What is a single piece flow? What are the top 5 advantages of one piece flow production?

According to the lean dictionary "Lean Lexicon" compiled by the Lean Research Institute of the United States, which is presided over by the lean master Womach, the definition of a single piece flow or continuous flow is: "one (or a small, fixed batch) workpiece is produced and moved at a time, so that the workpiece passes through a series of processing steps as continuously as possible, and each step is just completed when the next step is needed." Continuous flow can be achieved in a variety of ways, from mobile assembly lines to manually transferred production cells.

Continuous flow is also known as a flow, a single piece flow, and a complete one, one walk, and so on" [1]. By definition, there are several elements to a single-piece flow:

Produce and transfer one or one fixed small batch (e.g., one box) of parts at a time;

Continuous flow as much as possible.

The upper and lower processes are just rightly connected.

Starting from the definition of a single piece flow, there is a clearer understanding of the needs of a single piece flow:

1 The single-piece flow emphasizes the "flow" and the flow of individual pieces or small batches, rather than the transfer, intermittent and waiting of the whole batch. The single piece flow is the highest level that constitutes a lean value chain. In the various ways of lean organization, everything that is connected by a "supermarket" between processes is not a single piece flow.

2. The single-piece flow process is automatic (by the worker's autonomous) flow, without setting up the intermittent and manual control between processes, and the parts will automatically turn around after entering the unit until they are completed or flow out of the unit;

3 When realizing the flow of a single piece, the rapid retooling and quick transfer of different types of parts processed on the same equipment are the most basic conditions. However, the continuous flow and the right connection between the various processes are the more essential characteristics of the single piece flow.

4 There is no contradiction between single-piece flow and box-by-box or small-batch flow. In fact, in most companies that implement JIT production, the Kanban pull unit is a standard container (box). And according to the product characteristics of the enterprise - small size, relatively large quantity, it is not convenient to use the transfer of one piece.

5 Advantages of a single piece flow: Yes.

Simplify on-site planning and scheduling management, decentralize management decision-making, improve the response speed of exceptional events, give full play to the creativity of employees, timely find quality defects, prevent batches of nonconforming products, shorten production lead time, reduce inventory and in-process costs, and reduce the area occupied by the workplace.

The single-piece flow refers to a situation in which a product moves through the entire production process at the rate required by the customer, with only one production lot and only one transferred batch.

The elements of a single piece flow are as follows:

1.Produce and transfer one or one fixed small batch (e.g., one box) of parts at a time;

2.Continuous flow as much as possible.

3.The upper and lower processes are just rightly connected.

Continuous flow can be used from mobile.

Assembly line. to the manual transfer of production units and other ways to achieve. A continuous flow is also known as a flow

Single-piece flow. and finish one by one, go one by one, and so on" [1]. By definition, there are several elements to a single-piece flow:

1.Reduce the intermediate warehouse and let the inventory, the product is made and flowed in a single piece, and the inventory of the work in progress is reduced.

2.Reduce the space required for on-site placement of materials, and improve space utilization.

3.Reduce the intermediate handling action of materials, reduce the need for large handling equipment and the use of trolleys, and reduce handling waste.

4.Enhance the cooperation of the team model sales team.

If there is a problem, the team needs to solve the problem immediately and give full play to everyone's wisdom, otherwise the production cannot be carried out.

5.Shorten lead time, reduce batch production time in the middle of the mass production process, and improve customer response time.

01Establish quality and improve quality.

Using a one-piece process, it's easier for producers to establish quality. This is because each operator doubles as a quality inspector (inspector) and can solve the problems they have at their site before moving the project (encounter). If any defects (defects) are missed and the item goes to the next step, they will be quickly detected (inspected) and corrected (flipped) by the next operator.

02Achieve process flexibility.

When equipment is dedicated to (digging) a specific product line, there is less scheduling flexibility when it is used for other production purposes. However, if an item has a short production lead time (delivery time), then producers have more flexibility, allowing them to respond quickly and manufacture exactly what the customer wants. Instead of waiting weeks for a new order to be placed and waiting to get the product, it only takes a few hours to complete a new order.

Any change in the need to adapt (make adaptation) can be done almost instantly.

03Boost productivity Boost holidays.

In general, mass production operations make it difficult for producers to determine exactly how much manpower is needed to produce a specific number of units. This is because such a system does not measure productivity in the form of value-added (value-added) work.

