Oracle Flow Manufacturing -- A Detailed View of an Implementation

Valerie Dubois Oracle Corporation Introduction You have convinced your upper management that flow manufacturing is a business solution that will enable your company to leapfrog the competition. You have begun your internal communication plan to educate and get support from all aspects of your organization. You have appointed a Flow Process Leader, and selected a line for your flow pilot. Now it is time to physically perform your first line implementation. The big question is -- what exactly do you need to do to make the transition from discrete to flow? Through this paper, learn tips and techniques on everything from process maps, to using the Oracle Implementation Guide to step you through the line implementation process. Specific topics include an overview of pre-implementation steps and key line-specific strategic decisions. It then covers performing the process re-engineering, making demand management decisions and setting up central flow practices. Next, it discusses an overview of the basics of set-up and line design in Oracle, finishing the physical line design details, and performing flow execution using Oracle. Please note that due to time and length constraints, this paper covers only details for the line implementation itself and does not cover details on how to set up a kanban system.
Ensure Business Strategy is set from Top/Corporate Flow Process Leader is In Place Choose Pilot Line & Implementation Team Train Implementation Team/Set Timeline/Document As Is Performance Strategic Decisions
Flatten BOM Discuss Line/Dept Structure Determine Scheduling Rules Define Costing Method Start Team Training

Process Re-Engineering
Process Map current products Generate product/process matrix Group products into Families Perform Sequence of Events Eliminate/Reduce NVA activities Research Workstation Options Start Method Sheets

Demand Management
Determine Demand at Capacity Determine Flex Tol. Fences Available Hours/Day

Central Flow Practices Central Flow Practices

Establish Standards Create Employee Training Change Measurements

Oracle DM Setup
Forecast

Oracle Line Design Setup

Enter Data into Oracle
BOMS, Flow Routings, Item Master Changes, Lines, Depts, Resources, Forecast

Generate Mixed Model Map Balance Line

Oracle Execution Setup

Update Line Information Enter Default Execution Information Set-up BIS Adjust Balance, as required

Physical Design Details Details

Design physical layout - buy equipment Finalize & buy visual management/communication Consider building buffer inventory Develop Specific Training & Certification Plan Create Traveler for Lot/Serial & Quality Collection Update ISO Documents (If Applicable) Implement changes Wet Line Monitor and adjust Outside Oracle Inside Oracle

Execution & Sustain

Schedule Line Compare Actual Production to Design Balance Complete Schedules Monitor Performance (Linearity, etc) Use Flow Operator Workbench

Figure 1: Flow Manufacturing Line Implementation Activities

Copyright 2000 Oracle Corporation

Overview of Pre-Implementation Steps The most important thing to remember about your flow implementation is that it is NOT a software solution. Rather, flow manufacturing is a total business strategy that the Oracle software supports and sustains. Evidence of this is in Figure 1, where most of the implementation steps occur OUTSIDE of the Oracle Flow Manufacturing software. With that in mind, it is important to make sure you have a clear manufacturing strategy supported from the top and you choose your pilot line and implementation team appropriately. Then be sure to thoroughly train your team, set-up an implementation timeline, and provide them with basic resources. Finally, decide how the team will be measured and then document the as-is state. These concepts and critical steps are further explained below. First, the importance of having a top-down strategy to ensuring a smooth transition cannot be over-stated. You must have top level support, a good training and communication plan, and have appointed a corporate Flow Process Leader prior to making any changes. You can find more details on managing the change process the paper from OAUG Fall 1999 entitled Implementing Flow Manufacturing: The Total Business Solution. Once the structures and support are in place, it is time to choose the pilot line. General rules of thumb when choosing pilot lines are: 1. Start closest to the customer. This is for two reasons: Most importantly, your customer immediately feels the impact of reduced cycle times. Secondly, it is easier to pull from a push than it is to push from a pull." In other words, you can use MRP or production kanbans to plan the first part of your process and build in-process stock of sub-assemblies from which a flow line can pull. However, it is much more difficult for a flow line that is building one at a time to supply a traditional batch process with enough of the right material. 2. Choose your simplest product line or product family. This enables you to learn flow techniques before attacking your most difficult products. Third, you need to set up your implementation team structure. Structures that have worked in the past include an implementation leader who works for the plant manager and one or two full time implementation members. Ideally, all three would have worked in the pilot line organization before being assigned to this team. At a minimum, the implementation leader should be from the organization. This helps him or her tremendously because he or she is already familiar with the product and processes and have relationships with all the people from whom they need help and support throughout the transition. Also include part time representation by a process engineer, production engineer, planner, several production employees, marketing representative for line, engineering representative and systems representative. For more information on a sample team structure see the paper from OAUG Fall 1999 entitled Implementing Flow Manufacturing: The Total Business Solution. Next, the full-time implementation team needs to be trained on both Flow Concepts, and on Oracle Flow Manufacturing prior to starting any flow project. Flow concept training is often done by an outside organization or consulting firm for at least the first implementation team. Most of the same firms can also provide you with implementation consulting on flow manufacturing concepts and re-engineering if you would like the support and expertise. Oracle Flow Manufacturing training is provided via Oracle University, and support for the Oracle implementation is available both through Oracle Consulting and most of Oracles large implementation partners. The part time participants can probably be trained via an internal or consulting sponsored training program that starts with a very high level overview, then teaches each concept as needed during the implementation. Once the team is in place and trained, the members need to set a timeline for a flow line implementation. The actual time it takes for the transition depends largely on the type of business (assembly vs machine intensive), and whether or not you are already running on Oracle Manufacturing. A simple assembly business that is already using Oracle Manufacturing can probably do the transition in four to seven months assuming you commit enough people to the project. A more complicated business that is machine intensive takes somewhat longer, due to the complications of moving the machines. If you are implementing the entire Oracle Manufacturing suite at the same time you are transitioning Flow, the timeline is determined by the scope of your systems implementation. Use this paper as a guideline for the steps you need to include in your gant chart, and estimate the time for each. One tip: You may want to schedule the completion to coincide with a planned plant shut-down so you can minimize the impact of the physical change on your production.

