The Plan for Every Part (PFEP)

By Chris Harris Managers are making progress in creating areas of continuous flow as more managers learn about value-stream mapping and continuous-flow cells but many are having trouble sustaining steady output. The problem often is the lack of a lean material-handling system for purchased parts to support the cells. These companies are becoming lean in terms of operating their cells, but they are still mass producers in supplying the cells. They lack the key elements of a door-to-door lean material handling system for purchased parts a Plan for Every Part a properly located and managed purchased-parts market a rigorous material-delivery route using standard work pull signals to tightly link their areas of continuous flow to the supply of materials. The conse!uence is starvation of processes, loss of flow, and a ma"or waste of effort and money in keeping too much inventory and spending too much time hunting for missing items. To introduce such a system, you have to understand everything about every part How each part is purchased, received, packaged, stored, and delivered to its point of use. #n fact, much of this information e$ists in your organi%ation, but it is stored in many different places under the control of many managers and is mostly invisible. The first step in creating a lean material-handling system for purchased parts is collect all of the necessary parts information in one place & the Plan for Every Part '()*(+. The chart below shows the most common categories of parts information for a ()*(. However, this is not a cookie cutter approach. *very plant is different. ,ou might want to add columns that you need and take out ones that you don-t find useful. )urthermore, as conditions change, the specific items in your ()*( may need to change. The watchword for the ()*( is fle$ibility, so you need to insure that your information management system is able to accommodate continuous change.

www.lean.org

.ean *nterprise #nstitute

PFEP Data Elements

Part # Description Daily Usage Usage Location Storage Location Order Fre !ency S!pplier 0umber used to identify the material in the facility Material name 'e.g., frame, bolt, nut, yoke+ Ma$imum amount of material used in a day through the entire plant (rocess1areas where the material is used 'e.g., Cell /2+ 3ddress 'location+ where the material is stored )re!uency that the material is ordered from the supplier 'e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, as re!uired+ 0ame of the material supplier

S!pplier "ity City where the supplier is located S!pplier State '4tate, province, region, district+ where the supplier is located S!pplier "o!ntry "ontainer Type "ontainer #eight Country where the supplier is located (ackaging type of the container 'e.g., cardboard bo$, reusable tote, wire basket+ 5eight of an empty container

$ Part #eight 5eight of / unit of material Total Pac%age 5eight of a full container of material #eight "ontainer .ength or depth of the container Length "ontainer 5idth of the container #idth "ontainer Height of the container &eight Usage Per 0umber of parts re!uired for / finished product 'ssem(ly &o!rly Usage Ma$imum number of pieces used per hour Standard "ontainer (iece count of material in one container )!antity
www.lean.org .ean *nterprise #nstitute 6

"ontainers Used Per &o!r

Ma$imum number of containers re!uired per hour

Shipment Si*e 4i%e of a standard shipment in days '/ week shipment 7 8 days+ "arrier Company providing parts-transportation services

Transit Time Travel time re!uired from the supplier to the facility 'in days+ # of "ards +n 0umber of pull signals that are in the system Loop S!pplier 4upplier performance rating that includes on-time delivery, !uality, etc. Performance 4ource Making Materials Flow workbook, .ean *nterprise #nstitute, www.lean.org

,ou-ll want to make the information in the ()*( visible to everyone in the facility, and you-ll need to sort the ()*( by categories 'e.g., part description, order fre!uency, container type, and hourly usage+. 4o, you-ll need either a computer spreadsheet 'such as *$cel+ or computer database 'such as 3ccess+ to house the ()*(. Most facilities start with an *$cel spreadsheet. They may someday migrate the data into an 3ccess database, but it-s important to use a tool that is user friendly and has sorting capabilities Fill the PFEP 3fter selecting the application, the ne$t step is to load the data in the smallest element possible. )or e$ample, don9t put a container9s height, length, and width in one column. Create a separate category for each dimension 'width, height, and length+. This is critical information for designing storage locations. 4imilarly, avoid putting suppliers9 addresses in one column. Break them up into city and state so you can sort by these categories in case you want to set up an e$ternal material movement system 'milk runs+ among plants. Begin filling the ()*( with parts data from one cell. 3dd data cell-by-cell for all the cells in the value stream. :ltimately, it will include comprehensive information on every part in the entire facility. 4maller facilities that have "ust one or two simple value streams may be able to develop and fill the ()*( from the outset with parts information for the entire plant. )or larger facilities, it9s important to start with a scope that you
www.lean.org .ean *nterprise #nstitute ;

can manage. Managers who try to develop the ()*( for large facilities with many value streams all at once and risk not getting the pro"ect finished. <r even worse, they take shortcuts that compromise the !uality of the data. #t9s much easier to start small and e$pand on your initial success than to get in over your head, fail, and have to start all over again - or to simply give up. *stablish the ()*( with an eye to the future. <ther cells and value streams will need to use the same fields and format, and they wanted to avoid any significant rework of the ()*( as the implementation branched out. #n addition to managing current parts for current products, you9ll want to use the ()*( when developing new products by making a rule that no new product can be moved to the production preparation stage without documenting complete ()*( data. 3n accurate ()*(, developed and tested well before the beginning of production, will be a powerful tool for the development team in guaranteeing trouble-free launches at target cost. ,aintaining the +ntegrity of the PFEP Data <nce you get all this information - and it probably will take more than one person to gather it all - the maintenance of it is not that time consuming. But you have to appoint a ()*( manager. This is the only person in the plant who can change and update the document. 5hen there are too many people with the ability to change one document, the information will suffer. The ()*( manager is not often a full-time "ob. #t normally only takes /= to ;= minutes daily depending on the si%e of your plant. 5hile smaller facilities can appoint one ()*( manager for every value stream in the entire plant, large facilities may need more than one ()*( manager, assigned to different product-family value streams. #n our e$perience, fewer ()*( managers will usually mean a more accurate ()*(. ,ou should also institute a guideline that re!uires every part to be documented in the ()*( and approved by the ()*( manager before it could appear on the shop floor. This is aided by a ()*( Change13dd >e!uest )orm.

