Creating Mixed Model Value Streams: Practical Lean Techniques for Building to Demand

Following in the footsteps of its bestselling predecessor, Kevin J. Duggan, an executive mentor and recognized authority on Lean and Operational Excellence, draws on more than 10 years of experience and learning to provide Creating Mixed Model Value Streams, Second Edition. This second edition takes a step-by-step approach to implementing Lean in complex environments and describes which Lean techniques to use when faced with difficult situations—including high product mix, scheduling problems, shared resources, and unstable customer demand. In addition to a new section on handling shared resources to support mixed model production, the second edition:

• Contains updates to sections on mixed model value streams
• Introduces new information on constructing product family matrices
• Expands on the concept of takt in mixed models
• Provides additional insights on existing mixed model concepts, such as determining product family, takt capability, and heijunka (load level scheduling)
• Presents new concepts on sequencing work, such as offset scheduling and sequenced first-in, first-out (FIFO) lanes

Illustrated with a case study based on actual experience as well as downloadable resources with helpful tools, the book walks readers through the reasoning the author has used with great success in practice. It delves beyond the basics of value stream mapping to explain how to create future states in a manufacturing environment characterized by multiple products, varying cycle times, and changing demand. Demonstrating advanced techniques for creating flow through shared resources, it also considers the concept of a guaranteed turnaround time for the shared resource.

The Downloadable Resources Include:

• Spreadsheet and tutorial for sorting products into families
• Spreadsheets for calculating equipment required and for determining the interval for Every Part Every Interval (EPEI)
• Samples of visual method sheets for standard work
• Case study value stream maps and mapping icons

Kevin J. Duggan is a renowned expert with more than 30 years of experience in applying advanced Lean techniques to achieve Operational Excellence. He is the author of three books on the subject: Design for Operational Excellence: A Breakthrough Strategy for Business Growth (McGraw-Hill, 2011), Creating Mixed Model Value Streams: Practical Lean Techniques for Building Demand (Productivity Press, 2002), and The Office That Grows Your Business—Achieving Operational Excellence in Your Business Processes (The Institute for Operational Excellence, 2009).

In 1998, he founded Duggan Associates, an international training and advisory firm, to assist companies applying advanced lean techniques into their operations. In 1999, Duggan began working with the Lean Enterprise Institute as a faculty member and also as a Director for the Lean Enterprise Institute Canada while he continued to mentor companies implementing lean. He has developed several advanced workshops such as Creating Mixed Model Value Streams, Creating Flow Through Shared Resources, Creating Flow Through The Supply Chain, Creating Business Process Value Streams, and Lean Product Development that have been adopted by major corporations as part of their production systems. In 2007, he founded the Institute for Operational Excellence, the leading educational center on Operational Excellence, to provide resources including classroom workshops, online training, how-to articles, and books on how to achieve Operational Excellence to a global community of members.

Duggan has assisted many major corporations worldwide over the past 12 years, including United Technologies Corporation, Caterpillar, Pratt & Whitney, Singapore Airlines, IDEX Corporation, GKN, FMC Corporation, and Parker Hannifin.

A recognized authority on Operational Excellence, Duggan has contributed to publications such as Industry Week, Aviation Week, and American Executive, and has appeared on CNN and the Fox Business Network. Duggan is a frequent keynote speaker, master of ceremonies, and panelist at international conferences such as the Australian Operational Excellence National Forum, the European and American Manufacturing Strategies Summit, European Process Excellence in Manufacturing, and Aviation Week’s Management Forum. He also guest lectures graduate students in business at colleges throughout the United States, including the University of Michigan and Ohio State.