Copyright 2000 Oracle Corporation

Next, the corporate Flow Process Leader needs to make sure the basic resources are in place. These resources include a dedicated war room or action room where the team can hold meetings, conduct internal training, and can leave line design materials. Also, computers are needed to produce OMSs and support the implementation team efforts. Part time team members need to have some responsibilities removed from their plate in order to make room for their new flow implementation responsibilities. And, of course, the process leader needs to make sure the team has an appropriate budget for the physical improvements and visual management. Finally, before any changes are made -- especially on the first implementation -- it is critical to determine how the team will measure improvements and then document the as-is state. Typical measurements include cycle time, linearity, inventory, inventory turns, floor space, quality level, on time shipment performance, and efficiency. Even if you are using these measurements today, they often need to be refined from monthly or weekly measurements to daily measurements. You should take snap-shots of these measurements prior to making any adjustments and include qualitative observations (e.g., the line has a volcano effect where all shipments are made at the end of the week). Use either a digital or standard camera to take before and after pictures to document your success. Typical before picture includes any piles of inventory that are due to queue time or inspector quality checks, current work instructions, current workstation layout, and material storage. One caution about cameras: be sure to get approval from union or labor leadership before taking any pictures! More information on typical flow measurements can be found in the paper from OAUG Fall 1999 entitled Implementing Flow Manufacturing: The Total Business Solution.

Key Line-Specific Strategic Decisions For each line implementation, there are some required line-specific decisions that will affect the way your flow line will operate. These decisions are usually facilitated by the core implementation team, with input from the key business leaders in the area -- usually the plant manager, line manager and a function specific manager. These decisions include how to flatten the BOM, how to structure lines and departments, what kinds of scheduling and sequencing rules are needed, and what kind of costing to use. First, decide how and when to flatten the BOM based on your products cycle time. Remember that the goal of flow manufacturing is simplicity. Therefore, a flow purist would say that you should flatten your BOM completely so that you perform no inventory transactions and have less maintenance. Most companies, however, find it appropriate to leave a few levels (two to four) in their structure to aid in inventory and information tracking, or to help logically organize their product. Oracle allows you to have two kinds of levels: Those created by sub-assemblies and those created by phantoms. Subassemblies are used when you want to create an entirely separate line for a component of your product. Component lines can be either flow, repetitive or discrete. Sub-assemblies are completed, their components are back-flushed, and the subassembly is added to on-hand inventory at some WIP location. When the final assembly is completed, the sub-assembly itself is back-flushed. Sub-assemblies are used when you want to track a serial number for a component, when assemblies are built in another facility or area of the plant and cannot be moved, or if you need to perform an intermediate inventory transaction because of long product cycle times. Caution: When making decisions about keeping sub-assemblies in your structure based on cycle times, remember that your cycle times are likely to be reduced 80-90% from current levels. If that is the case, will you still need to perform intermediate inventory transactions? You will probably need fewer transactions than you have today. Phantoms, on the other hand, provide you with a way to group parts together, but they not transactable in inventory. Phantoms are often used to represent an assembly that is built on a feeder line to your main flow line. Phantoms are NOT completed at the end of the feeder line. When the final assembly is completed, the back-flush program blows through the phantom and consumes the components underneath. Phantoms can be useful to help organize the BOM structure to the way you manufacture -- but should be used in moderation. Next, you need to decide how to structure your line, departments and resources in the new Flow environment. This decision is important, and probably needs agreement between HR and union leadership (if you are a union plant). Remember again that flow teaches simplicity and flexibility. Therefore, ideally, flow line operators would all be assigned to one department, and all be part of the same labor type or labor grade. This workforce can then flex up and down the entire line without any HR transaction and will provide you with the most flexibility. In reality, there are existing labor structures or true differences in task difficulties that may be hard or impossible to change. The goal of the leadership team, however, should be to reduce the number of labor classifications needed to as close to one as possible. Be creative on options. For example, can you

