How does the issue of time impact the process of facilities

How does the issue of time impact the process of facilities planning?

Solution

Time impact is usually calculated as Waste.

Time Delay is perhaps the most obvious of the 7 wastes in Strategic Planning. It is easily identifiable as lost time due to poor flow: parts shortages, bottlenecks, and equipment breakdowns. In an office based environment, this may take the form of slow software loading times or waiting for an important phone call. This is also frustrating for the employees involved, which can lead to reduced morale.

Time delay also causes Over production. It is building more of a product than the customer ordered or wanted. Remembering that waste is anything for which the customer is not willing to pay, it is easy to see why over production is a waste. However over production actually drives all of the other types of waste as well. The excess product now has to be stored somewhere which means excess motion, transportation and inventory. Also over production means that if a reject is found, there will be more units that need to be reworked.

Excess Motion-This is wasted movement that is made while working. It could take the form of having to walk to another area to collect a tool, part or document. It also covers searching for things in a messy environment. A classic example is sorting through piles of paperwork to find the one form required at that moment to complete the job.

Over Processing- This work adds no value for the customer or business. This usually takes the form of over engineering a product: unnecessary features that the customer does not use, but increase the cost to the business. This could be maintaining paint finish or other tolerances, more tightly than is required by the customer. Another example is building a product that will last for five years when the customer is going to replace it after two.

Excess Inventory- Excess material, work in process or finished goods. Excess inventory represents cash tied up in the form of material, which is difficult to turn into cash quickly. Inventory also takes up space. It has to be managed, stored and can become obsolete leading to scrap. The quality of inventory can deteriorate over a period of time, especially perishable items such as food or rubber seals.

Transportation- Unlike excess motion which is wasted movement of people, transportation is excess motion of work in process. This can be at the process level or the value stream level. At the process level, excess transportation can be having machines too far apart so that parts need to be moved on a fork lift truck. At the value stream level, excess transport can be moving finished parts or components between facilities and not consolidating the transport.