Material Flow | AllAboutLean.com

The Van of Nerds in France—Overview and Aircrafts

Christoph Roser — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 11:00:31 +0000

In 2019 I organized an Industry 4.0 tour through southern Germany for a few friends. We called this the “Van of Nerds,” and you can read all about it in a series of blog posts starting here. The participants liked the van trip so much that we wanted to repeat this experience… and then came ... Read more

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Material Flow and Traffic Flow – An Analogy

Christoph Roser — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 11:00:26 +0000

In lean, the concept of “flow” is important. But what is it? In this post I would like to look deeper into this important concept using another flow we are all (much too) familiar with: traffic flow! The Analogies There are a lot of similarities between material flow and traffic flow. Both parts and cars ... Read more

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How the Corona Virus affects Logistics

Christoph Roser — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 11:00:16 +0000

The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2, is running through the world like a wildfire. Besides killing hundreds of thousands of people, it is also creating a huge headache for the economy. Many countries are currently experiencing a second wave. In this post I will look at how the pandemic affects supply chains, how ... Read more

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How to Convert a Job Shop into a Flow Shop – Part 2

Christoph Roser — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 11:00:07 +0000

Turning job shops into flow shops is not easy. This is my second post explaining such transformations as I try to help you in improving your shop floor from an (always) messy job shop into a much more efficient flow shop. Add Flexibility Another possibility to consider is the flexibility of your processes. Can you ... Read more

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How to Convert a Job Shop into a Flow Shop – Part 1

Christoph Roser — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 11:00:19 +0000

Job shops are always very difficult to manage. As I described in my previous posts, the irregular material flow causes fluctuations that are very hard to contain. In my view, the only true fix for a job shop is to convert it into a flow shop. In this post I will talk a little bit ... Read more

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Why Are Job Shops Always Such a Chaotic Mess? Part 2

Christoph Roser — Tue, 26 May 2020 11:00:38 +0000

Job shops are a mess. Period. The increased and uneven levels of inventory cause a host of other problems. In my last post I described how these inventory imbalances are caused by irregular material flow, how subsequent safety buffers increase inventory even more, and how this causes staff to change their workplace irregularly in a ... Read more

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Why Are Job Shops Always Such a Chaotic Mess? Part 1

Christoph Roser — Tue, 19 May 2020 11:00:39 +0000

Job shops have a strong tendency toward chaos. Even well managed plants struggle to maintain order in a job shop. This is due to the inherent nature of a job shop, and there are no good solutions to manage job shops. The only good way to improve a job shop is to turn it into ... Read more

The post Why Are Job Shops Always Such a Chaotic Mess? Part 1 first appeared on AllAboutLean.com.

When NOT to Pull!

Christoph Roser — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 11:00:53 +0000

Pull production is a highly useful tool in manufacturing, logistics, services, and other industries. However, there are instances where pull may be not the best option. These instances are rare, but they do exist. In this blog post I will list different cases when pull may not be the best option. Recap: Pull Is a ... Read more

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