When people and Pei over-produce (Yaoxiao feast production) items and then have to use them to transfer them to storage, there is no way to know how productive the organization really is. It is also difficult to track the time lost to find defective items and repair finished products.

The all-in-one process minimizes non-value-added (non-value-added) activities such as movement or materials and allows organizations to determine who is overworked and who is idle. Then, it becomes relatively easy to calculate (calculate) how much value-added work has been done and find out how many people are needed to achieve the desired productivity.

04Make spaceMake space.

When an organization separates (detachs) its equipment by department, the result is that there is a lot of space between each piece of equipment, as well as inventory (inventory) space that accumulates on the production floor. In unit manufacturing, one-piece production, all equipment is in close proximity to ensure an easy flow from one site to another, with little room to be queued up for idle inventory. By making greater use of floor space, organizations will not need to build more capacity as demand increases.

05Improve safety and improve the security situation.

One of the important, but often overlooked, (most natural flowing) advantages of one-piece is that it can improve workplace safety. This is because there is no need to move large quantities of material on the factory floor. Small batches mean that the factory can get rid of the main cause of accidents in the factory, forklifts (forklifts).

This also means that there are fewer containers (containers) of material to be moved, reducing the occurrence of lifting accidents. Focusing on mobility almost always leads to better workplace safety, even if it is not the primary (primary) goal.

Features of the single piece stream:

1. Reduce the resources required for handling and storage.

2. It reduces the possibility of product damage or failure.

3. Reasonable connection of upper and lower processes.

Advantages of a single piece flow in garment production: Yes (1).Simplify planning and scheduling management in the field, (2).

Decentralization of management decision-making, improve the speed of response to exceptional events, and give full play to the creativity of employees, (3).Timely detection of quality defects to prevent the emergence of batches of unqualified products, (4).Shorten the production lead time, (5).

Reduce inventory and in-process costs, and (6) reduce the area occupied by the workplace.

The application of single-piece flow production has enabled the entire garment, luggage industry and other enterprises to fully utilize the production capacity of the entire clothing and luggage industry. It is also of great help to the improvement of the macro interests of the entire production industry.

The Single Piece Flow (OPF) moves each product to the next stage as soon as the previous stage of the value stream is completed. There is no accumulation of moving material in larger batches. The basic idea of a single piece flow is:

Don't wait until you have a palletized box batch before transferring the parts to the next process, but transfer a small number of parts more often. Ideally, the shipping volume is 1. The benefit of a single-piece flow is also that it reduces fluctuations, which in turn reduces work-in-process inventory.

You won't get a big box and then nothing, but you'll get parts one by one, ideally in time when you need them.

This helps to reduce the transit time of materials through the value stream and shorten lead times. The system responds faster and the information flows faster. For example, if a system defect is found at a subsequent station, faster transit times mean less material that needs to be reworked or scrapped.

It's easy to confuse single-piece streams with bulk streams. Smaller batches do benefit manufacturing, however, in terms of single-piece flows, even larger batches can be achieved. Even larger batches of material can flow well, as long as you don't move them as batches, but as individual items.

In a single-piece stream, instead of large palletized box batches, you can move larger batches one by one through your value stream. Similarly, if you move a single item in a larger batch, you have a batch size of 1, but still no single piece flow.

As a result, batch streams and single-piece streams can exist independently of each other. On the other hand, it's often easier to do both, and it's beneficial for both parties. Smaller batches contribute to the single-piece flow, and the single-piece flow may be better suited for smaller batches.

But both are reasonable goals in their own right. Similarly, a single-piece flow does not refer to bulk quantities, but to shipping quantities.

1.Efficiency.

The single-piece flow avoids waiting times on the production line and makes the production process more efficient. Each product flows at the fastest possible speed, without delaying the entire production line due to the stagnation of the previous process.

2.Quality control.

Since each product in the single piece can be inspected and adjusted in time, the quality problems in the production process can be dealt with in time, reducing the number of non-conforming products.

3.Easy to monitor.

The single piece flow makes the production process visible and the status of each product can be clearly monitored. If a problem occurs, it can be quickly detected and solved in a timely manner, improving production efficiency.

4.Flexibility.

The single-piece flow can be quickly adjusted according to demand. When market demand changes, the production line can be flexibly adjusted, reducing inventory and waste, and improving resource efficiency.

5.Humanized.

The single-piece flow reduces the labor intensity of the workers, and each worker can focus on one process, reducing the possibility of fatigue and errors. At the same time, the single-piece flow also encourages employee participation and innovation, making work more meaningful and satisfying.