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Flow Manufacturing Set Up

   To setup Flow Manufacturing:

1. Create setup data. This includes the following:

• Define items, including both products and parts. Select Products and Parts from the Flow Manufacturing window. Defining Items.

• Optionally, define product family items and all of its member items. Select Product Family from the Flow Manufacturing window. See: Defining Items and Defining Product Family Items.

• Optionally, create a product family by assigning members to a product family. Select Product Family Members from the Flow Manufacturing menu. See: Defining Items and Assigning Product Family Members.

• Define bills of material. See: Creating a Bill of Material.

• Define production lines for items and product families. See: Defining Production Lines.

• Define flow manufacturing standard processes. See: Defining standard processes and Defining standard events.

• Optionally, define flow manufacturing standard events. See: Defining standard events.

• Define resources. See: Defining a Resource.

Product Synchronization (Sync)

   To create product sync for standard items:

1. Navigate to the Flow Routing window. Do this by selecting Flow Routing from the Flow Manufacturing window.

2. Optionally, create a flow routing for an item. Assign the processes and events that you have defined.

Note: Processes should either be copied or referenced from the standard processes while events can be flow routing specific and do not have to be copied or referenced.

3. Assign resources to events. You can assign resources to standard events and non-standard events.

4. Create a forecast, master demand schedule, and / or master production schedule with demands for the items.

   To create product sync for product family items:

1. Navigate to the Flow Routing window. Do this by selecting Flow Routing from the Flow Manufacturing window.

2. Optionally, create a flow routing for the product family item. Assign the processes and events that you have defined.

Note: Processes should either be copied or referenced from the standard processes while events can be flow routing specific and do not have to be copied or referenced.

3. Create a flow routing for the members of the product family.

Attention: To reduce data entry, you can copy the product family flow routing to the product level flow routings. You can then modify as needed. Processes and line operations that are copied from the family to the member will retain any references to the corresponding process or line operation.

4. Assign resources to the events.

5. Create a forecast, master demand schedule, and / or master production schedule with demands for the members of the product family.

Flow Manufacturing Line Balance

   To balance a flow manufacturing line:

1. Generate a mixed model map for a line, product family, or forecast. You can also assign a boost percentage, number of days and number of hours per day for the line. The mixed model map will reveal the line TAKT time, process TAKT times, weighted average times, and so on. See: Entering Mixed Model Map Parameters.

2. Create a line operation for the current line. You can do this by selecting the Special menu in the Mixed Model Map window. The line identification will default to the standard operations window and the operation type will be set to line operation.

3. Assign line operations to the product level routings. You can do this by selecting Routing from the Special menu.

Attention: You can copy or reference all of the line operations for the current line into the routing to reduce data entry effort.

4. Regroup events at the product level routing into line operations to approximate TAKT time. You can do this by assigning the line operation in the Parent Line Op field of the event.

5. Regenerate the mixed model map by line operation to review and make sure that the line is balanced. The mixed model map will also show the resource (machine / labor) and IPK requirements. See: Generating a Mixed Model Map.

6. Select Save as Baseline from the Special menu to save this mixed model map. This map can be used to compare resource and IPK requirements against future runs of the of the same line. See: Saving a Baseline.