Lean Manufacturing Planning System

The primary purpose of LMPS is to determine if sufficient capacity is available (in terms of equipment) to satisfy the stated demand. The user can vary the following operating parameters to conduct a “what-if” analysis:

	Scenario number
	Part numbers to be produced—up to thirty (30) different parts
	Annual quantity to produce for each part number
	Yield rate for each part number
	Selling price per unit by part number
	Number of production days available in a year
	Wax process parameters—injection time, cool-down time, flash removal, wax machine assigned to part, mold assembly time, and cluster size for each part number
	Shelling process parameters—number of dips, shelling time, autoclave time, and dewax time for each part number ; also the shelling robot, number of molds per cycle, and mold capacity of curing ovens
	Curing process parameters—drying times for each dip for each part number
	Casting and post casting process parameters—cast time, knock-out time, cut-off time, gate removal time, finishing time, sand blast time, pack quantity, casting machine assigned to part, unit weight, and gating efficiency for each part number
	Mean time between failure and mean time to repair
	Financial data—material cost, material usage, department cost, sales, general and administrative cost, business center fixed cost, and part cost for each part number

The user can run LMPS with the specified parameters and view the results. All time based output units in this system are in minutes. The software will generate an output report for each of the following:

	Part process time
	Production projection
	Station buffer sizes
	Station utilization
	Scenario data

Graphical charts can be generated for the station buffer sizes and the station utilization.

LMPS can be used as often as needed, based on the business/operating environment. The software allows the analyst to evaluate future business and operating scenarios to optimize the utilization and throughput of the process area.