By having these operators do less(make fewer parts), the customer
operations also had less wasted time and were able to convert that
time to moreproduction. The total output of the entire operation
increased significantly by simply controlling overproduction.
Of course, we were not satisfied to have operators standing around
with idle time—the waste of waiting. The next step was to determine
how to eliminate additional waste from these operations, and to
combine operations and achieve “full work.” For this task standardized
work analysis similar to the example described in Chapter 4 was
used.
Case Example: Making Aircraft Repair Flow at
Jacksonville Naval Air Depot
Repair operations have even more variability than manufacturing.
Until you break into the equipment, you don’t exactly know what the
problem is or how long it will take. So repair is often treated as a craft
process: Get a team of expert repair persons to work on each piece of
equipment. It is a return to the old days of the Model T, when a team
of craftsmen stood around a stand and built the car in place.
The U.S. Department of Defense does a tremendous amount of repair
and overhaul of ships, submarines, tanks, weapon systems, and aircraft.
These are very large things. There is almost always urgency getting a
plane out. A fighter plane being repaired in a hangar is one less plane
available for combat.
The largest employer in Jacksonville, Florida, is a Naval Air Depot
where aircraft is repaired for the Navy. Aircraft need to be completely
overhauled at periodic intervals, and some aircraft have serious weak-
nesses that require specific repairs. Because of the urgency of getting
planes overhauled, repaired, and back in service, when a plane comes
in, it’s brought into a hanger, and skilled personnel attack it, taking it
apart. Each plane sits in position and is dismantled, parts are repaired
or replaced, everything is tested piece by piece, and it is finally
reassembled and flown back into the field. Another motivation to get
to work on the plane immediately is to get paid. The base gets paid
based on charging hours for working on planes.
While the base had decades of experience repairing aircraft, the pressure
to reduce the time aircraft spend on the ground was intense. In some
cases aircraft are discontinued, and there are then a limited number avail-
able in service. If the planes spend too much time in the repair hangar,
there won’t be enough to fly the scheduled missions. A program called
Chapter 5. Create Connected Process Flow 85