The Product Wheel Handbook : Creating Heijunka in High-Mix Process Operations (2ND)

Product Wheel is a scheduling strategy that has practical, well-proven methods for enabling operations managers to find the optimum balance between inventory, operating cost, and customer service, particularly useful in high-mix process operations. They do so in a way that increases throughput to either increase revenue or reduce operating cost while providing a structured, repeatable manufacturing platform that reduces plant floor chaos. DuPont, Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical, and Litehouse Foods 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 Heijunka in High-Mix Process Operations, 2nd Edition walks readers through the process for designing, implementing, and maintaining the product wheel technique. It describes each step in detail based on a case study taken from actual practice. This book: Provides clear, practical guidance on how to balance the trade-offs encountered in implementing any scheduling strategy Describes how product wheels satisfy the lean goal of production levelling, Heijunka, in a much more comprehensive way Defines the cultural foundation necessary for smooth product wheel design and implementation Describes how product wheel design places appropriate emphasis on people engagement and empowerment as well as on process and technology Many of the steps in wheel design described in this book are not new. What is new is a proven road map explaining how to apply them in an integrated, holistic manner, starting with a thorough understanding of material flow and equipment performance coupled with product characteristics and requirements. The result is a disciplined scheduling structure that will allow you to spend less of your time firefighting and more time in higher valued, more productive work. More importantly it provides your organization with a stable platform to deal with abnormal