Effects of `overmakes´ on company performance

The paper outlines the main findings of an examination of overmakes in a small company which manufactures complex high-technology printed circuit boards (PCBs) for the aerospace and defence industries. Overmakes relate to the practice of planning to manufacture more PCBs than required to ensure that, in the event of poor process yields, the customer receives a full batch delivery. The study has found that certain company practices such as two-panel loading, step and repeat factors and an outdated overmake planning grid have contributed to an excessive number of overmakes being manufactured and subsequently put into inventory as stock boards. A formula for planning the optimum number of overmakes has been developed and this, together with a revised overmake grid, indicates that overmakes can be reduced by almost one-third