1. Level Scheduling “Ship to Schedule / Build to Plan”
Production Leveling
Level Scheduling “Ship to Schedule / Build to Plan”
Global PC & L Conference - May 15, 2001 1
1999 Delphi Delco Electronics Systems
Production Leveling
Instructor Manual - Version 1.0 1

2. Level Scheduling Presentation
Purpose: To update global PC & L organization on status of level scheduling process in support of ‘Strong Production Control
Process: Through a 45 minute presentation and 15 minute Q & A, review level scheduling concepts, support tools & rollout plan
Product: An understanding of the status of Level Scheduling

3. Why Level Schedule? Level Scheduling Minimize capital investment
Fully utilize current capacity (man, machine, material)
Minimize inventory/waste throughout supply chain

4. Value of Level Scheduling
Opportunity to:
Reduce finished goods premium transportation
Reduce manpower/overtime
Standardize work (better quality?)
Reduce inbound logistics costs
Reduce piece price

5. Value of Level Scheduling
Delphi Purchasing has suggested that level schedules to our suppliers could mean piece price reductions of at least 1%
Value of $120 Million!

6. Strong Production Control

7. DMS Material Movement Elements
Shipping to Schedule /
Building to Plan
Plan for Every Part
Addressing System
Container Right Sizing &
Designated Storage
Supporting the Operator
Pull Systems
Internal Delivery Routes
Supplier Delivery

8. Normal Variation Without Finished Goods Buffers
Normal variation exists due to the fact that customer’s requirements are naturally unlevel. If we try to build to that exact
cadence, the variation begins to amplify down the supply chain. Ultimately, forecasts become unpredictable and shortages
in the pipeline begin to occur.
ACTUAL
NORMAL
BATCH
MRP
DEMAND & INVENTORY
SUPPLIER FAB SUB-ASSY ASSY FINISHED CUSTOMER
GOODS

9. Comparison Traditional vs. Production Leveling
push
Variation in schedule and inventory increases in each upstream process
Traditional Scheduling
Final assembly builds to exact demand
Customer External Pull
Final Assembly
Finished Goods Inventory
Process 2
Process 1
Process 3
Production Leveling
Final assembly leveled builds to repetitive sequence and quantity
State:
Traditional scheduling allows variation in the schedule. Work in process inventory can increase with each upstream process, becoming unmanageable at the beginning of the value stream.
Traditionally the emphasis has been to carry extremely low finished goods inventor, while ignoring all WIP inventory. In the traditional scenario we have 20% finished goods inventory and 80% work in process inventory.
Click the mouse.
Production leveling uses the final assembly as a pacemaker to act as a buffer which levels the upstream process’ production.
By leveling production the finished goods inventory may go up slightly but work in process inventory will be significantly reduced.
Point out the symbols used for inventory on the slide in both scheduling methods shown. State:
In the traditional method, work in process inventory increases between each upstream feeder process.
By using the production leveling approach, work in process inventory is significantly reduced while the finished goods inventory is only slightly higher.
Finished Goods Inventory
Process 1
Process 2
Process 3
Final Assembly
Customer External Pull
Pull Loop
Pull Loop
Pull Loop
Buffer absorbs the customer’s schedule variation
1999 Delphi Delco Electronics Systems
Production Leveling
Instructor Manual - Version 1.0 12

10. PC & L Information Flow Business Model
Strong Production Control
CUSTOMER
ORDERS
PC&L
- Affected by Level Scheduling
Forecast
Schedule
Orchestrating the Process
PC&L
ERP - SAP/Legacy
Parts Forecast
PLANT
PFEP
Capacity Planning
Demand Planning
Buffers
Production
Schedule
Heijunka
Box
Purchased
Parts
Pull
Supplier Tooling
Capacity
Pull Loops
Plant Tooling
Capacity
Build Forecast
3PL/ LMC
Internal & External Suppliers
ASN

11. Planning & Scheduling Strategy
Working with Mr. Yamada to:
Define each step in the planning & scheduling process
Develop a common process for each step
Select a common tool for each step
Develop standardized work for PC & L
Develop training for each step
Roll-out training globally
Working with Jim Frost to:
Integrate tools with VEGA

12. Planning / Scheduling / Buffering
Long Term
Plan
One to Five Years.
Sales and Ops
Plan
Strong Production Control
One year
PC&L
Short Term
Plan
Weekly for 12 weeks
Orchestrating the Process
Operational
Plan
Level for 4 weeks
Level Weekly
Schedule
Level by day
Daily Schedule
Pattern Build

