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"Howieson, Rick" <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 27 Jan 2000 18:42:52 -0700
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"TechNet E-Mail Forum." <[log in to unmask]>, "Howieson, Rick" <[log in to unmask]>
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Hans,
Flight of The Buffalo. Excellent book. So is his other, Soaring With
Phoenix.
Rick

>-----Original Message-----
>From:  Hinners Hans Civ WRALC/LYPME [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent:  Thursday, January 27, 2000 4:21 PM
>To:    [log in to unmask]
>Subject:       Re: [TN] Theory of Constraints
>
>        Hi Ryan and All,
>
>>         Theory of Constraints is now one of the courses most industrial
>> engineering programs and even some manufacturing engineering programs
>> require.  As I have been told, it is an idea that Henry Ford started,
>> later
>> refined by Edward Demming, and perfected by Toyota.
>>
>        They are certainly in the same vein but I wouldn't say Deming, Ford
>or Ohno did TOC.  My understanding on this subject is that Deming focused on
>quality of the process not the product (the old QC vs. QA).  He did this
>with Shewhart's providing the statistical know how.
>
>        Ford created the assembly line with a physical buffer between
>operations where everything is linear (moving at the same speed).  Ohno did
>a similar thing with his Kanban cards.  Goldratt added buffers to give us
>synchronized manufacturing.  Buffers protect the flow of product moving
>through the shop and make sure you hit your deadlines or even better beat
>them.  :-)
>
>>         The theory can get quite in-depth, but in a nutshell, it is the
>> idea
>> of determining your slowest step or process on the manufacturing line;
>> otherwise known as the constraint.  Since nothing can move through the
>> constraint any faster than the constraint, it makes no sense to produce
>> things at the other steps faster than the constraint.  If you want to
>> manufacture things faster than the constraint allows, then speed up the
>> constraint.
>>
>>         Many people really have a BIG problem with slowing down other
>> processes to match the speed of the constraint.  (It's at this point that
>> I
>> start to argue with people).  No matter how fast things are built at other
>> points in the process, once it gets to the constraint, the speed by which
>> it
>> is processed is fixed.  No matter what!!!!.  Building things faster at
>> other
>> points in the process will never make it go through the constraint any
>> faster.  Since by definition, it must go through the constraint.
>>
>>         However, finding the constraint is the hard part.  Most people try
>> to do it with a stop watch.  I don't feel that a stop watch works at all;
>> mostly because I have never seen a static manufacturing line.  Typically,
>> manufacturing lines are dynamic, causing a constraint to move from one
>> hour
>> to the next.  Statistically, a constraint will occur is one process more
>> often than any other place.  It is because manufacturing lines are dynamic
>> that a constraint is not obvious, consequently, people don't see the value
>> in slowing down a process for some "phantom" constraint.
>>
>        I haven't had much trouble finding our constraints.  (I only needed
>statistics to prove the constraints exists to others.)  Just walk around the
>shop floor and watch for excess inventory.  The real work is in maximizing
>the constant/s once you find it/them.
>
>        Now I'm curious - how many folks are using/heard of Leading the
>Journey (The Buffalo Book)?
>
>        Hans
>
>~~~~~~~~
>Hans M. Hinners
>Materials (& Process!) Engineer
>Warner Robins - Air Logistics Center/Avionics Production Division
>Manufacturing Branch (LYPME)
>380 Second Street, Suite 104    (Building 640)
>Robins AFB, GA  31098-1638
>912-926-1970 (Voice) 468 - 1970 (DSN)  912-926-7164 (Fax)
>[log in to unmask]
>
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