www.lean.org

.ean *nterprise #nstitute

PFEP "hange-'dd .e !est Form 3pe$ (roduction Control

Part +nformation "!rrent Data

4tandards )orm
"hange To-'dd

(art ? /;8@A Bescription )errule Baily :sage A@= :sage .ocation Cell /2 4torage .ocation Market <rder )re!uency Baily 4upplier The Cabby 4upplier City Bayton 4upplier 4tate <H 4upplier Country :4 Container Type *C(. Container 5eight 'lbs.+ 8 / (art 5eight 'lbs.+ =.=8 Total (ackage 5eight 'lbs.+ /= .ength 'in.+ /6 5idth 'in.+ A Height 'in.+ A :sage (er 3ssembly / Hourly :sage @= 4tandard Container /== Duantity Containers :sed (er Hour =.@ 4hipment 4i%e 8 Bays Carrier Eitran Transit Time ; Bays ? of Cards in .oop 6.F 4upplier (erformance 6 *$plain the reason for change or addition (erson submitting (osition Bate 3pproved by 3pproved by 3pproved by

6.8 8 A

6 Bays /

///////////////// ///////////////// ///////////////// ///////////////// ///////////////// /////////////////

(roduction Control <perations *ngineering

4ource Making Materials Flow workbook, .ean *nterprise #nstitute, www.lean.org The person s!(mitting the form only fills in the fields in the far right col!mn that need to (e changed or added to the PFEP0

www.lean.org

.ean *nterprise #nstitute

By establishing a ()*( manager and developing precise guidelines for changes in any information in the ()*(, you ensure that the ()*( is always up-to-date and accompanied by a paper trail of changes. #f done properly, this also makes it impossible to change a part on the floor without communicating that change to all affected departments. )or e$ample, during routine operations your (roduction Control Bepartment may use the ()*( as a !uick reference to know what company supplies a part, where the supplier is located, and how long it takes to get the part. <perations could use the ()*( in an emergency, such as solving a problem with purchased-parts !uality. #ndustrial *ngineering may use the ()*( to reference container dimensions and design parts-presentation devices. #f each of these groups could change the information in the absence of a formal process, the !uality of the information would soon deteriorate. The ()*(, once carefully established, filled with parts information, and properly managed, enables you to

Begin creating a lean material-handling system and subse!uently developing purchased-parts market, delivery routes, and pull signals. 4tore pertinent current data on all parts in one central, accessible location. 4ort parts data by various categories, such as container si%e, supplier location, and usage. (rovide !uick response to operations !uestions regarding parts and suppliers. *$tend the lean material-handling system to your plant-to-plant material movements.

+s the PFEP Lean1 #s development and updating of the ()*( a value-creating processG 0o, because it does not directly create value from the standpoint of the customer. #nstead, it is important incidental work that will significantly increase the percentage of value-creating activities that occur throughout your plant. Many firms believe they have the functional e!uivalent of a ()*( Hsomewhere in the system,H and wonder if creating and continually updating a ()*( as a distinct data set really creates value. The answer is that when information is in many places and hard for everyone to see, value-creating activities throughout the plant can9t be supported with accurate and timely information. 5astes of many sorts become unavoidable. Plan For Every Part 2 3eys to S!ccess
www.lean.org .ean *nterprise #nstitute A

I 4elect a ()*( format that has sorting capabilities 'most common is a spreadsheet or database+. I .oad data in the smallest element possible 'e.g., container si%e should be entered as three different dimensions & length, width, and height+. I 3ppoint a ()*( manager responsible for the accuracy and updating of the ()*(. I *nsure controlled maintenance of the ()*( through a set of guidelines. I *stablish a system to update the ()*( & a change re!uest form. '(o!t the '!thor Chris Harris began his lean training on the assembly line at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Jentucky and continued his learning at Toyota Tsusho 3merica in Keorgetown, J,. He has a master of business administration degree from 3nderson :niversity, 3nderson, #0. Chris now helps companies with their lean implementation efforts as a member of Harris .ean 4ystems #nc. He is co-author with >ick Harris and *arl 5ilson of the Making Materials Flow workbook, published by the .ean *nterprise #nstitute. Making Materials Flow shows manufacturing professionals in operations, production control, and industrial engineering how to replace materialhandling systems designed for mass production with a system for purchased parts that supports lean production. The workbook reveals the e$ercises, formulas, standards, and forms needed for implementation. The key implementation steps detailed in the workbook include Beveloping the (lan )or *very (art '()*(+. This basic database fosters accurate and controlled inventory reduction and is the foundation for the continuous improvement of a facility9s materialhandling system. Building the purchased-parts market. Besigning delivery routes. #mplementing pull signals. Continuously improving the system.
'This article originally appeared on the 05lean website in 3pril, 6==2.+

www.lean.org

.ean *nterprise #nstitute