In Velocity Scheduling System we are focused flow based scheduling or flow manufacturing which is the physical flow in manufacturing.  In Velocity PRICING System we focus on the flow of money and information. For this article we are referring to physical flow.

Physical flow is the rate of movement or elapsed time from start to completion of the manufacturing process.

Flow or Velocity as we call it in Velocity Scheduling System is the time it takes from the time we start on a job until we complete the job.  This is also often referred to as lead-time.  The fewer the disruptions to flow, the faster it will move through the shop, the shorter the lead-time and the faster the Velocity.

We also look at the rate of flow by taking into account the job size.  Smaller jobs should flow faster than larger jobs.

In Theory of Constraints you’ll hear “Balance flow not capacity”.  And this is an extremely important, often overlooked, aspect to improving operations.  Flow was one of the main concepts in The Goal.  However, most people read The Goal and focused on the concept of finding and eliminating the constraint.  But for complex job shops where the constraint can move week to week or even day to day, the FLOW concept is much more powerful.

What is flow based manufacturing?

It’s the focus on the flow of WORK and not on the busyness or efficiency or any particular resource.

Flow Based Scheduling or Flow Manufacturing is simple.  Improvement in physical flow occurs when queues are reduced.  And to reduce queues you must reduce work in process (WIP).  We have previously discussed Little’s Law, how and why the reduction of WIP is so important in these articles:

• Job Shop Scheduling – The Secret To Getting On Time & Reducing Lead Times
• Scheduling Job Shops: Flow is KEY!

As discussed in these articles there are many benefits to reducing WIP, including:

• Queue time reduces
• Lead-time reduces
• Lead-time predictability increases
• On time delivery increases
• Quality increases
• Cash flow increases

Plossl’s Law:  All benefits will be directly related to the speed of flow of materials and information

In complex job shops, flow based scheduling (Velocity Scheduling System) is the only solution that works!  Traditional scheduling solutions where you try to schedule every job on every machine and even “off the self” Drum Buffer Rope, don’t work in complex job shops and machine shops.

To learn more about Velocity Scheduling System 1) download the scheduling ebook; 2) watch the scheduling webinar; and 3) find out if YOUR shop is a good fit.