Profitability of High-Mix/Low-Volume Production

By following these five steps, a process will become very consistent, despite
changing product requirements. While a consistent process may be dull, it will
also yield superior results.
Jason Piatt | Jan 27, 2015

Historically, low-variation/high-volume production has been tweaked to gain optimal

efficiencies and quality. Unfortunately for many manufacturers in the United
States, manufacturing is now done in high-variation/low-volume environments.

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The market advantages of high-variation/ low-volume production are clear: better
tailoring to specific customer demand, improved responsiveness and lower inventory
requirements for finished goods. However, this production scheme has traditionally
yielded lower quality output because of variation. This is a fact of life for
modern manufacturers, but there is still a need for improved quality and lower
operational costs.

Despite changing needs from customers, manufacturers can make their processes so
robust that in fact, they seem like low-variation processes and thus yield the
optimization opportunities of high-volume production. By following these five
steps, processes can be made to give results of higher-volume runs.

1. Utilize Sequential Processing Where Possible

Optimize flow, despite product variation, through sequential processing of

operations within the facility. Where possible, use flexible processing equipment
to allow for management of takt time despite processing times of varying lengths in
some case.

2. Stay Simple with Routings

Reversing flow for parts or product in the manufacturing stream for secondary
operations, aside from waste of travel, also increases management requirement for
traceability. By maintaining simple part or product routings, traceability
challenges can be reduced.

3. Implement a Predictable Process

A predictable process (despite differences in processing times and difficulty)

allows plant management to have better predicted outcomes, thus reducing surprises.
If a process has decision points, then every part meeting the same criteria should
flow through the same process steps.

4. Create an Open Environment

An open environment allows everyone (management, supervisors and operators) to see

whats going on in the plant and to adjust as needed. This also yields increased
communication between employees. Flow of information within the plant is as
important, if not more important, than flow of product.

5. Maintain Flexibility

The design of the facility, work stations, equipment placement and staffing should
be flexible to accommodate changing needs and requirements within the facility.
The ability to reconfigure the work environment is absolutely critical as
processes, products and staffing levels change within the organization.

By following these five steps, a process will become very consistent, despite
changing product requirements. While a consistent process may be dull, it will
also yield superior results.

Jason Piatt is cofounder and president of Praestar Technology Corp. Prior to

founding Praestar Technology, Jason held various tactical and executive positions
in engineering, sales and marketing, and program management with a leading power
transmission component manufacturer. He has served as a member of the faculty at
Penn State University and has taught at Pennsylvania College of Technology in
electrical and mechanical engineering technology, mathematics, and physics. Jason
and the Praestar Consulting team have assisted numerous manufacturers in the areas
of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, sales and marketing management, and strategy
formation.

http://www.industryweek.com/Low-Volume