5.Machining Operations-Cycle Time

Cycle Time
The time to complete a task or collection of tasks

Throughput
The desired process throughput is inverse takt time.

Yield
The amount of product during a processing cycle


Once the unit cycle times are known, then what? Go Lean!

* Where are we?
- Determine process bottlenecks

* Where are we going?
- Ability to forecast process capacity based on cycle time at the narrowest bottleneck
- Assess bottleneck cycle times to prioritize continuousimprovement/lean initiatives…why improve cycle time?

+ Continuous improvement may displace workers, as a reduction in cycle time often results in making more, faster, with fewer resources.
+ There needs to be a plan for dealing with changing resource requirements.

* How will we get there?
- Combine cycle time with takt time and available work time to schedule production and labor allocation.
- Create a detailed action plan that aligns all activities.