Paper Airplane ExercisePaper Airplane Exercise

Provided to NWLEAN by Tim Leach of Northrup Grumman, May ‘98

2

Paper Airplane Exercise Paper Airplane Exercise (50 minutes)(50 minutes)

3 Simulations

• 6pc Batch (Push)

• 3pc Batch (Push)

• Single Piece Flow (Pull)

Measure

• Completed Units

• Throughput (Regular and “Hot” Production)

• Work-In-Process

• Observations (Worker Environment)

3

Materials RequiredMaterials Required

• 200 Sheets of Paper (Approx.)– To make Paper Airplanes

• 50 Paper Clips– To Use as “Carts” for Transporting W.I.P. & Planes

• Masking Tape– To Mark-Off Queue Boxes and Work Areas for

Exercise• Dry Erase Markers– For White Board or Flip Chart Tracking of Exercise

Activities–One or More of: White Board / Chalk Board / Flip

Chart• “Paper Airplane Mfg., Co.” Tracking Sheet– To Record Exercise Results and Participants

• Stop Watch or Watch with a Second Hand

4

Simulation Physical LayoutSimulation Physical Layout

• Eight Participants- Material Identification - Wing Fold- Fuselage Fold - Shipping- Nose Fold #1 - Customer (Boeing)

- Nose Fold #2 - Material Handler– Clearly identify “Queue” boxes between each station–Work in designated work area– No work to be done within “Queue” boxes– Only Material Handler moves material in 6pc & 3 pc

simulations

• Everyone Else Observes

• 6 Minutes per Simulation -- Stop ALL Activity at 6 Minutes

• Introduce “Hot” Plane at 2 - 3 - 4 Minute Marks

• Record Measurables and Observations After Each 6 Minute Simulation

5

Simulation Physical LayoutSimulation Physical Layout

RawMaterialQueue

MaterialIdentification

Fuselage“Queue”

FuselageFold

Nose #1Fold

“Queue”

Nose Fold#1

Nose #2Fold

“Queue”

Nose Fold#2

WingFold

“Queue”

WingFoldShipping

Shipping“Queue”Customer

CustomerReceiving

QTY PROD

UNITS / MIN

W.I.P.

“HOT”

Observations

6:

3:

1:

Facilitator

Material Handler: 6pc & 3pc Simulations(Moves all Material)PAPER AIRPLANE, CO.

6 3 1

6

Pre-Exercise PreparationPre-Exercise Preparation

• Visual Aids– The Exercise Will have 5 Stations Requiring Visual

Aids• See Work Station Examples

• Tape Off “Queue” Boxes With the Masking Tape – (Re: Simulation Physical Layout)–Write on the Taped “Queue” Box What “Queue”

Box It Represents–Make Sure to Spread the Seats Apart for Clear

Separation of “Work” Stations Between the “Queue” Boxes

• Identify Work Areas With One Strip of Tape and Label Them

7

Pre-Exercise PreparationPre-Exercise Preparation

• Line Primed or System Filled– If the Exercise is Produced With the Line Primed (a

Batch Set in Each “Queue” Box Prior to Starting Each Simulation), the Facilitator Will Need to Have These Ready Prior to the Exercise (This Saves Time During the Exercise)– Line Empty– If the Exercise is Produced With the Line Empty

(No Parts in the Line at the Start of Each Simulation), then No Pre-Folding of Planes is Required– The Exercise can be Produced Either Way -

However all Three Simulations in the Exercise Must be Produced the Same Way (Primed or Empty)

8

Work Station ExamplesWork Station Examples

04/10/98 Lot #1 04/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #1

04/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #1

04/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #1

04/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #104/10/98 Lot #1

04/10/98 Lot #1

04/10/98 Lot #1

MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION

FUSELAGE FOLD

NOSE FOLD #1

NOSE FOLD #2

WING FOLD

Notes

This exhibits the 6pc Batch

The same would done for the 3pc Batch

No Paper Clips Required for 1pc Flow

Visual

Aid

Visual

Aid

Visual

Aid

Visual

Aid

Visual

Aid

Paper Clip “Cart”

9

Facilitator InstructionsFacilitator Instructions

• Recruit Eight (8) Participants– Material Identification: To Identify Material Batches

and Place them on “Carts” (Paper Clip them Together, 6 each for the 6pc Batch Simulation and 3 each for the 3pc Simulation. Leave the “Cart” in the Work Area for the Material Handler to Transport)

– Batches will be identified by Date & Lot: Lot #1, Lot #2, Lot #3, Lot #4, etc...

