As you know, one of the goals intrinsic to Lean systems is the reduction of Lead Time. APPRODUCTIVITY4.0 is a software with a clear Lean orientation, which provides you with different functionalities that will help your company’s processes to achieve this goal.
Lead time is the time that elapses from the start of a process until it is completed, i.e., the latency from the start to the end of a “main” process and all its associated subprocesses. The lower this latency, the more efficient is the process, and therefore the greater the capacity, productivity and competitiveness of the company.
Lead time reduction is one of the most important goals when it comes to increasing capacity and improving productivity, competitiveness and efficiency
APPRODUCTIVITY4.0 is a Lean and Industry 4.0 software designed to increase productivity, improve flexibility, add value to processes and, ultimately, improve the competitiveness of companies, by also increasing their production capacity. Therefore, it is also designed to promote the reduction of Lead Time (which, in an industrial environment, is the time that elapses from the time a part enters the factory until it leaves once it is finished). This will be achieved mainly thanks to:
- Reducing the cycle times of the processes and subprocesses involved. With APPRODUCTIVITY 4.0 this is achieved with the help of the simulation tools and its Work Method Improvement module.
- Increased plant availability, which is associated with a reduced need for intermediate stock (WIP = work in process), e.g., by reducing changeover or set-up times. The SMED module (Single-Minute Exchange of Die or tool change in single digit minutes) incorporated in APPRODUCTIVITY 4.0 allows for a drastic reduction in machine set-up times.
- The ideal combination and synchronisation of the subprocesses which, if necessary, tend to work in tight-flow or continuous flow mode in order to shorten the time that elapses from the start of a production process until it is completed as much as possible. To this end, our software includes the Balancing module, which offers different modes depending on the type of processes and subprocesses: batches, mix, multi-operator cells and stations.
- Once the standards have been optimised (a reduction of the theoretical Lead Time or in the field of process engineering), it is necessary to materialise this time reduction. With our software’s EQUDIN-MES module, you will be able to detect possible divergences between the forecast Lead Time’s and what is in fact happening. In addition, you will detect this in real time in order for you to be able to adopt countermeasures such as, for example, rescheduling tasks, adding resources, etc.
- Finally, incentive systems are a very good way to improve the efficiency of the company. APPRODUCTIVITY 4.0 Competitiveness KPIs and Incentives Manager module enables you to establish incentives to focus the entire organisation on meeting and even reducing the expected Lead Times.
Continuous improvement of processes and therefore of standards is essential to improve productivity.
When we created the first version of our software more than 20 years ago, based on our experience in improving competitiveness (improving quality, reducing costs and waste, improving flexibility, etc.), we did so to give ourselves and our customers the necessary tools to optimise their processes. Since then, we have continued to improve it with this goal in mind and we have continued to incorporate new functionalities, which are all based on new needs raised by our clients. That is why our lean software helps you to eliminate waste (of resources and time), to make your factory more flexible and, therefore, allows you to improve the productivity of your company as well as, in this case, to reduce the lead time of your processes.
In the Itemsa blog we explain everything you want to know about lead time and, if you want to discover first-hand how APPRODUCTIVITY 4.0 can help you gain competitiveness in your company, contact us using the form below. We will prepare a real-life simulation and offer you a free demonstration of the application.