Continuous flow manufacturing

CFM (continuous-flow manufacturing) combines total quality control, total people involvement, and the elimination of waste to ensure continuous attention to enhancements of manufacturing efficiency. The author provides an overview of CFM and suggests six generic areas of every manufacturing line where the CFM approach can be used. These areas are sector-by-sector analysis, setup reduction, operations improvement, pull-system WIP (work-in-process) management, process flow improvement, and defect reduction. The CFM methodology has been applied to an IBM internal business unit that manufactures photomasks used for semiconductor production. In 1984, serviceability and quality measurements in the business unit were unacceptably low and business measurements were nonexistent. CFM provided the framework for operational improvements in this unit. Presently, serviceability in the 90% to 100% range is routinely achieved. Delivery times have been more than cut in half, while superlative quality measurements have been attained. Finally, cost reductions have been realized in an environment of ever-increasing technological challenge