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Top Theory of Constraints expert explains job shop scheduling / machine shop scheduling.

Job Shop Scheduling: Reduce Chaos, Reduce Lead-times, and Increase Your Due Date Performance -- Without the Expense of a Consultant Camped in Your Conference Room!

From:  Dr Lisa Lang
Date:  July 19, 2010

Dear Job Shop Owner,

We are getting ready to start our 10th Velocity Scheduling System Coaching Program (starts Monday August 16, 2010). Nine groups of machine shops and jobs shops have already seen big results and Westinghouse has asked us to provide this training to some of their suppliers! In addition we've had 3 multi-BILLION dollar conglomerates have one of their shops participate.

In 2009 thirty (30) custom job shops significantly improved their operations and we are on track to add 60 more in 2010. Over 2000 people downloaded our "9 Challenges to Scheduling Your Machine Shop and Why Your Schedule is Dead on Arrival" special report. Now, it's YOUR turn!

Wouldn't it be great to improve your due date performance to 100%, reduce the chaos and add $900,000 to your bottom line in less than 3 months like Ricky discusses in this video?

See note (1) below for typical results.

But let's face it, job shop scheduling is challenging!

For example:

1. Clients change their mind -- so we break setups and change the schedule
2. Vendors are not always reliable -- so we break setups and change the schedule
3. Our mix can vary wildly and so our constraint moves -- so we miss due dates, and update the schedule
4. Our employees do not always have the right skill and their discipline is lacking -- so we miss due dates, and update the schedule
5. Our processes are not reliable -- so we miss due dates, and update the schedule
6. Our machines break down -- so we miss due dates, and update the schedule
7. Our quality is not perfect -- so we miss due dates, and update the schedule
8. Our data is not readily available nor accurate nor communicated -- so our time and attention is needed and we continuously update the schedule
9. Communication between silos is difficult -- so we make the situation worse

In an attempt to improve our performance we try to schedule our shop.  But because of the above items, the schedule is usually dead on arrival.  So we spend a lot of time updating the schedule and communicating to everyone the priorities.   

And because of all the extra effort you go to -- you do pretty well -- you're still in business and you are competitive.   

Yet your profits could be much higher ... and easier to get!

But, I'm like you, I wanted more (Brad and I still own a printing company).  I wanted less chaos (less fire firefighting, less of my personal attention) -- and at the same time I wanted my due date performance to increase and my process times to decrease so that I could get more business and increase my profits.   And I want more business and more profits without having to increase the babysitting I'm doing. 

And traditional solutions:

• either just deal with symptoms ("What you need is to update your ERP!")
• or are not appropriate for this type of complex environment ("Your constraint moves?")
• or are expensive ("Well you need to buy this or hire that.")
• and/or require on-site consulting help and the expense that goes with that; and consultants rarely guarantee the results.

In fact, before we developed the on-line coaching program for the Velocity Scheduling System, we would charge $75,000 plus travel for a typical size machine shop to implement our job shop scheduling system.  Now $75,000 was worth every penny because the results justified the price and we did offer a guarantee (and we are still happy to offer this :-), just email us). 

But the people who most need our help can't afford this.  So we spent 2 years testing an off-site coaching program.  And we found that it was just as effective (which was a little surprising).  And we measured our effectiveness by improvement in due date performance, reduction in lead-time through the shop, and general chaos (is there less?). 

Clients' DDP (Due Date Performance) go to 100% in less than 2 months!

Our very first coaching client had huge improvements in only one month.  Their DDP went from 39% to 100% and the time through the shop went from 19 days to 6 days.  This freed up capacity that that they then focused on selling with a Mafia Offer (more on those later).  And this was totally achieved through over the phone support.  We didn't even use on-line visual tools then.

But machine shops and job shops should be careful of off the shelf TOC!

Why did they struggle?

• "Off the shelf TOC" needs to be customized for highly complex shops where 1) the mix is changing and therefore the constraint is moving all the time;  and 2) where the DDP is low to start.
• Also in traditional TOC there are not guidelines or recommendations about a visual scheduling system, so communication still requires some effort.  (And we also found that with a good, easy visual scheduling system -- you get the results faster and they stick better.)
• Similarly there is no visual component to the planning side of releasing jobs so again, lots of communication and/or babysitting is required to stay on top of everything.  
•  And our experience suggests that the release mechanism for shops can and should be customized.  One size does not fit all.  In "off the shelf TOC", there is really one suggested release mechanism. 

So, "off the shelf TOC" is certainly better than traditional solutions, but it requires lots of on-site support and experience if you want to get results.  Meaning, that traditionally you HAD to hire a consultant to get the results.  And they HAD to be on site to guide you.

