The Product Wheel Handbook Creating Balanced Flow in High-Mix Process Operations

Introduction
Why Product Wheels?
Process Industry Challenges
Product Wheel Basics

The Problem: Production Sequencing, Campaign Sizing, Production Leveling
Challenges Facing Operations Managers—Production Leveling Challenges Facing Operations Managers—Random Sequence or Regular Pattern?
Challenges Facing Operations Managers—Optimum Sequence
Challenges Facing Operations Managers—Optimum Cycle
The Insidious Nature of Changeovers

The Solution—Product Wheels
Product Wheels Defined
Product Wheel Terminology
Simultaneous Operating Modes
Product Wheel Characteristics
Process Improvement Time
Benefits of Product Wheels
Product Wheel Applicability

The Product Wheel Design and Implementation Process
Product Wheel Design
     Step 1: Begin with an up-to-date, reasonably accurate value stream map (VSM)
     Step 2: Decide where to use wheels to schedule production
     Step 3: Analyze product demand volume and variability—identify candidates for make to order
     Step 4: Determine the optimum sequence
     Step 5: Analyze the factors influencing overall wheel time
     Step 6: Determine overall wheel time and wheel frequency for each product
     Step 7: Distribute products across the wheel cycles—balance the wheel
     Step 8: Plot the wheel cycles
     Step 9: Calculate inventory requirements
     Step 10: Review with stakeholders
     Step 11: Determine who "owns" (allocates) the PIT time
     Step 12: Revise the scheduling process
Product Wheel Implementation
     Step 13: Develop an implementation plan
     Step 14: Develop a contingency plan
     Step 15: Get all inventories in balance
     Step 16: Put an auditing plan in place
     Step 17: Put a plan in place to rebalance the wheel periodically
Kaizen Events
Prerequisites for a Product Wheel

Step 1: Begin with an Up-to-Date, Reasonably Accurate VSM
An Example Process—Sheet Goods Manufacturing
A Value Stream Map
Material Flow—Process Boxes
Process Step Data Boxes
Material Flow Icons
Inventory Data Boxes
Information Flow
Summary

Step 2: Decide Where to Use Wheels to Schedule Production
Criteria for Product Wheel Selection
Analyze the VSM
Forming 1
Bonder 2
Bonder 1
Slitter 1
Summary

Step 3: Analyze Products for a Make-to-Order Strategy
Demand Volume
Demand Variability
Deciding on the Best Strategy for Each Product
Summary

Step 4: Determine the Optimum Sequence
Changeover Complexity
Optimizing the Forming 2 Sequence
Optimizing the Sequence in Complex Situations
Summary

Step 5: Analyze the Factors Influencing Overall Wheel Time
Time Available for Changeovers—The Shortest Wheel Possible
Finding the Most Economic Wheel Time
Leveling Out Short-Term Demand Variability
An Additional Word about Standard Deviation and CV
Making Practical Lot Sizes of Each Material
Protecting Shelf Life
Making to Stock Using a Trigger Point
Summary

Step 6: Put It All Together—Determine Overall Wheel Time and Wheel Frequency for Each Product
EOQ—The Most Economic Wheel Time
The Shortest Wheel Possible
Short-Term Demand Variability
Minimum Practical Lot Size
Shelf Life
Summary

Step 7: Arranging Products—Balancing the Wheel
Wheel Resonance
Achieving Better Balance
Wheels within Wheels
Summary

Step 8: Plotting the Wheel Cycles
Summary

Step 9: Calculate Inventory Requirements
Inventory Components
Total Inventory Requirements
Inventory Benefit of the Wheel
Seasonality
Customer Lead Time
Summary

Step 10: Review with Stakeholders
What to Review
Who to Include
Possible Concerns and Challenges
Summary

Step 11: Assign Responsibility for Allocating PIT Time
Appropriate Uses of PIT Time

Step 12: Revise the Scheduling Process
Wheel Concepts and the Production Scheduling System
Visual Management of the Current Wheel Schedule
Summary

Step 13: Develop an Implementation Plan

Step 14: Develop a Contingency Plan
Possible Wheel Breakers
Steps in Contingency Planning
Example of a Contingency Plan
Summary

Step 15: Get All Inventories in Balance
Summary

Step 16: Confirm Wheel Performance—Put an Auditing Process in Place

Step 17: Put a Plan in Place to Rebalance the Wheel Periodically

Prerequisites for Product Wheels
Foundational Elements
A Highly Motivated, Well-Trained Workforce
Standard Work
Visual Management
Total Productive Maintenance
A Value Stream Map
SMED
SKU Rationalization—Portfolio Management
Bottleneck Identification and Management
Cellular Manufacturing and Group Technology
Summary

