The distance that material travels through the process must be limited. Each production process should be located as close to the next downstream process as is practical. Point of use inventory storage should be a goal to eliminate the costs involved in managing and controlling inventory. If you bought material, it should be delivered immediately to the machine or person who will use it to manufacture the product. Single-piece-flow requires that the downstream process be within easy reach. If the material has to travel large distances, it should be triggered by a Kanban signal so that the amount of WIP inventory can be limited. |