Lean vs. Discrete Processing: Converting a Kanban Item

Mirroring Production Flow Activity in a Discrete Operation

Question

You are a process engineer evaluating Lean vs.

Discrete processing.

You want to convert a Kanban item.

The item has the following Lean setup: -> The setup uses a Lean schedule group with a throughput ratio=2 -> The process activity tied to production flow has the following runtime activity times: time=3 min, per quantity=1 -> The work cell capacity has a model type of Throughput and an average throughput quantity of 60 per a capacity period of standard workday (8-hour day) -> The throughput is 10 per hour You need to set up a Discrete operation to mirror the item's production flow activity.

What should you do?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

B.

To convert a Kanban item with a Lean setup to a Discrete operation, we need to mirror the production flow activity of the item. The Lean setup has the following characteristics:

  • A Lean schedule group with a throughput ratio of 2
  • A process activity with a runtime of 3 minutes per quantity of 1
  • A work cell capacity model type of Throughput with an average throughput quantity of 60 per a capacity period of standard workday (8-hour day)
  • A throughput rate of 10 per hour

To create a Discrete operation that mirrors this production flow activity, we need to determine the runtime, process quantity, and operation's hours/time.

The runtime is the time it takes to complete one process activity. In the Lean setup, the runtime is 3 minutes per quantity of 1. Since the Discrete operation needs to mirror this, we need to convert the runtime to hours, as the throughput rate is given in units per hour. 3 minutes is 0.05 hours (3/60).

The process quantity is the number of items processed in one cycle of the operation. In the Lean setup, the process quantity is 1.

The operation's hours/time is the time it takes to complete one cycle of the operation. To determine the operation's hours/time, we can use the throughput rate and the process quantity. In the Lean setup, the throughput rate is 10 per hour and the process quantity is 1. Therefore, the operation's hours/time should be 0.1 hours (1/10).

Now, we can apply these values to the answer options:

A. Create a route with a runtime =1, a process quantity =6, and the operation's hours/time =1

  • The runtime of 1 is not consistent with the Lean setup, which has a runtime of 0.05 hours (3 minutes).
  • The process quantity of 6 is too high. The Lean setup has a process quantity of 1.
  • The operation's hours/time of 1 is too high. The calculated value is 0.1 hours.

B. Create a route with a runtime =1, a process quantity =10, and the operation's hours/time =1

  • The runtime of 1 is not consistent with the Lean setup, which has a runtime of 0.05 hours (3 minutes).
  • The process quantity of 10 is too high. The Lean setup has a process quantity of 1.
  • The operation's hours/time of 1 is too high. The calculated value is 0.1 hours.

C. Create a route with a runtime =6, a process quantity =1, and the operation's hours/time =1

  • The runtime of 6 is too high. The Lean setup has a runtime of 0.05 hours (3 minutes).
  • The process quantity of 1 is consistent with the Lean setup.
  • The operation's hours/time of 1 is too high. The calculated value is 0.1 hours.

D. Create a route with a runtime =10, a process quantity =6, and the operation's hours/time =1

  • The runtime of 10 is consistent with the calculated value of 0.05 hours (3 minutes).
  • The process quantity of 6 is not consistent with the Lean setup, which has a process quantity of 1.
  • The operation's hours/time of 1 is too high. The calculated value is 0.1 hours.

Therefore, none of the answer options are correct. To create a Discrete operation that mirrors the production flow activity of the Kanban item with the given Lean setup, we would need to create a route with a runtime of 0.05 hours (3 minutes), a process quantity