VQSF is a software application that takes order
demand for products from a variety of input sources.
Input can come from an ERP system, Kanban requests,
internet orders, standing orders or even a simple
excel spreadsheet. The demand is imported into
the VQSF production scheduler organizer and is
sequenced to the shop floor for work. Work can
be sequenced in a single demand set or in a Heijunka
format (Heijunka means two different, but related,
things. One is the leveling of production by volume.
The other is leveling production by product type
or mix).
VQSF is supported by traditional Kanban and
lean material replenishment techniques.
VQSF sequencing
of the work closely follows lean principles
and techniques commonly found and taught
in lean education
and training programs by certified lean consultants.
VQSF addresses the following
questions on the plant shop floor whether
you are an
operator, material handler, quality, engineering,
compliance
or shipping personnel.
• What do I work on next?
• When do I report completion?
• How do I alert the appropriate support
staff on issues?
• How do I assemble this product?
• What test(s) do I run for compliance
or to follow ISO?
• What do I work on next if I report
a problem?
Quality
control is forced into the activity center where
issues are identified before they become a wider
spread problem and can be dealt with immediately
and where the work is performed.
VQSF has been
built on the core values of Lean Manufacturing.
These values are commonly referred to as the
“5S Method” ;
Sort
- Use only parts of the ERP system which benefit the company
Simplify
- Use ERP to enable integrated business
processes
Shine
- Ensure that you work with accurate and
timely data
Standardize
- Document and standardize, business
processes
Sustain
- Business Processes executed by ERP
executed on a consistent and timely basis How does VQSF work? Work
is presented to the operator on the floor via
a touch screen
in a visual manner. The work is placed in a
visual queue in the order by which it is
to be worked
on as provided by the VQSF sequencer. Work
centers are replenished with needed
materials through
kiting, kanban's, or supermarkets. Point
of use materials (material stocked at
the
point of consumption)
are almost always replenished through
kanban's. Some materials may be stored
on the floor next
to where they are used. Material handling people
utilizing VQSF have similar screens to keep materials
available at the necessary work or activity center
as required by the VQSF sequencer. A
VQSF screen is also available to the shipping
people to support
the continuous flow environment from demand
to shipping. At any time an operator can
suspend
or interrupt the work to report an issue
where it will be routed electronically
to the appropriate
parties (i.e. Quality Control, Engineering,
and Production Scheduling). Work may be
suspended
for a variety of reasons including, quality
problems, material shortages, engineering
problems, tooling
issues, or compliance/ISO/validation
reasons. Once work has been suspended,
the operator can continue on the next demand
set waiting in
his or her queue allowing work to continue in
the cell while the exception is being dealt with.
VQSF has many important capabilities
that are not generally found in
traditional
shop floor
systems or MES Systems (manufacturing
execution systems). Several of
these capabilities
are listed here:
• Supports point-of-use consumption
• Supports milestone operations
• Creates the work flow queue (What do
I work on next?)
• Supports work instructions (Drawings,
videos, assembly)
• Encourages and enforces flow
• Improves plant floor communications
• Promotes and encourages continuous
improvement
• Simple easy to use
• Visual alerts
• Keyboard less Interface
• Soap interoperability (Web Services)
• Removes typical MRP roadblocks
• Reduces Implementation Time
• Can be effective even when data is
not 100% accurate
• Reduce the overhead of running the
system
• Reduces the time it takes to make
a product
• Online real time feedback from the
floor
The VQSF product
consists of several key core modules. The modules
are:
Demand
Queue - scheduler screen for sequencing work
Heijunka
Box - scheduler screen for sequencing like products like mix
Interface
Gateway - configurable interface for interfacing to various ERP packages
Shipping
Queue - shipping support touch screen
Picking
Queue - material support and handling touch screen
Operator
Queue - operator screen for the work on the shop floor
Reporting
Module - performance, measuring and reporting and to support ongoing kaizan
events
Performance Measurements Module - to
support ongoing kaizan events
Continuous Improvement Module - to support ongoing kaizan events
Andon Boards
Read More on VQSF  VQSF Data
Sheet
VQSF from
the outset has been designed to operate in a
standalone fashion on its own database and operate
interoperable through an intelligent interface
by communicating activities with an existing
ERP or business system.
The programming
language for VQSF is C#. VQSF has been developed
on the Microsoft .NET framework and runs
on the Microsoft's MSSQL database.
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