Product Wheels and the Path to Pull
Product Wheels and Pull
Pull through the Entire Process
Summary

Unintended Consequences—Inappropriate Use of Metrics
Inappropriate Use of Metrics
Performance to Plan (PTP)
Summary

Cultural Transformation and Product Wheel Design—The Synergy
Summary

Case Studies and Examples
BG Products, Inc.—Automotive Fluids
The Appleton Journey
Dupont™ Fluoropolymers
Dow Chemical
Extruded Polymers
Waxes to Coat Cardboard
Sheet Goods for Hospital Gowns
Circuit Board Substrates
Fixed-Sequence Variable Volume
A Rose by Any Other Name
Summary
Bibliography

Appendix A: Cycle Stock Concepts and Calculations
Inventory Components Defined—Cycle Stock and Safety Stock
Calculating Cycle Stock—Fixed-Interval Replenishment Model
Summary

Appendix B: Safety Stock Concepts and Calculations
About Safety Stock
Variability in Demand
Variability in Wheel Time
Combined Variability
Using Safety Stock
Example—Forming Machine 2 Product Wheel

Appendix C: Total Productive Maintenance
The Need for Equipment Reliability and Operational Continuity
TPM
TPM Metric—Overall Equipment Effectiveness
Forming 2 OEE

Appendix D: The SMED Changeover Improvement Process
SMED Origins
SMED Concepts
Product Changeovers in the Process Industries
Summary

Appendix E: Bottleneck Identification, Improvement, and Management
Root Causes of Bottlenecks
Bottleneck Management—Theory of Constraints
Summary

Appendix F: Group Technology and Cellular Flow
Typical Process Plant Equipment Configurations
Cellular Manufacturing Applied to Process Lines
Summary

Index

Biography

Peter L. King Lean Dynamics LLC, Newark, Delaware, USA, Jennifer S. King

Peter L. and Jennifer S. King, authors of The Product Wheel Handbook, have provided excellent strategies for implementing product wheels and improving an existing product wheel process. ... Written in a clear, concise manner, this book is a how-to manual for product wheel design, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement. The authors integrate principles with concepts in a way that is practical and easy to understand. ... If you are tasked to implement product wheels or want to learn more about how they can lead to improvements, you will find The Product Wheel Handbook a valuable reference.
—Book review by Alan R. Leigh CSCP, CPIM, and Randy Woehl appearing in APICS, January 2014

Peter King continues to be a thought leader in the spread of advanced manufacturing practices throughout the process industries. His product wheel concepts and practices are an excellent resource for plants with multiple products sharing the operating assets.
—Ray Floyd, Shingo Prize-winning author of Liquid Lean and member of IndustryWeek's Manufacturing Hall of Fame

The authors have a gift for writing well, in a way that will keep the reader connected throughout this excellent work. It flows through the methodology in a well structured and logical way and could only be written by someone who has lived through product wheel implementation many times ... definitely a must-read for any Lean practitioner.
—Henrique Fagundes, Senior Project Manager, DuPont

The product wheel is a true landmark in the management and organization of the workplace. All manufacturing operations searching for a way to organize and level the factory should have this book.
—Cash Powell, Jr., Editorial Board, Target Magazine; Association for Manufacturing Excellence; Lead Consultant, Center for Competitive Change, University of Dayton

A clearly written guide to designing and improving product wheels ... . Pete and Jennifer King take you through a logical step-by-step process without ever resorting to simplistic recipes. This book will be valuable to businesses where both pull and push systems apply. Highly recommended!
—Peter C. Compo, Director of Integrated Business Management, DuPont

The Dow Chemical Company has used The Product Wheel Handbook for good communication and collaboration between functions. We highly recommend this book as it is a logical layout with step by step implementation instructions. ... Not only did our processes become more efficient but our teams were able to understand a new process that they can apply in different applications in the work process. We recommend this book to any company looking to apply lean concepts specifically in the process industry and also for leaders who are looking for applications to help explain such processes to their employees.
—Martin Fernandes, Supply Chain Innovation Director, Dow Chemical
—Shannon Hemmelgarn, Supply Chain Business Planner, Dow Chemical

The views expressed in this review are of the authors alone and do not represent the views of The Dow Chemical Company