Heijunka

Toyotas production leveling principle. A Key TPS tool to increase productivity.

Key Concepts

Heijunka converts uneven customer pull into an even & predictable manufacturing process. Heijunka is generally used in combination with other key Toyota production system principles.

Heijunka is a core concept that bring helps bring stability to a manufacturing process.

The Need for Heijunka

Product Levelling Large batches of same product may reduce set-up time & changeover time , but usually also result in:
Long lead time, swelling inventories, greater chances of defects & excessive idle times/ overtimes.

Production Levelling Responding to fluctuating customer demand can result in increased overtime or idle time. Variable production schedules can be stressful = Unhappy workers. Fluctuations in demand are often highly amplified and delayed throughout the supply chain.

Example
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total Demand 4878 3672 4536 4230 3618 4788 4464 3996 3546 4356 4536 3888 16326 / 4 = 4082 16866 / 4 = 4217

Weekly leveled production

4329 4329 4329 4329 4217 4217 4217 4217 4082 4082 4082 4082

17316

4329

Conventional Mfg. process

800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Supplier Inventory for A Demand for B Supplier Inventory for B Productivity for A Demand for A Productivity for B 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

NUMMI facility in Fremont, USA was the first place where American automakers witnessed TPS in action outside Japan.

Mfg. process using Heijunka

800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Cum .Supplier Inventory Cum. Productivity Cum. Demands 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

Hiejunka is considered one of Toyotas strengths which aided in Toyotas Global production post the oil crisis.

In Simpler terms

With progress in TPS, Toyota had reduced the changeover time from 1.5 hrs to 15 mins (in 1950s). Currently it stands at 3 mins.

Heijunka - At TKAP
Customer Variants Share of Volume

TMT

TKAP R T/M TASA

R75 TKM R78 R38

All new Apples manufacturing facilities manufacture the Ipod, the Iphone & the Ipad with the help of Heijunka.

8%

Good

Lower Handling costs, Lower warehousing costs ,etc.

Meet customer demands

Lead Time
Inventory
Good not to have inventory, good to meet demand, but there really is some balance between the two. And this balance is the core of Heijunka

Good

Lesser Inventory

Lower Lead time

- Rajpandian P