13. Planning & Scheduling Yearly Schedule ( 5,2,1 Years)
Capacity Strategy (Man/Machine)
Annual Plan with Manufacturing Capacity (Up-Time, Reject, Efficiency)
Pattern Recognition & Supporting Inventory Strategy (Summer Shut Down/Christmas Shut Down, Absenteeism)
Quarterly Schedule (3 Months)
Inventory Strategy
Seasonal Adjustment
Capacity Alarms and Countermeasure
Man/Machine Utilization
Weekly Frozen Schedule (Monthly for 4 Weeks)
Frozen Schedule vs. Customer Order
Production Control TAKT Time vs. Schedule Cycle Time
Leveled Schedule for MFG
Catch-Up Plan

14. Planning & Scheduling Weekly Leveled Schedule (1 week)
Leveled day to day
Daily Schedule and Change Over Plan
Daily Pattern dependent upon:
Customer ship frequency
Change over capability
Part numbers per line
Daily Schedule and Manifest Broadcast
Piloted in E&C Rochester
Sequential Finished Goods Order 　
Unique Component Parts Sequential Delivery
Finished Goods Delivery

15. Short Term Planning & Scheduling
Quarterly or Monthly Plan
Planning Issues:
Communicate the period demand (quarterly) to suppliers (load into MRP forecast)
Supplier capacity planning:
Machine investment
People hiring plan
Make a More Defined, Less Changeable Leveled Schedule Plan with the Inventory Strategy in Mind
Establish Components’ KANBAN Loop Sizes
Forecast overtime requirements
Manage the Component KANBAN Plan
Monthly
Weekly
Leveled Schedule
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

16. Short Term Planning & Scheduling
Generating the 12 - Week Operating Plan
Can be complex if:
Large quantity of finished goods part numbers
Capacity constraints exist
Selected an optimizer tool to simplify
“What’s Best”
Speeds up planning process once constraints are loaded
Models constraints and volume enabling scheduler to select “What’s Best” for his/her plant
$2200 per user
Being used at Thermal & Steering; suggest that it be used across Delphi

17. SHORT-TERM: 12-wk OPS PLAN

18. Using “What’s Best”

19. Level Scheduling Implementation Steps at the Plant
Step 1: Develop Current & Future State Value Stream Maps
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
Step 3: Develop Schedule: Level or Sequential
Step 4: Implement Schedule on Shop Floor, track compliance
Step 5: Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
Step 6: Implement Pull System with Suppliers
Step 7: Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves; Decrease P.P. Buffers with Shipping Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...

20. Material & Information Flow Strategy
REV:
Material & Information Flow Strategy
5yr Plan Market Strategy
1 - 3 yr Resource Plan
1 yr Pattern Recognition
PC&L
Forecast
Ship Schedule
Supplier
Customer
Forecast
Ship Schedule
(leveled)
Process
Performance Data
Shift by Shift
Line by Line
Load Level
Ship Schedule
Stamping
Welding
Assembly
Shipping
Empty
Containers
Central
Supermarkets
Pacemaker
Process

21. Implementation Steps
Step 1: Develop Current & Future State Value Stream Maps
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
Step 3: Develop Schedule: Level or Sequential
Step4: Implement Schedule on Shop Floor, track compliance
Step 5: Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
Step 6: Implement Pull System with Suppliers
Step 7: Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves; Decrease P.P. Buffers with Shipping Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...

22. Finished Goods Buffers
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
PC&L
Supplier
Customer
Daily
Level Schedule
Shipping
Schedule
Pace-
maker
Components
Shipping
F.G.
Pull System
Buffer

23. Monthly Operating Plan
Plan for Weekly Periods
Detailed Plan
Actual Manufacturing Schedule by Finished Goods Part Number
Need 4 Weeks in the Plan
Define the Manufacturing Plan for a Week
What Model Mix
PC&L Must Know Current Manufacturing Weaknesses/Strengths
What is the manufacturing capability
What is the uptime
Common cause vs. special cause
What is the reject ratio
What is the behind schedule catch-up plan
Daily overtime
Saturday and Sunday overtime
Must be loaded in MRP for supplier forecast

24. Data Needed to Create Level Schedule& Buffers

25. Finished Goods Buffers
Purpose: To absorb variation from:
Customer
Manufacturing
Seasonal Demand
Must be established based on data rather than “rules of thumb”
PC & L must understand sources of variation in developing buffer plan
Avoid arbitrary day targets (could drive too much/too little inventory and actually amplify the variation)
Buffer will expand/contract daily based on customer pulls and build performance 7

