How can you optimize manufacturing for flexibility?

1 Assess your flexibility needs

The first step is to identify the types and levels of flexibility that your manufacturing system requires. This depends on various factors, such as the market characteristics, the product life cycle, the production volume and mix, the customer expectations, and the competitive strategy. You can use tools such as flexibility matrices, gap analysis, and benchmarking to evaluate your current and desired flexibility performance and identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement.

3 Manage flexible resources

The third step is to manage your manufacturing resources to support flexibility. This includes the human, material, financial, and information resources that are involved in the production process. You can optimize your resource utilization by applying methods such as cross-training, multi-skilling, team-based work, inventory management, supplier collaboration, and capacity planning. You can also leverage digital technologies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and internet of things, to enhance your resource visibility, control, and optimization.

4 Organize for flexibility

The fourth step is to organize your manufacturing system to facilitate flexibility. This involves defining the roles, responsibilities, and relationships of the people, departments, and functions that are involved in the production process. You can foster a flexible organization by adopting structures and cultures that promote decentralization, empowerment, communication, and learning. You can also implement systems and policies that encourage innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement.

5 Measure your flexibility performance

The fifth step is to measure your flexibility performance to monitor and evaluate your progress and results. This involves defining the relevant indicators and metrics that reflect your flexibility goals and objectives. You can use tools such as balanced scorecards, dashboards, and feedback loops to collect, analyze, and communicate your flexibility data and information. You can also use techniques such as audits, reviews, and surveys to assess your flexibility strengths and weaknesses and identify the areas for improvement.

6 Improve your flexibility continuously

The sixth and final step is to improve your flexibility continuously by applying the principles of plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. This involves planning your flexibility improvement actions based on your assessment and measurement results, implementing them in your manufacturing system, checking their effectiveness and impact, and acting on the lessons learned and best practices. You can also use methods such as kaizen, six sigma, and benchmarking to enhance your flexibility improvement process and outcomes.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?