Copyright 2000 Oracle Corporation

raise everyone on the line to the highest level? Also be aggressive on defining departments -- one department per line is the simplest for all reporting and tracking. Traditionally, most plants are set-up by process, with all assembly performed in one area, machining in another, and painting in yet another. Each processing area had a separate department. When you design your flow line, people from these old departments will all be working on one line and should be put in one department. Third, you need to decide on scheduling and sequencing rules. The importance of this step depends on what kind of product you make. If it is a simple assembly operation, with little variation in times, scheduling rules are not important. If you have set-up intensive processes or have products that have significant variations in cycle times, they become extremely important. Oracle comes with three pre-defined scheduling rules: level-loading, mixed model, or no level loading. Levelloading makes the same amount of each product every day during the period scheduled and groups all of the same product together each day. Mixed model is similar to level loading, but mixes up the product order throughout the day. No level loading produces only what is asked for on each day and the products are sequenced based on request date. Detailed definitions can be found in the flow manufacturing Users Guide and suggestions for use can be found in the flow manufacturing Implementation Guide. You can also create your own custom scheduling rules based on your business needs. Fourth, the team needs to determine a new costing method. This decision is relatively complicated and cannot be discussed fully in this paper. However, remember that there is no work order in flow manufacturing. Therefore, operators are not assigned to a given assembly, nor are you able to track the exact start and stop times of any given operation or line. Most flow operations tend to use a some variation of standard costing. Exact procedures for doing this need to be detailed for your organization and then set as a standard for all future line implementations. Finally, start team building sessions for your line and support employees. In flow manufacturing, everyone on the line must work together to achieve the maximum results. The ability of the team to work together has a huge impact on the results of the flow line, so it is never to early to start. Set up team building exercises to allow the group to get to know each other and learn to rely on each others contributions. Use these sessions to identify the natural leaders in the team, as these leaders become critical to ensuring the success of your Flow line. If you gain their support, you gain the support of the entire team.

Performing the Process Re-Engineering The process engineering that occurs up-front in the design process is the basis of a good flow line design. It is important to take the time the develop a good understanding of your product line by first process mapping every product. Then generate a product-process matrix and group products into product families. Next, perform a sequence of events. Finally, eliminate or reduce as many non-value added activities as you can and begin looking into workstation and transportation options. The first step is to create process maps for all products. This is a relatively simple task but is key to full understanding of your product line. The goal is to simply map the flow of all products (including spare parts that the plant needs to provide) through every major process in the plant -- include known rework loops. At the same time, document the yield percentages at each process. On the surface, it appears that all companies should know this information about their product. However, most do not have a well-documented process definition for any of their product lines -- especially when it comes to defining the rework percents. The implementation leaders, with help from operators and process engineers, usually need to create them from scratch. This step can be done manually or using any commercial process mapping software or spreadsheet. This data will later be entered into Oracle Flow Manufacturing as part of line design. The next step is to create a product-process matrix that simply correlates all products shown along the left side with all processes shown along the top. A check box is placed in each intersection that represents a box on the process maps. The goal of this process is to summarize all your products and allow you to view common processes. You can then decide what are your true product families. Are all products similar enough that they can be built on the same line, or do you need to break the line into two separate product families, each of which will be built on separate lines? There is no cookie-cutter way to determine this, as the amount of deviation your line can tolerate depends greatly on what kind of manufacturer you are. An added benefit of creating this map is that it also produces a single list of all processes needed to build all your products. Once the matrix is complete and your product families are defined, you can start on your sequence of events. This is the step where you detail the work content involved in each of the processes you defined above. Usually, this step is

