL. Tel: 01234 754043; Fax: 01234 751572.