The Product Wheel Handbook Creating Balanced Flow in High-Mix Process Operations

The Product Wheel (PW) design process has practical methods for finding the optimum sequence, minimizing changeover costs, and freeing up useful capacity. So much so, that the DuPont™ Company and Exxon Mobil are just a few companies that have used the product wheel concept to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage.Breaking down a fairly complex design process into manageable steps, The Product Wheel Handbook: Creating Balanced Flow in High-Mix Process Operations walks readers through the process for designing and implementing the PW technique. It includes a case study taken from actual practice that illustrates the design process and its benefits. Describing how to apply the product wheel technique to any manufacturing operation, the book: Details the steps required to implement product wheels Explains why certain traditional manufacturing metrics should be reevaluated so they don’t inhibit product wheel performance Defines the cultural foundation necessary for smooth product wheel design and implementation Includes a real-world case study and several examples of product wheels being used by successful manufacturing companies—including BG Products, Inc., the DuPont™ Company, the Dow Chemical Company, and Appleton Many of the steps in wheel design described in this book are not new. What’s new is their application to production planning and scheduling problems, and more importantly, a clear roadmap explaining how and when they should be used in product wheel design.Supplying you with the tools to reduce the chaos often found in production scheduling, the book outlines a disciplined structure that will allow you to spend less of your time resolving schedule problems. Most importantly, it provides your organization with a stable platform to deal with abnormal events in a less stressful and more logical manner.

IntroductionWhy Product Wheels?Process Industry ChallengesProduct Wheel BasicsThe Problem: Production Sequencing, Campaign Sizing, Production LevelingChallenges Facing Operations Managers—Production Leveling Challenges Facing Operations Managers—Random Sequence or Regular Pattern?Challenges Facing Operations Managers—Optimum SequenceChallenges Facing Operations Managers—Optimum CycleThe Insidious Nature of ChangeoversThe Solution—Product WheelsProduct Wheels DefinedProduct Wheel TerminologySimultaneous Operating ModesProduct Wheel CharacteristicsProcess Improvement TimeBenefits of Product WheelsProduct Wheel ApplicabilityThe Product Wheel Design and Implementation ProcessProduct Wheel Design Step 1: Begin with an up-to-date, reasonably accurate value stream map (VSM) Step 2: Decide where to use wheels to schedule production Step 3: Analyze product demand volume and variability—identify candidates for make to order Step 4: Determine the optimum sequence Step 5: Analyze the factors influencing overall wheel time Step 6: Determine overall wheel time and wheel frequency for each product Step 7: Distribute products across the wheel cycles—balance the wheel Step 8: Plot the wheel cycles Step 9: Calculate inventory requirements Step 10: Review with stakeholders Step 11: Determine who "owns" (allocates) the PIT time Step 12: Revise the scheduling processProduct Wheel Implementation Step 13: Develop an implementation plan Step 14: Develop a contingency plan Step 15: Get all inventories in balance Step 16: Put an auditing plan in place Step 17: Put a plan in place to rebalance the wheel periodicallyKaizen EventsPrerequisites for a Product Wheel Step 1: Begin with an Up-to-Date, Reasonably Accurate VSMAn Example Process—Sheet Goods ManufacturingA Value Stream MapMaterial Flow—Process BoxesProcess Step Data BoxesMaterial Flow IconsInventory Data BoxesInformation FlowSummaryStep 2: Decide Where to Use Wheels to Schedule ProductionCriteria for Product Wheel SelectionAnalyze the VSMForming 1Bonder 2Bonder 1Slitter 1Summary Step 3: Analyze Products for a Make-to-Order StrategyDemand VolumeDemand VariabilityDeciding on the Best Strategy for Each ProductSummaryStep 4: Determine the Optimum SequenceChangeover ComplexityOptimizing the Forming 2 SequenceOptimizing the Sequence in Complex SituationsSummaryStep 5: Analyze the Factors Influencing Overall Wheel TimeTime Available for Changeovers—The Shortest Wheel PossibleFinding the Most Economic Wheel TimeLeveling Out Short-Term Demand VariabilityAn Additional Word about Standard Deviation and CVMaking Practical Lot Sizes of Each MaterialProtecting Shelf LifeMaking to Stock Using a Trigger PointSummary Step 6: Put It All Together—Determine Overall Wheel Time and Wheel Frequency for Each ProductEOQ—The Most Economic Wheel TimeThe Shortest Wheel PossibleShort-Term Demand VariabilityMinimum Practical Lot SizeShelf LifeSummaryStep 7: Arranging Products—Balancing the WheelWheel ResonanceAchieving Better BalanceWheels within WheelsSummaryStep 8: Plotting the Wheel CyclesSummary Step 9: Calculate Inventory RequirementsInventory ComponentsTotal Inventory RequirementsInventory Benefit of the WheelSeasonalityCustomer Lead TimeSummaryStep 10: Review with StakeholdersWhat to ReviewWho to IncludePossible Concerns and ChallengesSummary Step 11: Assign Responsibility for Allocating PIT TimeAppropriate Uses of PIT TimeStep 12: Revise the Scheduling ProcessWheel Concepts and the Production Scheduling SystemVisual Management of the Current Wheel ScheduleSummary Step 13: Develop an Implementation PlanStep 14: Develop a Contingency PlanPossible Wheel BreakersSteps in Contingency PlanningExample of a Contingency PlanSummaryStep 15: Get All Inventories in BalanceSummary Step 16: Confirm Wheel Performance—Put an Auditing Process in PlaceStep 17: Put a Plan in Place to Rebalance the Wheel PeriodicallyPrerequisites for Product WheelsFoundational ElementsA Highly Motivated, Well-Trained WorkforceStandard WorkVisual ManagementTotal Productive MaintenanceA Value Stream MapSMEDSKU Rationalization—Portfolio ManagementBottleneck Identification and ManagementCellular Manufacturing and Group TechnologySummaryProduct Wheels and the Path to PullProduct Wheels and PullPull through the Entire ProcessSummary Unintended Consequences—Inappropriate Use of MetricsInappropriate Use of MetricsPerformance to Plan (PTP)SummaryCultural Transformation and Product Wheel Design—The SynergySummary Case Studies and ExamplesBG Products, Inc.—Automotive FluidsThe Appleton JourneyDupont™ FluoropolymersDow ChemicalExtruded PolymersWaxes to Coat CardboardSheet Goods for Hospital GownsCircuit Board SubstratesFixed-Sequence Variable VolumeA Rose by Any Other Name SummaryBibliographyAppendix A: Cycle Stock Concepts and CalculationsInventory Components Defined—Cycle Stock and Safety StockCalculating Cycle Stock—Fixed-Interval Replenishment ModelSummaryAppendix B: Safety Stock Concepts and CalculationsAbout Safety StockVariability in DemandVariability in Wheel TimeCombined VariabilityUsing Safety StockExample—Forming Machine 2 Product WheelAppendix C: Total Productive MaintenanceThe Need for Equipment Reliability and Operational ContinuityTPMTPM Metric—Overall Equipment EffectivenessForming 2 OEEAppendix D: The SMED Changeover Improvement ProcessSMED OriginsSMED ConceptsProduct Changeovers in the Process IndustriesSummaryAppendix E: Bottleneck Identification, Improvement, and ManagementRoot Causes of BottlenecksBottleneck Management—Theory of ConstraintsSummary Appendix F: Group Technology and Cellular FlowTypical Process Plant Equipment ConfigurationsCellular Manufacturing Applied to Process LinesSummaryIndex

