Lean Production Scheduling

Heijunka Heijunka, or Production Leveling, is a Lean tool used to smooth out production by distributing work evenly over time—regardless of fluctuations in customer demand. It's central to building a stable and predictable system that reduces waste and maximizes efficiency. What Is Heijunka? Heijunka is a Japanese term that means "leveling" or "smoothing." In Lean, it refers to: Evenly distributing production volume and variety over a set period. Preventing spikes (overburden or idle time) in manufacturing or service operations. Enabling just-in-time (JIT) production while avoiding the chaos of “batching” or “push” systems. Why Use Heijunka? Without Heijunka: Demand fluctuations cause overproduction, idle resources, and inventory build-up. Employees and machines face overburden (muri) and inconsistency (mura). Quality often suffers due to uneven workflows and constant firefighting. How It Works (Example): Let’s say a bakery gets 200 orders per week: 100 muffins, 50 croissants, 50 bagels. Instead of baking all muffins on Monday, croissants on Tuesday, etc., Heijunka would schedule a small, consistent batch each day, like: 20 muffins, 10 croissants, 10 bagels per day This creates a balanced workload, reduces peaks/valleys, and aligns supply closely with demand. Heijunka Box A visual scheduling tool used in Lean to implement Heijunka: Resembles a grid or board with time intervals (rows) and product types (columns). Cards or tokens represent production instructions. Ensures the team builds to a balanced, leveled schedule. Benefits of Heijunka: Reduces inventory and lead times Improves flexibility and responsiveness Lowers stress on people and machines Supports a stable pull system

🚀 Flow Manufacturing in Oracle Fusion Cloud SCM 25A! 🏭 New capabilities for manufacturers running high-volume, high-repetition production lines. Until recently, Oracle Fusion Manufacturing supported Discrete and Process manufacturing. With the 25A release, we've added Flow Manufacturing—purpose-built for lean, just-in-time operations that rely on continuous, steady-rate production lines. 🏭 Why Flow Manufacturing? ✅ Create a sequence of schedules to produce a mix of products at a steady line rate to meet demand ✅ Simplify production execution with material backflush upon completion at the end of the line ✅ Increase production efficiency and responsiveness in high volume, low variability environments It’s ideal for industries like automotive, electronics, and industrial equipment, where repetitive, rate-based production on dedicated lines is the norm. 💡 Key Capabilities in 25A: 🔧 Model Physical Production Lines Define a physical set of sequential equipment to make a product or similar products. 📋 Redwood UX for Work Definitions Create/update work definitions using intuitive Redwood interfaces to model flow line-specific operations, resources, and ATO/standard assemblies. 📆 Flow Schedules, Not Work Orders Manage production using flow schedules, driven by line rate and available hours. 📊 Execute and Monitor with Ease Sequence, execute, and complete production directly on flow lines with simplified execution tools and performance visibility. 🏭 Leverage Smart Operations Use the Operator Workbench to execute flow schedules, and monitor progress across production lines using Production Supervisor Workbench 🎥 Check out the demo on flow schedule execution: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ggCjmgqk #OracleCloudSCM #SmartManufacturing #Manufacturing #LeanManufacturing #RedwoodUX #DigitalFactory

Process Kanban: The Visual Backbone of Lean Production Continuing posts about "Establish Pull" and Heijunka, let's explore another key pillar of Lean manufacturing: #Kanban. Kanban, which means "signboard" in Japanese, is a system to manage and improve workflow. It limits the amount of work in progress (#WIP), helping teams complete tasks efficiently. The main idea is to control the number of tasks being worked on simultaneously, ensuring a balanced and manageable workflow. This prevents system overload and allows employees to focus on each task effectively. It's like juggling fewer balls at once so you can concentrate better on each one. WIP principle is being implemented using Kanban cards and boards. Each card represents a task and includes details like a description and who is assigned. These cards are placed on a Kanban board, which is divided into columns that show different stages of the process. By setting a limit on the number of cards allowed in each column, we avoid overloading the system. When the limit is reached, the team focuses on finishing current tasks before starting new ones. This approach helps prevent bottlenecks and keeps the workflow smooth. Kanban Boards could be implemented in various areas. Here are several common examples (board divided into columns): 1. Software Development board: (1) Idea -> (2) Design -> (3) Development -> (4) Testing -> (5) Deployment 2. Manufacturing board: Raw Material order -> (2) Work in Progress -> (3) Quality Control -> (4) Finished Good Formulation -> (5) Shipping 3. Social media campaign board: (1) Planning -> (2) Creation -> (3) Promotion -> (4) Analysis 4. Customer Support inquiry board: (1) Received -> (2) Assigned -> (3) In Progress -> (4) Resolved 5. HR recruitment board: (1) Sourcing -> (2) Interviewing -> (3) Offer -> (4) Onboarding Kanban system is also efficiently applied for inventory managing. I will write a follow-up post on that. Process Kanban and #Heijunka tools are interconnected pillars of #Lean production. Heijunka helps to react to actual demand and spread out the tasks evenly through the particular timeframe. Kanban, in turn, helps you to visualize and manage implementation of these tasks. By limiting the number of task that are made at the same time (WIP) Kanban helps to finish them better and faster. Both tools combined allow to ensure stable production flow. #leanproducton #ci #establishpull #wastereduction #operationalexcellence