– Fuselage Fold: See Work Station Examples– Nose Fold #1: See Work Station Examples– Nose Fold #2: See Work Station Examples– Wing Fold: See Work Station Instructions– Material Handler: Only Person to Move Material

Batches from Work Areas to Next Customer’s “Queue” Box

10

Facilitator Instructions Facilitator Instructions (Continued)(Continued)

• Recruit One of the Observers as a Time Keeper– The Time Keeper will start and stop the simulations– In addition, the Time Keeper will alert the Facilitator at 2

- 3 - & 4 minutes• This is so the Facilitator can introduce a “Hot” Plane

to the process

• Give a Minimum of Instruction to each Participant as to Their Required Activity for the 6pc Batch simulation– This allows their true experiences with Batch

Production to be exhibited– Tell the participants that they are being evaluated by

their individual output• Quality is not a critical element here - Use your

discretion– You may give more detailed instructions/training for the

3pc Batch Simulation

11

Facilitator Instructions Facilitator Instructions (Continued)(Continued)

• Start the Time Keeper and Introduce a “Hot” Plane at 2 - 3 - & 4 Minutes– Mark the next sheet the Material Identification operator

will process with a large “X” on each side of the sheet– Take your time. Remember this role is as a person who

only cares that he /she identified the “Hot” material. This person does not care about output

– A “Hot” Plane is a new style or engineering change. It must travel with the Batch in which it was identified. All the “old” style planes have been ordered by the customer so they must be built as the customer order states. Think of this as flushing the system of the “old” style.

– DO NOT EXPEDITE THE “HOT” PLANES

12

Facilitator Instructions Facilitator Instructions (Continued)(Continued)

• Stop the Simulations at 6 Minutes– Record the data listed on the Paper Airplane Mfg., Co.

tracking sheet• The Facilitator needs to report this information on a

white board or flip chart for the group to see and talk to during the simulations

• The information needs to be recorded directly on tracking sheet after the exercise for the and continuous improvement purposes

13

Facilitator Instructions Facilitator Instructions (Continued)(Continued)

• Calculate Cash Flow as Follows– $2 Million per Plane shipped to the customer (+)– $1 Million per every piece of W.I.P. (-)• This is an excellent tool to exhibit the financial

burden on a company for carrying excessive inventories

(Results Sharing & Continuous Improvement Drain)

• Conduct the 3pc Batch Simulation the Same as the 6pc Batch Simulation– Explain that there will be no changes to the processes.

Clearer instructions/training can be given addressing how to perform a specific job and to clarify quality expectations

14

Facilitator Instructions Facilitator Instructions (Continued)(Continued)

• 1pc Flow– The paper clips will no longer be used– The participants must completely understand that they

can perform work ONLY when their Customer “Queue” box is empty - Giving them their VISUAL TRIGGER to produce another product to replenish their Customer’s DEMAND (the Cradle of Takt Time)• To make this point clear: If the Customer’s “Queue”

box has a part in it, that operator CANNOT be working on a new part ....... Period

15

Facilitator Instructions Facilitator Instructions (Continued)(Continued)

• Make it very clear that the Customer pulling a ship-set out of their Receiving Area is the TRIGGER for Shipping to ship another ship-set

• Shipping then pulls a ship-set out of their “Queue” box from Wing Fold - This then Triggers wing Fold to replenish this ship-set

• And on down the line• The facilitator has to pay very close attention during

the 1pc simulation to maintain the integrity of the Customer’s Visual Trigger to produce - Whether the customer is outside the organization or within the organization

• Q & A Session for 1pc and Entire Exercise