Manufacturing Operations · Production flow · Component
The WIP limit
How much work is allowed in the system at once — the counter-intuitive lever that shortens lead time without reducing throughput.
The deliverable
What it is
Work in progress and lead time are proportional at a given throughput. Releasing more work into the system makes each item slower without producing more.
This is counter-intuitive and reliably true, which makes it one of the few operational levers that costs nothing to pull.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The limit
The maximum work allowed in the system or in a stage.
3 attributes: WIP limit · Applies to · Basis
LearnThe current WIP
How much work is actually in the system.
3 attributes: Current WIP · Implied lead time · Measured
LearnThe release rule
What governs when new work enters the system.
3 attributes: Release rule · Controls release · Exception path
Learn
Enforce the limit at a single release point. Work entering through several doors makes the limit decorative.
The other components in production flow
The flow map
How work moves through production, with queues and handovers made visible rather than drawn as arrows.
LearnThe flow measure
Working time against elapsed time, per product line — the number that shows how much of the lead time is actually production.
Learn