There's a much better way -- The Velocity Scheduling System!

The Velocity Scheduling System was built based on our years of working with machine shops and learning what it really takes to substantially improve due date performance, reduce lead-times, and reduce chaos in highly complex machine shops.  We have learned:  

• the order to implement is very important. What to do first, then second and so on.
• that the first steps we take need to provide BIG results to get the buy-in and support to continue.
• that the scheduling and priority of the shop needs to be visual.
• and that a visual scheduling system created faster buy-in and help the changes to stick.
• that the visual scheduling system facilitates eveyone’s involvement and the desperately needed communication throughout the shop.
• how to create an effective scheduling system that does not require massive computing and manpower to run.
• how to accommodate a complex environment where the constraint moves frequently.
• how to implement the Theory of Constraints process of on-going improvement so that we continuously improve.
• and, how to coach managers and supervisors to get it done.

 And that's exactly what the Velocity Scheduling System does!

BONUS:   Immediate on-line access to Achieving a Viable Vision video and handout ($priceless).

BONUS:   You will also get the Excel file for Detailed Planning already pre-programmed for you! We have already paid the programmer so you get this included!

BONUS:   And you get the Velocity Dashboard spreadsheet to make sure you stay on track!

And each participant gets a "Certificate of Completion" just like this:

Butch’s Video

See note (1) below for typical results.

FAQs

FAQ: Can I afford this? 
A price this reasonable is typically only an issue if you don't get the results. 

As you implement our scheduling system you will see your manufacturing lead-time reduce, your due date performance increase, and your work in process decrease (which improves cash flow). 

The effect of these improvements is that you have uncovered capacity. You can now do more with what you have.  So to have a bottom-line effect you can:

1. Sell this additional capacity.  By doing that the throughput  (Sales - RM & Outside Services) of the additional business goes directly to your bottom-line.
2. Or, cut operating expenses (like overtime) without jeopardizing your ability to meet customer commitments.  This reduction in fixed costs goes directly to your bottom-line.  With our scheduling system, it will be clear where you can cut and have a minimal impact on your operations. 

Which of these actions or combination of these actions you take depends on your ability to add sales and your expectation of how you will be impacted by the downturn in the economy.  But whatever your situation, implementing our system will allow you to do more with less and to have a bottom-line impact. 

Typically our clients pay $75,000.00 plus travel for this kind of consulting help and the ROI is fantastic.  However, because we have created a system that does NOT require on site help, you're only going to pay a fraction of that.

FAQ: What if it doesn't work for me?
You get your money back.

We've worked with a large number of different types of machine shops.  So far it has worked for all of them.  The key is for you to maintain involvement and support your team as they implement. 

The degree of YOUR success is most dependent on your teams commitment to do what it takes.  Part of our program includes guidance on the management and supervisory issues that come up and how to deal with them for an effective implementation.   

But if you follow the program and it doesn't work for you, or your team just was not up for it, then invoke our guarantee.

OUR 100% GUARANTEE:  If you participate in all the sessions (and take at least the first step) and you don't get at least $5997 in value, you can receive a full 100% refund.

Typically our clients get value in one of 3 ways or all of these ways:

• improved cash flow from the reduced WIP and/or faster cycle times
• reduced operating expenses with as good or better DDP performance
• increased sales without increased operating expenses

So that you can plan your calendar, here are the dates and time for all the sessions:

Plan 1 hour for these sessions (plus you will need to watch a 1 hour video prior to each of these coaching sessions):
Monday Aug 16 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 1
Monday Aug 23 at 11:00 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 2
Monday Aug 30 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 3
Tuesday Sept 7 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 4
Monday Sept 13 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 5
Monday Sept 27 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 6
Monday Oct 4 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 7
Monday Oct 11 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 8
Monday Oct 18 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 9
Monday Oct 25 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Coaching Session 10

Plan 1 hour for these sessions:
Monday Nov 1 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Month 1 Follow up Coaching/Q&A
Monday Nov 8 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Month 1 Follow up Coaching/Q&A
Monday Nov 15 at 9:30 am Mountain Time -- Month 2 Follow up Coaching/Q&A
Monday Nov 22 at 9:30 am am Mountain Time -- Month 2 Follow up Coaching/Q&A

9:30 am Mountain Time is 8:30 am Pacific Time, 10:30 am Central Time and 11:30 am Eastern Time.

All the sessions will be recorded so that you can go back and review any sessions again or make up for any missed sessions.

FAQ: Will my competitors be participating in this program?
No.

My experience with this industry is that most shops have a niche.  And while there is some overlap, there are few direct competitors.