26. Elements of Finished Goods Buffer
To prepare for future
increases in demand
Seasonal
Mismatch between mfg.
timing and shipping
window
Running Stock
Minimum
To cover “fear” of
running out of parts
Political
Demand Variation
Safety Stock
Mfg. variation 5

27. Finished Goods Buffer Calculation
Safety Stock Calculation
Simple approach:
Choose the larger of:
The difference between the maximum daily customer schedule during the planning period and the daily average production schedule
Manufacturing underbuild to schedule
The preferred statistical approach (built into tool):
Square root of the sum of the squares of variation of customer and demand variability

28. Finished Goods Buffers
Running Stock:
Caused by the mismatch between build times and ship windows.
Example: You might ship a product on A shift, but make it only on B and C shifts.

29. Calculate FG Buffers -
Running Stock

30. Finished Goods Buffer Seasonal Buffer
Required to meet high demand in future periods
Sales & Operations Plan will highlight need
Will offset need for extra capacity/overtime/people during peak periods

31. Seasonal Demand Demand Variation Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Annual Average
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

32. Buffer Calculation

33. Implementation Steps
Step 1: Develop Current & Future State Value Stream Maps
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
Step 3: Develop Schedule: Level or Sequential
Step 4: Implement Schedule on Shop Floor, track compliance
Step 5: Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
Step 6: Implement Pull System with Suppliers
Step 7: Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves; Decrease P.P. Buffers with Shipping Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...

34. Plant Level Scheduling Software Criteria
Ability to level finished goods requirements over planning horizon (4 weeks preferred)
Ability to track schedule performance to plan
Ability to calculate finished goods buffers based on:
Customer order variation
Manufacturing variation
Ability to track buffer status graphically day-to-day based on production performance
Ability to capture variation between:
Level production plan and customer pulls
Customer forecast vs. actual pulls
Actual production vs. plan
Simplicity of downloading customer orders from MRP and uploading production plan to MRP
Ease of training users

35. Level Scheduling Tool Visited several divisions and plants
PC & L using different spreadsheet applications at plants worldwide
All using different buffer and leveling calculations
Worked with E & C, Thermal, Steering and DMS to select a common tool
Selected Excel spreadsheet with common format and formulas supported by “What’s Best” to support longer term planning
Plan to download demand information and upload production schedule and build forecast into legacy MRP and SAP
Already in place at Thermal
Download being done at Steering; upload being developed
Suggesting that scheduling be done and input into MRP each Monday and scheduling system run Monday evening so suppliers see latest plan Tuesday of current week

36. Level Scheduling Tool

37. Level Scheduling Tool

38. Daily Performance Graph
Below Safety Stock Level

39. Pattern Build Why build in a pattern?
Establishes a cadence for assembly and the value stream
The more closely the pattern tracks ship frequencies/window times the less inventory
How do you establish the pattern?
First, find out the max demand, cycle time and changeover time for each part
Scheduled runtime
= Minutes/shift - contractual breaks - time wasted
1)Time wasted = average downtime/day + average lost time/day OR
2)Time wasted = (Scheduled run time)*(1-OA) - (Avg c/o time)
Lost time = Time lost due to factors other than downtime and c/o time
Time needed for making parts = (c/t)*(max demand)/Quality Load Factor
Time left for c/o = Actual working time - (c/t)*(max demand)/QLF
Pattern = (Time left for c/o)/(Total c/o time for whole family)

40. Pattern Tool Algorithm

41. Pattern Build Good: Every Part Every Day aaaaabbbccdde (4 changeovers)
Better: Every Part Every Shift
1st: aaabbcd
2nd: aabcde (8 changeovers)
Preferred: Repeatable sequence
abdacabdacabe (12 changeovers)

42. Implementation Steps
Step 1: Develop Current & Future State Value Stream Maps
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
Step 3: Develop Schedule: Level or Sequential
Step 4: Implement Schedule on Shop Floor, track compliance
Step 5: Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
Step 6: Implement Pull System with Suppliers
Step 7: Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves; Decrease P.P. Buffers with Shipping Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...

