Cycle time variation

Cycle time variation is a proven metric and philosophy for continuous improvement with the aim of driving down the deviations in the time it takes to produce successive units on a production line.^[1] It supports organizations' application of lean manufacturing or lean production by eliminating wasteful expenditure of resources. It is distinguished from some of the more common applications by its different focus of creating a structure for progressively reducing the sources of internal variation that leads to workarounds and disruption causing these wastes to accumulate in the first place. Although it is often used as an indicator of lean progress, its use promotes a structured approach to reducing disruption that impacts efficiency, quality, and value.^[2]

Overview

The application of cycle time variation as a core area of focus for lean transformation efforts was subsequently expanded to describe the disruption caused by variation in flow from changing business conditions (such as an economic downturn), demonstrating that the disruption this causes creates skyrocketing "loss" as described by the Taguchi Loss Function. It led to a different approach to implementing lean manufacturing known as Lean Dynamics, focused on addressing the disruption caused by dynamic business conditions that often causes "waste" to accumulate. A lean dynamics approach restructures the way operations, organizations, information, and innovation are structured to overcome this.^[3]

Cycle time variation is important for reinforcing the concept of dealing with variation to flow as a central focus in implementing lean manufacturing. This emphasis has made it an important building block to the Six Sigma movement, driving an improved understanding of the common focus of two areas that were previously viewed as having separate objectives.

See also

The topics below are linked to this subject:

• Lean Manufacturing
• Lean Dynamics
• Toyota Production System
• Taguchi Loss Function
• Six Sigma
• Statistical Process Control

Terminology

• Variation Management
• Value Curve
• Production Leveling
• Muda, Mura, Muri
• Workcell

References

1. ^ Schonberger, Richard J. (2001). Let's Fix It!. Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-1551-6
2. ^ Ruffa, Stephen A.; Michael J. Perozzello (2000). Breaking the Cost Barrier: A Proven Approach to Managing and Implementing Lean Manufacturing. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-38136-5.
3. ^ Ruffa, Stephen A. (2008). Going Lean: How the Best Companies Apply Lean Manufacturing Principles to Shatter Uncertainty, Drive Innovation, and Maximize Profits. AMACOM (American Management Association)