Jennifer S. King is an operations research analyst with a government contractor, analyzing operational impacts of emerging Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technologies and developing cost and performance models to support airline investment decisions. Prior to that, she spent 5 years with the Department of Defense developing discrete event simulation models to assist the army in setting reliability requirements for new platforms, and analyzing performance of weapon systems alternatives. Her prior publishing experience includes editing textbooks and developing mathematics problems and solutions for ExploreLearning.Jennifer has degrees in mathematics and psychology from the University of Virginia, and a master’s degree in operations research from the University of Delaware. She is a member of INFORMS.Peter L. King is the president of Lean Dynamics, LLC, a manufacturing improvement consulting firm located in Newark, Delaware. Prior to founding Lean Dynamics, Pete spent 42 years with the DuPont™ Company in a variety of control systems, manufacturing systems engineering, continuous flow manufacturing, and Lean manufacturing assignments. That included 18 years applying Lean manufacturing techniques to a wide variety of products, including sheet goods such as DuPont Tyvek®, Sontara®, and Mylar®; fibers such as nylon, Dacron®, Lycra®, and Kevlar®; automotive paints; performance lubricants; bulk chemicals; adhesives; electronic circuit board substrates; and biological materials used in human surgery. On behalf of DuPont, he consulted with key customers in the processed food and carpet industries. He retired from DuPont in 2007, leaving a position as principal consultant in the Lean Center of Competency. Recent clients have included producers of sheet goods, lubricants and fuel additives, and polyethylene and polypropylene pellets.Pete received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, graduating with honors. He is Six Sigma Green Belt certified (DuPont, 2001), Lean manufacturing certified (University of Michigan, 2002), and a Certified Supply Chain Professional (APICS, 2010). He is a member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, APICS, and the Institute of Industrial Engineers where he served as president of IIE’s Process Industry Division in 2009–2010.Pete is the author of Lean for the Process Industries—Dealing with Complexity (Productivity Press, 2009), and several published articles on the application of Lean concepts to process operations. He has been an invited speaker at several professional conferences and meetings.DuPont™ Tyvek®, Sontara®, and Kevlar® are trademarks or registered trademarks of E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company. Mylar® is a trademark of DuPont Teijin Films; Dacron® and Lycra® are trademarks of Koch.