Before adding capacity, understand your production flow
A practical starting point for identifying delays, work-in-progress and constraints before committing to more equipment.
Start with the actual flow
Follow one product family from incoming material to dispatch. Record processing steps, waiting points and the information that releases work. A shared view of today’s flow helps teams discuss the same problem rather than optimize separate departments.
Build a baseline
Choose a representative observation period. Compare cycle times, queue sizes, changeover time and good output against customer demand. Note differences between shifts and product variants; an average can hide a recurring constraint.
Choose a focused improvement
Use the observations to select a manageable change, such as material presentation or changeover preparation. Define the owner and the measure before trialling it. Review the effect on the whole flow, including quality and downstream queues, before extending it.
Further reading: Lean Enterprise Institute: Fundamentals of Value-Stream Mapping
Discuss your production flow →