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performed by the operator members of your implementation team, with an occasional audit by members of the full-time team. Remember this is NOT a time study (with the possible exception of very high-volume facilities where Takt times would be very small). You will get huge benefits from transitioning to Flow, even if your SOE times are slightly inflated by the operators. Some companies are tempted to skip this step and simply use the standards that are already in their MRP system. I caution against this for three reasons. First, unless your company is very diligent in reviewing these times, they are likely to be out of date and may not reflect what is actually occurring on the floor. Second, standards are generally kept at a very high level -- as total labor hours and total machine hours for the entire process. You need to have more detail to enable you to balance your line. How much detail depends on the volume of products you produce. Very high volumes need very detailed data because Takt times are so short. Low volume facilities can get away with fewer details due to longer Takt times, though it is very seldom a good idea to have times in increments larger than 5-10 minutes. Third, you also want to collect quality information, tag tasks as non-value added, and tag tasks as candidates for mistake proofing. In fact, the process engineering or quality team members may want to review all rework and scrap records for opportunities for mistake proofing or quality checks. Throughout the Sequence of Events process, the process engineering team and core implementation team should be reviewing the Sequence of Events for all tasks that are labeled as non-value added. The following questions should be asked: Will this non-value add task go away simply by going to a flow line? Example: Move time, queue time If no, is there something I can do now to reduce or eliminate it? Example 1: Set-up time -- can you create a quick change-over? What are the details of the set-up tasks -- can any of it be streamlined or eliminated? Example 2: Quality checks -- is this something I can poke-yoke (mistake proof), so it cannot be done incorrectly (and therefore we can eliminate the quality checks)? Is there any other waste in the system? There are eight types of waste: Movement, Queue Time, Over Production, Non-Value Add Processes, Defects, Transportation, Inventory, and Technology. Try to remove as many as possible from the process. Example: Time when parts wait for an inspector to check them. These quality checks should be built INTO the line and performed by operators. Are there any opportunities for ergonomic improvements or Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) improvements? Now is the perfect time -- you have the budget to make the change. All non-value added tasks that you cannot eliminate at this time (including quality checks) are candidates for future process improvement activities. The fourth step is for the process engineering and operator team to think about what kind of workstations, tooling and interoperation transportation they will need. At a minimum, they should gather information on various options that can be finalized during the physical design. At a maximum, for very long lead time equipment, they should make decisions, estimate how much of each item they will need, and buy the equipment immediately. You can estimate how many operations you will need on your line fairly accurately by dividing your estimated Total Product Cycle time by the estimated Takt time. Specifically, take the estimated average work content of the line (NOT the current cycle time!). Then multiply by the estimated design demand and divide by the number of working hours per day. Order enough long lead-time tooling, tables, and racks for each workstation. By ordering now, you are able to speed up the time between performing the physical line layout and actually implementing the changes. Finally, have the team start on your Operational Method Sheets (OMSs) when the first sequence of events is finished to ensure they all are complete by your go live date. There are two main decisions to make here. First, who should create them. Ideally, method sheets should be created by operators who have actually built the product and trained others to build it. They are the most knowledgeable about what type of instructions need to be created. However, they need to be dedicated to creating OMSs for at least two to three months. When you are running the line, they will have to spend a significant portion of their time updating the sheets for ECOs or process changes. If you cannot afford to take your best operators off the line for this long -- or you have a concern about their computer abilities -- you should hire a permanent OMS designer who has good computer skills. Second, what kind of software package should you use? Unfortunately here, there is no right answer to that question. Some companies use simplified versions of their 3-D CAD drawings that are modified to show work content, but are linked to the original so updates can be made without having to redraw pictures. The downside: you need CAD trained people to do the updates. Other companies prefer to perform all the drawings themselves using a simple drawing package. This option gives you the most flexibility to show action, but is probably the most labor intensive of all

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the options. Others decide to use digital photos of the product as the base, then draw on top of it for quality checks or work content. This gives operators a realistic view of the product, but is more difficult to show action and takes up a lot of memory. Still other companies decide to use edited video instead of drawings. Downside here is that you need a video editor, and if anything changes you will have to re-take the whole video. You and the corporate flow process leader need to evaluate potential options, and develop a format and software standard that fits the needs of your business.

Making Demand Management Decisions Understanding your current and future demand is critical for ensuring your line has enough capacity to cover demand. This includes determining the appropriate design demand for the line, agreeing to flexible tolerance fences around that capacity, and understanding the real working hours per day of your line. The design demand needs to be a joint decision between manufacturing and marketing. In general, flow lines should be redesigned every one to two years, depending on your product volatility. Therefore, marketing should provide a forecast of expected sales (for both finished items and spare parts) over the next year to two years -- including their confidence in the forecast. This forecast should include any planned new product introductions during the period. In the simple case, manufacturing would simply take that forecast and multiply by twenty percent to determine design demand. This extra twenty percent gives them flexibility for unexpected demand, absences, machines down, and growth. If, however, the demand is increasing (or decreasing) greatly over that time period, manufacturing has two choices: First, design the line for the forecast plus twenty percent over a shorter period of time (say six months), and re-design the line at the end of that time based on the new predictions. This may be an option in an assembly shop where re-designs are simple, or any plant that can add shifts to accommodate extra capacity. Second, design the line for the anticipated demand one or two years out, and simply start out running the line at less than capacity. Again, there is no cookie cutter way to make this decision. It depends a lot on the experience of the marketing and manufacturing team, and what type of product you make. Second, determine if you need tolerance fences. Tolerance fences can be used to control when a line is allowed to flex above its normal operating rate (which is generally 80% of capacity). A diagram of a typical tolerance fence is below. Uses and determination of Tolerance Fences are even harder to generalize than the demand used to design the line. When and how to open the tolerance fence is largely dependant on your situation, and should be a joint decision between marketing and production. Questions to ask are: How fast can you add extra people to your line to fill in the holes you normally have when running at 80%. How fast and by how much can you expect your suppliers to respond to a change in your production rate? Can you ever go over your line design capacity?
Day 1 Day Day 2 2 3 Day 3

