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By: Peter Poletti

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Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

Flow manufacturing is a methodology used in manufacturing that pulls parts or components through the manufacturing process to where it finally reaches the finished product. Unlike discrete manufacturing which manufactures goods by batch production, flow manufacturing is usually based on single unit production. Essentially a mixed-model production method that operates on production lines that manufacture up to a specific quantity of a particular product each day. These lines also must have the ability to produce unlimited variations of that base product on any given day. Take, for instance, a production line dedicated to building manual car transmissions. A flow line for that product might have the capacity to build thirty transmissions per day. It also would be able to produce the appropriate mix of three-, four-, and five-speed transmissions needed to fill specific customer orders every day of the year. Flow lines achieve this precise level of mixed-model production because they are designed to ensure that each product is built within a specified amount of time. Once the total time it takes to build a product is determined, equal slices of that time are allocated for the performance of each operation along the line. This is called Takt time. In this way, each product moves through the production process at a steady rate from beginning to end without stopping. When executed properly, this single-unit manufacturing style enables products to move smoothly, precluding the need for excess inventory and preventing unnecessary queues and bottlenecks from forming on the shop floor. This syncopated movement of the product between workstations, also known as the drum beat, must be maintained so that the total time to build a product stays within the limits necessary for all products to be delivered on time.. Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features are an important module of the comprehensive ERP RFP Template for Discrete Manufacturing.

The ERP RFP template with Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features for ERP is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx) featuring a total of 3761 decision criteria. The ERP RFP template allows you to quickly and easily prepare the business, functional, and technical requirements sections of the solicitation package you'll send to ERP software vendors. It ensures for:

  • complete response from each ERP software vendor
  • deep and accurate evaluation of submitted ERP proposals
  • impartial side-by-side comparison of ERP solutions evaluated
  • rational and documented selection of the best matching ERP system

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The Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features comprise the following elements:

  • Users can assign routing workflows by product or part in different ways, such as flow and pull, subcontract, etc.

    The ability to assign a product's workflow by the product itself or by a component of the product and then prioritizing its pull based on demand (orders). Users can assign routing workflows by product or part in different ways, such as flow and pull, subcontract, etc., Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

  • Defines operating tasks

    Defines operating tasks, Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

  • Standard operations

    Standard operations are a set of procedures which are followed in order to conduct business. Standard operations, Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

  • Operation types that are outside process

    Operation types that are outside process, Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

  • Tracks no cost operations for costing purposes

    The system supports the set up of operation types that do not incur charges to the customer but still must be tracked for costing purposes. Tracks no cost operations for costing purposes, Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

  • Operation description fields can contain at least 500 lines of text

    The ability to have at least 500 lines of text describing a given operation Operation description fields can contain at least 500 lines of text, Flow Manufacturing Functions & Features

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Functions and Features