In addition, our on-line webinar and teleconferencing technology will allow you to pick a pseudonym for your participation.  That name is just used to call on you if you raise your hand to ask a question.  Or if you don't want to ask a question because you have an easy to identify voice, you can ask your question by email or on the live chat and I will respond to your pseudonym.

That being said though, you can prevent a competitor from participating.  When you sign up you will be asked for the name of your biggest competitor and that competitor will be blocked from joining.  This will be done on a first come first served basis, so your competitor could block YOU from participating.

FAQ: Is this program for me?
This program is not for everyone.  You have to be willing to do the work and lead your team.  If you were brave enough to take the first action that I proposed -- reducing your WIP to one half -- you took action, you got results and you are a perfect candidate.

If you did not take the first step, why not?  If you did not take action and you don't think you can or will ever take it don't sign up.  That first step will still be the same first step once we start. 

If you didn't take it because you wanted the guidance and support before you took it, then you may be a good candidate if you will take action.  

See note (1) below for typical results.

FAQ: When can I sign up? 
We will be taking new clients for our Velocity Scheduling System (VSS) Coaching Program anytime this site is available for registration. When registration is closed you will have the opportunity to get on a waiting list.

After that you will need to sign up for our on-site $75,000 version or wait to see if we offer this coaching version again.   

FAQ: Why such a short sign up time? 

So we can get started already!  And I want participates who are decisive and ready to go.

FAQ: Why is this program important NOW when sales are down?
I would say that now is THE critical time.  Implementing the system is particularly important in this economy for 2 main reasons.

1) with the system it will become clear where you can cut people and have the least effect on productivity, lead-times, and due date performance; and

2) If you have a market constraint then it is paramount that you improve your due date performance and reduce your lead-times so that you can capture more market share.  This will be particularly effective as your competitors cut people, and get worse on due date performance and lead-times. 

And if you haven't experienced any of the negative effects yet, GREAT, but it may be coming.  The NTMA Winter Business/Customer Forecast for 2009 for the special tooling and machining sectors tracked by NTMA are as follows:
·         Tools & Dies   -15%
·         Molds   -12%
·         Special Machines   -17%
·         Precision Machining   -15%
·         Aerospace Machining & Fabrication   -10%

Blaming the economy is easy.  Taking charge and improving your operations so that you can reduce operating expenses while simultaneously reducing lead-times and improving due date performance takes work.  But if you're willing to do it the payoff is big -- you can take market share and be in a good position to acquire competitors because YOU will be in a better cash position. 

Our clients' sales and profits have either flattened (worse case) or are still increasing RIGHT NOW.  We have also helped them prepare a letter to enquire about purchasing their competitors.  They are not only ready for the downturn, but they are positioned to really fly when things turn. 

I hope you will join our family of machine shops who are thriving!

See note (1) below for typical results.

Graph Explanation

Click here to hear an explanation of this graph!
See note (1) below for typical results.

FAQ: Will VSS work with my ERP (Job Boss, Visual, Global, etc)?
Yes, VSS works with all ERP packages. We have had clients that have used Job Boss, Visual Manufacturing, Global, no ERP and everything in between. We have also had participants that were doing very detailed job shop scheduling or very little scheduling when they started.

The Velocity Scheduling System is made up of a visual scheduling board, a visual planning board, detailed planning and POOGI (process of on-going improvement). The interface between VSS and your ERP will occur at Detailed Planning. You may use your existing ERP for Detailed Planning or my may chose to use the Excel file we provide, or some combination.

FAQ: I like what you’ve presented, but I’m not sure my guys will buy-in. We’ve been doing things our way for a really long-time. Will it work for us?
Do YOU want to improve? Are YOU motivated to be the strong encouragement to your team?

If yes, then I will take care of explaining what we are going to do, why we are going to do it, what to expect as your implementing, and I will provide some accountability and even a little motivation. You just keep you team honestly trying what I’ve asked — and you can join our list of success stories!

The cool thing about this program is that it’s a COACHING program. Not just training that leaves you to figure things out. Ask questions, challenge your thinking, be willing to try and you won’t have any regrets.

If you’re willing to try what I suggest, then you should go for it! If you are not willing to try, then please don’t sign up.

At most I need one person on your team to be the voice that says “let’s try it, if it doen’t work we can always go back to doing it the old way.”

Look — if you try what I’m suggesting and it doesn’t work for you, you can get a refund of the Velocity Scheduling System Coaching Program. So are YOU willing to try?