Negotiated Flexible Tolerance Fences

Kanbans Sized

Qty Qty
Supported by: Marketing Management Suppliers

Line Design Line Design Capacity Capacity

Normal Normal Running Rate

10% 10% 30% 30% Throttling the Line Rate Throttling

Kanban Kanban Line Design

Days 6-10 Days 1-5

10 days or more out or more out

Days

Figure 2: Typical Use of a Tolerance Fence

Copyright 2000 Oracle Corporation

One last point to understand is the real working hours of your line. If you have an eight hour shift, operators are not actually working for eight hours. There is typically two breaks and lunch, time to set-up and clean-up (although this should be greatly reduced after moving to a flow line), and time for meetings. Ball-park figure is six and a half hours per day, as shown below. It is important to understand this number, and to input it correctly into Oracle, in order to truly understand your Takt and resource requirements. Overestimating the actual hours per day causes you to under plan resource requirements, underestimating the actual hours per day causes you to over plan resources. Typical Work Day Hours per Shift: Breaks: Lunch: Meetings: Setup and cleanup Total available 8hrs -0.5hrs -0.5 hrs -0.25 hrs -0.25 hrs 6.5 hrs

2*15min 30min Avg 15min/day Avg 15min/day

Setting up Central Flow Practices Since this is the first line implementation, it is important that the corporate Flow Process Leader and the implementation team work together to develop flow manufacturing standards. They also need to create the appropriate training packages for everyone in the organization, and permanently change the measurements of the line. There are many standards that need be created for the corporation -- and putting time and thought into them now will help you avoid re-working your set-up at a later date. Standards for the corporation allow people to transfer between organizations easily, and always understand the visual signals. Required standards include: Method Sheet Layout: What software will you use? How will you meet ISO requirements (if applicable)? How will you do revision control? How will you maintain a clip art gallery of OMS icons (EHS icons)? If you are ISO certified, you probably will want to make this into an official document. Bin Colors: Yellow for supplier, green for intra-org, blue for production? Or, Yellow for supplier, green for returnable containers, and red for re-furbished parts? Choose a standard. Floor Markings: How will you mark In Process Kanbans (IPKs) -- color and style? Color code sides of the line - one for new production and parts, one for re-furbished production and parts? Draw flow of material on the flow? Will you do it with tape or paint? Sequencing product: Will you have a terminal at every workstation (where you can use the Oracle Flow Workstation to display sequence to the operators), or will you need to create a sequencing board to communicate the schedule? Are their any standards? Product Identification: Flags? Colors? How can it be made visible? Do you want to ID the customer as well as the product? How will you indicate problems with the line? A red light when a machine goes down or you are out of a part? Put a tall red flag on products that have rework or quality issues? Use different colors to represent machine status (setting up, running, idle, down)? Signs: Three sided (so you can see it everywhere in the plant)? Signs for stocking locations? Signs for operations? Signs for lines? Will you post measurements at the end of the line? How? Naming conventions: stocking locations (RIP, Stores, etc), operation names Training matrix: What levels will you track? (Typically, flow lines use four levels: In training, Needs supervision, Fully trained, and Able to train others.) How will you color code them? Will you post them on the line? Kanban Cards: Bar Code? What information is required? Layout? Will you have any team performance incentives?

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In addition to establishing standards, an effective training program helps to ensure a smooth start-up of the line. Training needs to be developed at the corporate level and should be tailored to different groups of people: executives, support personnel, implementation team, line workers, and on-going training for all new employees. If planned correctly, you can simply use parts of a single training package for each category of trainee. As mentioned before, training for the full time implementation leaders may be done at an outside firm to give them a thorough and un-biased view of flow manufacturing. The corporate Flow Process Leader is responsible for developing the internal training plan, with help from the pilot implementation team and perhaps outside consultants. Training should include why flow manufacturing, what is flow manufacturing, what are my responsibilities, and lessons learned. It is highly recommended to create a hands-on lab to teach the flow concepts and give people a chance to practice what they learn in theory. This can be done with Legos or Erector Sets. The best labs have both before and after scenarios so people can really understand the difference flow makes. Finally, as mentioned in the Pre-implementation steps, it is important for the corporate Flow Process Leader to make changes to the way lines are measured -- and ensure the corporation begins to use these measurements permanently to monitor performance of their Flow Lines.

Basics of Set-up and Line Design in Oracle Once all the background work is done, you are ready to enter your data into Oracle and perform your line balance and design. There are a lot of details to consider during this step, which are covered in detail in the Oracle Flow Manufacturing Implementation Manual, and the Users Guides. Please note that you need the Users Guide for Flow, WIP, MRP and Inventory to get a complete discussion of Oracle Flow Manufacturing Capabilities (See Appendix A for details). This paper provides you with a high level overview of the line design implementation steps, including entering data, generating a mixed model map, and balancing the line. A process map of line design and balancing in on the following page.

