How to Achieve On-Time Deliveries
How often does it happen that parts are not delivered on time? Sometimes just once is more than enough to lose a customer. Here are four practical things you can do to deliver on timeGlobal supply chain interruptions and labor shortages have made on-time delivery a top priority for producers and customers alike. How often does it happen that parts are not delivered on time? Sometimes just once is more than enough to lose a customer. Here are four practical things you can do to deliver on time in a High Mix Low Volume (HMLV) production environment.
The most important step for manufacturers in meeting delivery deadlines is establishing workable deadlines in the first place. When a shop sets a job delivery date for a customer, the promise must be based in reality. Wishful thinking does not rewrite the calendar or erase customer dissatisfaction when deadlines are missed. Measure your lead time and make sure your quote reflects what you can achieve.
According to modern production models for HMLV production, a shop should plan to not routinely utilize 100 percent of its production capacity. A good start is aiming to use 80 percent of capacity, in terms of time available, and keeping the other 20 percent as a buffer for unexpected issues. Typical issues could include missing dimensions on part specifications, an unanticipated shortage of a workpiece material, or worker absences or interruptions due to reworking parts or urgent jobs that might occur. The remaining buffer of machining capacity can help absorb those delays and keep job deliveries on schedule.
Of course, the 80/20 capacity utilization plan is simply a starting point and should be adjusted depending on the shop’s product mix and process variability. Machine tools are expensive, prompting the urge to continually use 100 percent of their capacity. But shops should recognize that running at 100 percent capacity is dangerous because it courts widespread failure when schedule interruptions occur.
Consistently achieving on-time delivery requires a shop to follow certain rules. The delivery schedule should be based on the time required to complete the job. At its most simple, the first job in should be the first job out. “Cherry picking,” or rearranging the order of jobs, disrupts the schedule and will eventually result in a negative cascade effect on other orders. Changing the job order for operational convenience, such as combining setups, may speed up one portion of the production flow and seem to be beneficial. However, the change will also move the starting time for the jobs that follow and magnify the effects of any unforeseen disturbances in the overall manufacturing process. That’s why keeping the structure and communicating it is the most important.
When the production schedule goes off course, collateral effects compound the problem. After a customer whose job is delayed calls and complains, a shop may engage in “acoustic planning” – attempting to solve the problem by changing its schedule and “prioritizing” the late job to stop the customer’s vocalized complaints. In that case, the customer, not shop management, is dictating – and disrupting – the shop schedule. Similarly, a company’s own sales representatives may pressure production staff to rush a job for “an important customer” and thereby wreck orderly production flow and delivery schedules.
Every shop does occasionally have to deal with truly unexpected jobs. For example, scrapped parts must be redone and delivered as quickly as possible, or a customer may need parts without which their production line will shut down. In the case of special requests from sales personnel, a shop can allow salespeople a specific number of priority jobs per month. Such jobs should be officially categorized as priority projects and closely tracked.
The key to on-time delivery is retaining control of the production schedule as much as possible and relying on the shop’s buffer capacity of manufacturing time to handle disruptions and minimize delivery delays: So if you stick to your schedule, avoid cherry picking and leave room for unexpected or urgent tasks, you’re on a good track.
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