110 THETOYOTAWAYFIELDBOOK
4. The following questions apply to any operation that is a low-
volume, high-variety (custom, semicustom, or make-to-order)
producer. Your objective is the same as any other company—
to create the best possible flow. In relative terms your flow may
never be perfectly balanced or smooth, but it can be improved.
a. Evaluate the grouping of your product into “families”
based on the work content time required at each opera-
tion (short time, medium time, and long time).
b. Is it possible to achieve a better work flow by controlling
the product mix introduced into the value stream (to even
out the work content time)?
c. Graph the part numbers by the quantity ordered in a year
from highest to lowest volume (P-Q chart), and identify
product families based on volume and frequency of orders.
High- and medium-volume parts are candidates for cells.
You may also be able to use these to level the schedule
(see Chapter 7).
d. In a custom production environment the defined agree-
ment is based on an agreed-upon “unit.” What will your
defined unit be? (It may be part-by-part, or order-by-order,
an increment of time, or another common element.)
5. The following questions pertain to nonmanufacturing process-
es. The result of your work may be less tangible than a man-
ufactured product, but work is being done and there is an end
result. The end result is your “product.”
a. Define the product. Identify and map the flow of the prod-
uct through the various processes.
b. In nonmanufacturing processes the product is often not
easy to see as it moves through the operations. It may be
paperwork or information in a computer. These create
unique challenges in trying to make the process visual.
i. Do you have visual awareness of the product flow
(product that is “in the system” or stacked in an in-
basket is not visual)?
ii. If the product itself is not visual, how can you create
visual awareness of its progress?