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Analyze Current Process (Outside Oracle) Process Map Each Product Generate product/ process matrix Perform Sequence of Events Eliminate NonValue Add Activities Determine Demand Management Philosophy Agree on Demand At Capacity

Define Items Define Items

Define the Line Define Resources

Manage Demand Define Product Families

Define Departments Define Flat Bills Define Lines

Define Product Family Members

Define Forecasts

Perform Product Synchronization/Line Design Define Standard Processes

Change: Fixed Lead Time = TPCT Variable Lead Time = TAKT

Define Standard Events

Define Family Flow Routings

Add Event Seq to Bill For Backflushing/Scrap

Define Flow Routings

Mixed Model Map

Save MMM as Baseline (once balanced) Define Standard Line Operations

Figure 2: Line Design and Balancing Process in Oracle

Copyright 2000 Oracle Corporation

The first step with any manufacturing implementation is defining items, BOMs, resources, departments, lines, product families, and forecasts. These are relatively straight forward once you have chosen your BOM and department structures, and can be done in parallel to developing the sequence of events. There are several things to keep in mind. First, if you are implementing a fresh installation of Oracle, set up an item template for your flow finished good, flow assemblies and flow components. Detailed discussion of decisions on attributes and how they effect operation of flow manufacturing can be found in the appendix of the implementation manual. If you are already using Oracle Discrete or Repetitive manufacturing, use you internal engineering change process to manage these changes to the BOM. Oracle allows you to use effectivity dates changes on the BOM so that implementation of the change can coincide with the day you go live with the line. Second, resources, departments and lines usually have to be redefined completely for the new flow line, and therefore can be set up in parallel with your existing definitions. The maximum hourly rate on the line should equal your normal operating rate, which is probably below your design capacity. Lead time should be set to routing based for flow lines. Third, when defining resources, enter the number of people or machines you have available per shift -- but do not choose multiple shifts. Doing so distorts your mixed model map results. Once you have items, BOMs, resources, departments and lines defined, you are ready set up your flow routings. Flow Routings is part of what Oracle calls Product Synchronization. It is where you enter your sequence of events and process maps that you created earlier. You define processes, sequence of events and then the network of processes. In the network, you define the process map, complete with feeder lines, rework loops, primary and alternate processes required to produce a product family or standard item. Each path is assigned a network percentage. Once all this information is entered, the program can calculate operation times, planning percentages and the total product cycle time. This information is then used by the mixed model map to perform the flow calculations necessary to help you balance your line. If you are already using Oracle Manufacturing, flow routings can be set up as alternates while you are still running in the discrete mode. When you are ready to go live, simply switch these alternate routings with the current primary routing using the tools menu in the flow routing. You can disable the discrete routings if you never plan to run mixed-mode. In order to implement these objectives through Oracle Flow Manufacturing you need to define and set up: Standard Events and Event Times Standard Processes Flow Routings Here are several things to keep in mind: It is recommended that you set up standard processes, events and operations for your flow line. Standard Processes, Events and Operations are entities associated with a line that can be referenced by all flow routings for that line. These standard entities can be added to your flow routings via a list of values, which eliminates typing errors. They default to being referenced to the standard entity, which means that any changes made to the standard are automatically updated on the routing. You can also un-reference an entity, and then edit its attributes (this is most commonly used for events, where resource usage may change for certain events from product to product). In this case, changing the standard does not change the routing. You may also enter non-standard events directly into your flow routing. Assign Events and Processes Assign Event Yields Create Routing Network with planning percentages, including feeder lines, alternate paths and rework loops Enable Routing for Mixed Model Map Calculate Yields, Operation Times and Total Product Cycle Time

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Standard Events can be tagged or identified as value add events or non-value add events through flex-field definitions. This can be used to identify events that are possible continuous improvement projects after the flow line is up and running. Once you have all your standard processes and events defined, you are ready to create your flow routings. Start by doing a flow routing for your product family that includes all processes and all events for your line. Remember to define the process routing network of primary and feeder lines, rework loops and alternate paths. You can then copy this flow routing to all items you are making on the line, and simply edit the events, yields and rework percentages that differ from the standard. Hint: You may want to leave all processes on all flow routings. If some products do not use a particular process, simply delete all the events associated with it. You can attach method sheets or other information to events on the routing. These may be used in conjunction with the Flow Operator workstation to provide your workers with an on-line, paperless display of the method sheets important for a specific product. Also, if you are in an assemble to order environment, this feature can be used to create customized method sheets for the configured products you are building. The third step is to create the statement of demand to be used for line design. As mentioned in the Making Demand Management Decisions section, you can usually use part of an existing marketing forecast. You can control which part of the forecast to use by specifying a date range to use before generating the mixed model map (MMM). If you wish to make the capacity of the line greater than the demand represented in the forecast, simply add a boost percent when generating the mixed model map. This percentage is added to the demand before performing all calculations, and lets you avoid having to create a second forecast just for line design. When designing a line, people often use a boost percent of 20% to allow the line to be flexible to changes in demand, absences, machines down and growth. You can adjust the working hours per day by changing the hours available on the MMM parameters screen from the default of eight to six and a half. Finally, you are ready to view the mixed model map and view the current line balance. The mixed model map calculates the line Takt time, the average weighted time, the process volume, machines needed, labor needed, In Process Kanbans (IPKs) needed, and a Takt time for each process. From these calculations, you will be able to determine which processes are out of balance. The most common way of re-balancing is to redistribute the work content into operations that can be performed by one person or one machine within the Takt time. This is usually an iterative process where you reassign events into operations on the routings, then return to the MMM to see how it impacted the balance. However, there are two other ways to balance a line: One is to add more resources (labor or machines). The other is to build up IPKs around the bottleneck and work overtime each day to work through the excess inventory. You will most likely use a combination of all three techniques. For example, if you have a process that greater than Takt but is also very delicate and should performed by a single person, you can assign two people to the operation and have them work parallel with each other. If, on the other had, you have a machine that is a bottleneck, you need to make a trade off between the cost of buying a new machine, and the cost of the extra inventory and overtime expense of adding IPKs around the machine. Once the line is balanced to your satisfaction, save the mixed model map as a baseline so that you will later be able to compare your actual production schedule or a new forecast to the baseline to assess any impact on the balance.