FAQ: We have a very complex shop. We do on-site work, repairs, maintenance, and new work. How can I be sure VSS will work with that amount of complexity?
Almost everyone who starts thinks that THEIR job shop is too complex and it won’t work for them. But at the same time, they’ve tried everything else and on the crazy chance that the Velocity Scheduling System can help, they decide to try it.

First let me give you some idea of the types shops that are DOING the Velocity Scheduling System.

• shops that do all repair work
• shops that do 80% repeat work
• shops that do all prototypes or all one offs
• shops that actually do make parts of space ships!
• shops that do repair
• shops that work only in-house
• shops that work off site (on customer sites) and in-house
• shops that do shutdown work and maintenance
• shops that just machine and fab new custom complex stuff
• shops that do some repeat work, do repair, do maintenance, and do completely new stuff
• shops that do a lot of outside processing (plating, heat treat, coatings, sand blasting, etc)
• shops that do no outside processing (and some that do it in house)
• shops that have 15 employees and shops that have 300 employees and lots in between

But what all of them have in common? They are complex and they have to deal with many of the 9 Challenges. And, because the Velocity Scheduling System is a COACHING program, we walk you through how to customize it for your situation.

Don't just take my word for it. Here's Vint Massimini owner of Gulf Engineering. They do some repeat work, do repair (off site and on site), do maintenance, do completely new stuff, and provide resources for shut downs.

Implementing the Theory of Constraints drum buffer rope on your own, in a highly complex enviroment, is tough to do. However, with experienced guides, the results are -- frankly -- unbelievable.

This is a COACHING program. Not just training that leaves you to figure things out. Ask questions, challenge your thinking, be willing to try and you won’t have any regrets.

Payment

You can pay $5997  now or you can spread your payment over 4 months.  You pay $1625 now and $1625 on the same day in February, March, and April ($6500 total).  So you can order now, secure YOUR spot, and BLOCK a competitor for only $1625. 

How can we do this so inexpensively?  There's no glitz.  We did not spend a fortune producing the free PDFs and videos you've seen.  We will be using simple webinar and conference calling technology.  We do not have a huge team to support.  We have designed this program to provide you everything that is necessary and sufficient to improve your operations but nothing that is trivial.

OUR 100% GUARANTEE:  If you participate in all the sessions and you actually take the first step and you don't get at least $5997 in value, you can receive a full 100% refund.

I hope you’ll join me in this program, and invite me to be your coach to help you grow your business. 

Wishing You Success,

"Dr Lisa" Lang
Inventor of The Velocity Scheduling System and the Mafia Offer Boot Camp

P.S.  Remember... you get 10 workshop and 10 coaching sessions ... followed by 4 additional coaching sessions... 5 implementation videos... Pre-programmed Excel file for Detailed Planning ... the Velocity Dashboard spreadsheet ... and on-line access to Achieving a Viable Vision. And it all comes backed by an unbeatable guarantee. 

If you don't secure your future now, then when? So don't wait even another minute. You may click only to find the offer is gone forever. Here's how much time you have to sign up for the next Velocity Scheduling System Coaching Program:

(1) Typical results for the Velocity Scheduling System include: 1. substantial improvement in due date performance; 2. substantial reduction in lead-time; and 3) improved communication and reduced chaos. How substantial depends on where you start, but typical results are to achieve over 95% due date performance, time through the shop cuts in half, and of course there is no measurement for chaos but participants have reported improvement in communication and a reduction in chaos. None of the people who provided testimonials were compensated for doing so. You should know that you may not get these results and you could lose money by investing in this program and not getting results, however this is not our experience.

© Copyright 2009-2010 Dr Lisa Inc, All Rights Reserved. Important Note: This entire program is based on the lessons we have learned about how to improve highly custom job shops. While I honestly believe this information to be useful and valuable, I cannot guarantee that you will get the same results that we’ve gotten (or that anyone in the program has gotten). Our results are not typical at all. All of this information should be considered “informational” in nature, and not as specific business, legal, or financial advice. If you invest in this program, you are taking full responsibility for making sure that any idea you use, implement, don’t implement, or integrate into your business is legal, ethical, and prudent. By purchasing this program or using any of the information on this site, you are also agreeing to hold me, my company, my clients, and their companies 100% harmless in the event that you lose money or are harmed in any way as a result of the use or lack of use of anything you’ve learned from this program, or our company. If you take me up on my 100% money-back guarantee, you must actually go through the entire program, attend or watch all the workshops and coaching sessions, and have at least taken the first step of cutting WIP, then you must call me personally 303-909-3343 to ask for your refund.  This is only fair, considering the incredible amount of value I’m putting on the line. Facts and figures on this website are believed to be accurate, but are not guaranteed.

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