Flow is not Magical It's Methodical
Inventory is a visible indicator of time.
We have Raw Material Inventory because our suppliers cannot produce or deliver to meet our manufacturing cadence.
We have WIP (Work In Progress) Inventory because we have a bottleneck within our process or the Set-Up or Change-Over simply takes too long.
We have Finished Goods Inventory so we can immediately satisfy a customer requirement with a better product than our competitor.
Then, we have Administrative Inventory, harder to see but a true debilitating factor. In some cases we have witnessed that of the Total Production Lead Time, 80% of that time is absorbed with Administrative tasks.
But all categories of Idle Inventory inventory consume cash. So keep that Inventory constantly moving hopefully in a manner where it is constantly adding value to the organization and that ultimately the customer is willing to pay for..
To enhance your viewing capability of creating "Eyes for Flow" and "Eyes for Waste" you need to be able to segment the 7 flows typically found in manufacturing:.
The 7 Flows of Manufacturing
Raw Materials Flow
What it covers:
The movement of incoming standard work, components, and raw materials from the dock to storage or the point of use.
Key focus: Optimizing container types, transfer methods, distances, and replenishment cycles.
Work-in-Process (WIP) Flow
What it covers: The movement and routing of semi-finished parts as they transition between different manufacturing cells or operations.
Key focus: Ensuring small, leveled batches move continuously rather than sitting in massive, stagnant queues or pallets.
Finished Goods Flow
What it covers: The transition of completed products from the final assembly line through packaging, staging, and out to the customer or dispatch.
Key focus: Minimizing the time and space products spend sitting in "just-in-case" warehouses.
What is the standard work? What are the locations and distances? What are the container types and sizes? What are the packaging materials and what do we do with it? Are there any machine cycle times? How is the transfer of material accomplished? What are the conveyors, carts, forklifts being used?
4. Operator (People) Flow
What it covers: The physical movement, body mechanics, and task-retrieval motions of workers on the shop floor.
Key focus: Maximizing worker safety, ergonomics, and purposeful movement while eliminating excessive walking, bending, or reaching.
What is the standard work and operator’s cycle time (determine pace of the line, slowest to fastest)? What are the operator’s body movements … arms, hands, head, eyes, legs and feet? Observe the “go-gets” of operators getting things to do their tasks.
5. Equipment (Machines) Flow
What it covers: The layout, cycle times, right-sizing, maintenance, and setup routines of machinery and automation.
Key focus: Designing flexible, reliable, and adaptable equipment that supports continuous flow rather than causing line-stopping breakdowns.
What is the machine cycle time? What are the set-up requirements? What is the machine process and is it right-sized only for what is required? Are there unused features in the machine? What steps are required to operate the machine? What are the requirements of properly maintaining the machines? Are the machines purchased or built in-house? Observe the machine wastes (collection, disposal, size and shape, recycle coolant, etc.).
6. Information Flow
What it covers: The digital and visual signals that dictate production—such as kanbans, production boards, schedules, and real-time data.
Key focus: Creating a real-time, visible, and pull-based nervous system ("if I can't see it, it doesn't exist") instead of relying on slow emails and static spreadsheets.
Observe the transfer of information. What information is needed? What is the path of information? What are the decisions made by the operator? How many decisions are made by the operator? What does the operator do when a problem occurs or if he or she has a question? How does information of problems get passed on? Who responds to the operator’s needs? What information is on production control boards, production schedules, kanbans, manufacturing plans, etc.?
7. Engineering Flow
What it covers: The integration of tooling, process controls, quality checks, product design updates, and standard work changes.
Key focus: Ensuring new designs, engineering changes, and quality improvements flow smoothly into production without causing chaos or floor-level "firefighting".
What is the tooling required? What are the process controls and quality checks? Are there “go/no-go” gauges? Observe any hanedashi devices (the mechanisms to automatically eject a part from the machine to free up the operator to only load the machine).
Why They Matter
These flows are deeply interconnected. When you conduct a Gemba walk to observe operations, sketching out all seven flows helps pinpoint hidden stops, delays, and re-dos that disrupt overall plant efficiency.
Link those Micro Flows
For example, you are looking at a stamping operation. The material Handler arrives and places a skid of WIP next to the press. The operator arrives, he takes a unit from the skid, places it in the press and "WHAM" the press does its thing and then the operator removes the part and stacks it onto another skid, which when full is destined to migrate to the Brake Press for the operator's methodology to resume only doing a different function.
Apply, Chaku-Chaku, which literally means "Load-Load". You take the output of one process and it automatically becomes the input to the next process. Take our example, a simple conveyor between the Stamping Press to the Brake Press links the two operations and eliminates the WIP Inventory buffer between the operations.
If you want Flow to be Magical do not get involved in Material Handling and some sort of flow will emerge. Engineer how you want your flow to operate and it will become Methodical.
Finally;
Flow doesn't find you -- you need to find it. Here is how to start:
Pick one Quest ... choose one area to improve. If you pick too many areas to focus on attention fragments, and with it progress.
Set 90 Day Targets ... What would progress look like in three months? You need time for change to materialize, but not so much that the goal feels unrealistic.
Schedule Flow Windows ... the brain can sustain deep focus for about 90-120 minutes before it needs a break. Schedule a time for three-to-four distraction free block to give your brain the best chance to identify and improve flow.
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