Finishing the Physical Line Design Details You still have a lot of physical changes to do after determining your optimal line balance. This includes designing your physical line layout and finalizing the visual management that will improve your lines effectiveness. You also want to consider building a buffer inventory. You need to develop a line-specific training and certification plan for the operators, and then perform the training. You need develop a traveler to capture lot and serial or quality information during the process, if applicable. You will need to update ISO documents, if applicable. Finally you need to make the physical changes to the line and get ready to go live. Recommendations for designing the physical line layout to match the theoretical design range from simple to complex. In most cases simple is good enough. Start by getting several copies of a blue print or CAD printout of the current plant layout, and creating several blank blue prints of the area you are redesigning. You may want to include machines that

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absolutely cannot be moved and emergency access or permanent aisles on the blank blueprint. Next, simply cut out all the icons of machines and workstations from the current layout that you are going to use in the new design. If you have a large product (that takes up floor space), create to-scale icons for those as well. Get some non-permanent glue sticks and tape. Next, invite the process engineering, facilities and operator representatives from your team to get together to work on the new layout. Facilitate them to brainstorm considerations for the layout. Start with the following questions and add any that may be pertinent to your business: How will you move product from one operation to another? Carts? Air Pallets? Rail system? Are they already ordered? What kind of workstations do you need or have you ordered? Are there any In Process Kanbans (IPKs)? How will those be marked and kept? On the floor? On a flowthrough rack? Where will my line-stocked materials be stored, and how much space do I need for the racks at each operation? How much space do I need behind the racks for access for replenishment? Do I need air or power dropped at each workstation? How and where will that be done? What about electrical protection? What tools will the operators need at each station? How will we store them? Can we create an outline of each tool so we can see at a glance that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place? What can be done to improve the ergonomics and safety of the work area? Special jigs to turn products? Height adjustable work-surfaces and chairs? Air tools? Where do we need aisles for passage through the plant and emergency egresses? Are there any other safety considerations about which we need to know? What kind of trash container do we need? Where? How will we train new hires? In-line, or should we set aside a small space outside the line to do training? As they answer each question, have them create to-scale icons to represent any objects in the layout. Once this preliminary list is created and all to-scale icons are created, the team can start trying out new designs. This is largely a trial and error process by the operator, process engineering and facilities team (which is why you earlier made several copies of both blueprints). It is useful for someone who is not working on the line to also participate, to help challenge assumptions made by the team. Why? should be asked over and over again during this process to encourage the team to think out of the box. Once the team is finished, they should present their results to the entire implementation team. It can easily take one to two weeks to finalize the design. When the design is finalized, place orders for all new tooling or equipment. Once the layout is finished, start finalizing the visual management for your specific line. Visual management is a fundamental part of a flow manufacturing system, and can greatly reduce the amount of time spent in controlling simple tasks by providing everyone with information all the time. Ideally, a plant manager should be able to see the status of any order by simply walking out on the floor. They should also be able to identify problems at a glance. If you do not have a terminal at every workstation, use color-coded sequencing boards to let the first operator of both the primary and feeder lines know what to build next. Start with the standards that were determined earlier, and finalize the implications for your line. Then order the materials as soon as you can. About this time, you want to consider building-up a little buffer inventory prior to going live. All new flow lines have some kind of a learning curve. You should not be surprised if the first week or two you will be able to produce slightly less than you did under your old system. This is because you will have to work on slight imbalances that you did not know about, there will be some training issues, and probably some resistance from people on the line. So, at a minimum, you may want to build up enough buffer to cover this time period. If you are not able to coincide the physical changes with a planned plant shut-down, you also need to build up enough inventory to cover you during the equipment re-arrangement. An alternative to building inventory, of course, is planning to work overtime right after the transition. Now is also the time to develop your line-specific training plan. To do this, start by creating a training matrix that lists all your operators on the left, and all your operations on the top. Add columns for flow concepts, any EHS training, Oracle training, Team training, and any other training you want to require for everyone on the line. (E.g., overhead crane training, or electric static device training.) Put it in the training matrix template developed earlier. Once that is complete, develop a list of the specific skills that an operator would have to learn to be certified for a given column. Try to keep them as quantitative as possible to avoid conflicts over whether or not someone is actually trained. For example, have them pass a test for each

