Time-based process mapping

The MPS generates operation release tickets (ORTs) for each scheduled process. The type and quantity of units required by the next process are withdrawn from the previous one as they are needed. When a work square becomes empty, an ORT is passed back to the preceding work centre to trigger a manufacturing operation. This serves as a signal (kanban) to the previous process to produce just enough units to replace those withdrawn. 

Work is performed in sequence of ORTs, and is carried out only when an output square is available. Completed operations are marked up on the hard copy of the MPS, which is pinned to the wall of the works manager s office by the supervisors at the end of each shift. The MPS is updated for completed operations and new orders each week. 

A combination of four weeks reduction in the time taken to tender and the time taken to produce a manufacturing design, and a further two weeks reduction in manufacturing times, has placed WDT in a pre-eminent position in the marketplace. Customers want to place orders for this type of equipment later and later in their own projects, so short lead times are a major benefit to WDT in the marketplace. 

1 Sketch out the main processes between a customer placing an enquiry and receiving delivery of a WDT transformer. Where has WDT really scored in terms of reducing this time  

2 What are the potential negatives of WDT s new jIT system in terms of limiting customer choice and short-circuiting the design process  

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Time-based process mapping how to create visibility of time across the network. 

Use the data collected by walking the process and the interviews with operators to sketch a flow chart so linkages and dependencies between steps can be clarified before constmcting the time-based process map. This flow chart is used by the task force to ensure they have not missed any steps in the process. 

More microprocessor-based process equipment, such as smart instruments and single-loop controllers, with digital communications capability are now becoming available and are used extensively in process plants. A fieldbus, which is a low-cost protocol, is necessary to perform efficient communication between the DCS and these devices. So-called mini-MAP architec ture was developed to satisfy process control and instrumentation requirements while incorporating existing ISA standards. It is intended to improve access time while... 

Many design methods have been proposed to synthesize RAAs. The majority of these methods (see chapter 1 for an overview) are based on an affine transformation (first described by Quinton [15] and Moldovan [12]) to map the index space of the application description to time and processor space. The use of such a transformation method simplifies the design task considerably and requires only a few parameters to characterize a design completely. Unfortunately, most of these methods start from a relatively low level specification, using sets of UREs (uniform recurrence equations) [3] or CUREs (conditional uniform recurrence equations) [17] to describe an application. Moreover, especially in the case of real-time signal processing applications, the resulting architecture is usually unnecessarily fast or too slow. 

An extension of the Vendruscolo method involves computer simulations and experimental measurements that are carried out in an iterative manner to make more efficient use of the information encoded in (j)-values. " To map out the transition state, protein engineering is usually performed on all residues that are amenable to conservative mutations. The iterative method proposed by Paci et al. eliminates most of this labor-intensive and time-consuming process by reducing the number of mutations that need to be performed experimentally. The method is based on the premise that the critical nucleus... 

There are two types of data (1) the open questions (listed in the questionnaire and case companies SC mapping in Chapter 4) contribute to the model processes mapping in Figure 5.1 (2) the archived data from the ERP system contribute to assessing the value of the related variables considered in Chapter 6, for example, static input variables, expected customer order and cost coefficient, and so on. In addition, the decision variables under the companies original strategy use the archived data. Moreover, the range and distribution of uncertainties (time and quantity uncertainties) are based on data from the interviews. 

The following sections give an overview of the key stages involved in the time-based mapping process. 

Following on from the concept of value, the next principle is to identify the whole sequence of processes along the supply network. The principles of time-based mapping are discussed in sections 5.4 and 5.5 of Chapter 5. 

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