43. Visual Control for Level Schedule
Convert Production Schedule in Computer to Visual Schedule on Shop Floor
Hour
Model 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A B C D E F G
P-90 REAR DRUM-LH
PART #
PART NAME
XXXX-XXXXXX
PROCESS
STAMP
MAKE
LOCATION
XXX
LINE
USER/STORE
QUANTITY XX
Delay
Load Level Box Definition:
A system that displays cards in a manner that represents a time based demand (Takt Time)

44. Load Level Box Requirements
Should be displayed at the pacemaker
Start simple
Display cards in order by day; then move to shift; then by pitch
Cards are placed in the board by PC & L
Only 1-2 days should be displayed at a time
Include a box for misses
Include clear instructions on how the board works and the rules for making up misses
Show “Build to Plan” performance near board to communicate compliance

45. Compliance Tracking Level Scheduling Metric Daily Schedule Attainment
% Produced vs. Scheduled by Line Item
Total Daily Schedule Attainment is Average of Line Item Attainment
Weekly Schedule Attainment
Total Produced vs. Total Scheduled for Week by Line Item
Total Weekly Schedule Attainment is Average of Weekly Line Item Attainments

46. Daily Production Plan Attainment
Compliance Tracking
Daily Production Plan Attainment

47. Implementation Steps
Step 1: Develop Current & Future State Value Stream Maps
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
Step 3: Develop Schedule: Level or Sequential
Step 4: Implement Schedule on Shop Floor, track compliance
Step 5: Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
Step 6: Implement Pull System with Suppliers
Step 7: Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves; Decrease P.P. Buffers with Shipping Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...

48. Pull from Pacemaker through Operations
Step 5:
Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
PC&L
Supplier
Customer
Daily
Level Schedule
Shipping
Ship To Schedule
Schedule I
Components
Pacemaker
Shipping
P.P.
F.G.
Buffer
Buffer
Pull System

49. Implementation Steps
Step 1: Develop Current & Future State Value Stream Maps
Step 2: Develop Manufacturing Plan and FG Buffer
Step 3: Develop Schedule: Level or Sequential
Step 4: Implement Schedule on Shop Floor, track compliance
Step 5: Implement Pull Systems between Final Assembly and Components
Step 6: Implement Pull System with Suppliers
Step 7: Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves; Decrease P.P. Buffers with Shipping Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...

50. Pull Level through Supply Chain
Step 6:
Implement Pull System with Suppliers
PC&L
Forecast
Supplier
Customer
Daily
Level Schedule
Shipping
Schedule
Components
Pacemaker
Shipping
F.G.
Buffer
Pull System

51. Level Pulls from Suppliers
The $120 Million Question
Even if the plant builds to our level plan,
how do we create level pulls from our suppliers?
1) Must have discipline to collect and read/input pull signals at prescribed times every day.
2) Standard packs must be smaller than the planned ship frequency
3) Must have leveling rules for weekend builds when routes only pick up and deliver on weekdays

52. Continuous Improvement
Step 7:
Decrease F.G. & WIP Buffers as Performance to Schedule Improves
Decrease Purchased Parts Buffers with Ship Frequency, Mixed Pallets, Pack Size, Etc...
PC&L - HQ
“830” - Forecast
ASN 100%
Plt
. PC&L
Supplier
Customer
Daily
Level Schedule
Shipping
Ship To Schedule
Schedule
Components
Pacemaker
Shipping I I
P.P.
F.G.
Buffer
Buffer
Pull System

53. Roll out Plan for Level Scheduling
Running pilot training workshops in Dayton last two weeks of May using “What’s Best”/Excel spreadsheet tools
Make final adjustments to training package/software (June 15th)
Get final buy-off from Task Team (June 20th)
Train lead schedulers at each division/region (balance of June & July)
Resident expert
Each division/region leader will be responsible for rolling out training & tools
Meet regularly to discuss progress and techniques
Roll out process worldwide (begin August)

55. Long Term Planning: Sales & Operations (Back up)
The Sales & Operations Plan shows:
Collaborative effort among PC & L, Sales, Manufacturing Engineering, Purchasing & Finance
Capacity shortfalls to forecasted demand
5 days
7days
Excess capacity by product line
Highlights products that Sales/Marketing need to sell more aggressively
Aggregate overtime required by product line
Manpower required by product line
Volumes should be reviewed and adjusted on a monthly basis

56. Long Term Sales and Operations Planning (Back up)
SALES AND OPS PLAN FOR VAC RADS

57. Level Schedule (Back up)
Visual Control for
Level Schedule (Back up)
Load leveling box: Tuscaloosa
Can post
schedule
compliance
here