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skill, or be able to perform it at a certain level of quality and time to be considered partially trained, fully trained, able to train others. Find some space in the current plant layout to do the hands-on training prior to moving equipment. Then set aside a few hours each week to begin training the line. Start by training everyone in the basic skills they need to work at any station (flow concepts, overhead cranes, team training). Then, assign each operator to a primary operation, and begin training them on that operation. Once they become fully trained here, they should start on one operation up and one operation down from their primary. Ideally, you want all people trained on at least three operations prior to going live. Exact timeline depends on the complexity of your product, and how flexible your operators were before making the transition. Once the training plan is in place, you need to think about how you will track data collected though out the flow line. Remember that in flow manufacturing, you perform only one transaction; a work order-less completion. This is done at the end of the line to back-flush all material, labor and overhead. At this time, you are able to assign lot and serial numbers to both the final assembly and the components. This means that, if you need to track lot or serial numbers for components, you need to set up a manual traveler to capture the data as the product is being built. The person at the end of the line can then simply enter the information while performing the completion. Again, there is no right format for this traveler. You need to make sure that it is protected (maybe put it in a clear pocket folder?). That it will not be lost (print the schedule or customer order number on it and attach it to the product?). And that it is always completed (maybe make it TQC check in the next operation so you have two people remembering to look for a serial number?) If you need to track quality data you can either add it to the same traveler or have the operator enter data into a quality plan as an event at their operation. Remember that there is no way to make entry into in-process quality plans mandatory at this time. If you are ISO certified, you need to make sure all your ISO documents are updated to reflect the new way of doing business. In particular, review documents that fall under Document Control and Data, Purchasing, Process Control, Control of Quality Records, and Training. Please note that this is not to be considered a comprehensive list, and you should check with your companys ISO expert to determine a full list for your company. Once all of your equipment and tools have arrived and your team is trained on at least three operations, you are ready to perform the physical implementation. I recommend that this is done as a Big Bang. In other words, make all the changes -including all the visual management -- at the same time during a weekend or plant shut-down. If possible, have a couple of your operator team members come in to wet the line. Then, when people return to work, the line will be ready to run, they will know that life has changed permanently, and they will know there is no going back. They will have a new work area, new work instructions, new tools and new responsibilities. Take time at the beginning of each shift to do a brief orientation to the changes and a review of the flow concepts they learned in the hands-on lab earlier. Have a member of the full-time implementation team on-hand all day every day for the first week or two to encourage flexing, answer questions, and help the team to make adjustments to the line layout.

Oracle Execution Set-up While the implementation team is working on finalizing the last line design details, the systems' team needs to be finalizing the set-up to execute using Oracle Flow Manufacturing. This includes updating the line information once demand capacity is determined and adding event sequence numbers to BOM components to enable scrap by operation on configured routings in ATO. It also means setting up default execution information, setting up Business Intelligence Systems (if applicable), and making sure ECO cut-over is in place. None of this is discussed in detail here, as it is covered in the Oracle Flow Manufacturing Implementation Manual and the Engineering Users Guide.

Conclusion This paper walked you though all the necessary steps to change your business processes and set-up Oracle Flow Manufacturing to operate in your new environment. You setup your business strategy, ensured there was top down support, and set-up central flow policies. You made key business decisions that affect your line, performed your process reengineering and decided on your demand management strategy. You set-up and performed line design and balancing both inside Oracle and physically on the floor.

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But this is just the beginning. You are now ready to use Oracle Flow Manufacturing to seamlessly execute and sustain the huge changes that you have made as a result of adopting the flow manufacturing business strategy. The true power of the Oracle Flow Manufacturing software is that it is integrated with your entire ERP system. You can plan for both your flow and your traditional lines at the same time using Oracle Planning. You are able to schedule your flow line based on actual customer orders or planned orders and then view the impact of this schedule on your line balance. Operators can log onto the Flow Operator Workbench to view on-line documentation and sequencing for each operation, enabling you to have a paperless operation. You can complete schedules using a simple work order-less completion, and assign mandatory quality collection plans to those completions. And finally, you can monitor your performance via Oracle Reports and BIS.

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Appendix A: Users Guide Flow Content in Release R11i

For Release 11i, the following information is covered in each Users Guide: Flow manufacturing Flow Routing, Standard Events, Operations and Processes, Flow Routing calculations (in BOM in release 11.0.x) Mixed Model Map (in BOM in release 11.0.x) Line Scheduling Workbench (in WIP in release 11.0.x) Flow Reports -- Linearity, Scheduling Flow Workstation Inventory: Kanban Pull Sequences and Kanban Cards Master Scheduling/MRP: Kanban Planning WIP: Work Order-less Completions

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