What are Good KPIs?

To control any kind of system, you need to know its status. For a simple system like heating, the indoor temperature may be the key input. For something as complex as manufacturing, however, there could be a myriad of different measurements that can help you to control the system. In this context, KPIs (key performance…

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Effects on Efficiency—Group Size, Line, Location, Product

In my last post, I started to look at factors that affect the efficiency of your line, in particular the percentage of value-added time by the operators. For this I have a good data set with fifty-three different observations. One major factor was the speed of the line. Faster lines are not only easier to…

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Effects on Efficiency—Takt Time

Whenever I visit a factory where manual work is done, I try to estimate the percentage of value-adding time. This brings up an interesting question: What factors do affect the percentage of value-adding time? Let’s dig through my data to see what matters. The Question Whenever I visit a factory where manual work is done,…

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