Articles

We've all encountered a "Duh" moment when we're working with time units.

Many time the problem is that we forget that there really aren't 100 seconds in a minute.

That would be the decimal trap.

For example, 4:17 as reflected on a time piece (a.k.a. stopwatch) does not equate to 4.17 minutes. If for some reason, decimals are preferred, like on the “bottom rung” of a value stream map’s lead time ladder, then 4:17 should be reflected as 4.3 minutes. Calculated as follows:

Cycle time often seems like a pretty simple concept.

Until one tries applying it in the real world.

Over the next few weeks and months, we'll explore, in detail, the math surrounding the various members of the cycle time family. Until then, the figure below may shed some light on the subject!

We’re all familiar with the Toyota Production System “house.” You know, the structure schematic with, among

Got asked what would happen to inventory when the number of stocking locations change.  I thought for a minute and remembered a quick estimate.  The Square Root Law states that total safety stock can be approximated by multiplying the total inventory by the square root of the number of future warehouse locations divided by the current number.

X2 = (X1) * √ (n2/n1)

n1 = number of existing facilities
n2 = number of future facilities
X1 = existing inventory
X2 = future inventory

Here are two examples:

Benjamin Franklin said that, "Time is money."

We would be hard pressed to disagree.

Time is also a non-spatial continuum that is measured by change. But, that's another story. One that Dr. Mike, Physics Ph.D, can cover someday.

In any event, much of lean is about time and space. It's where we live and where we add value...or not.

Available Time (T_a and T_ar)

Available time (T_a), sometimes referred to as available working time or net available working time, is a fundamental lean concept. It would not be unreasonable to think this math entry would be very simple. However, there are more than a few important nuances.

Actual Takt Time (T_at)

Actual takt time (T_at), as the name suggests, is different than takt time (T_t). In fact, T_at is really more of “planned” T_t, with the planning or management around its numerator, available time (T_a).

I was recently working in Indonesia at one of the largest pulp and paper mills in the world. One evening we were invited to the company's continuous improvement awards ceremony.

On a quarterly basis they recognize kaizen teams that have excelled.