One-piece flow (also commonly referred to as continuous flow manufacturing) is a technique used to manufacture components in a cellular environment. The cell is an area where everything that is needed to process the part is within easy reach, and no part is allowed to go to the next operation until the previous operation has been completed.

The goals of one-piece flow are: to make one part at a time correctly all the time to achieve this without unplanned interruptions to achieve this without lengthy queue times

FACTS AND CONCEPTS

• Tasks are reduced to their simplest components.
• Opportunities for machine or operator error are reduced.
• Done correctly, there is a continuous flow of activity between the shop operators and manufactured product.
• This is a generative manufacturing method created to continuously increase output, improve quality, and grow sales and profits, without the need for constantly enlarging production or support staff.
• [This is a generative manufacturing method created to continuously increase output, improve quality, and grow sales and profits, without the need for constantly enlarging production or support staff.
• One-piece flow is an extremely efficient way to manufacture goods, provided the correct physical structures have been set up to support its particular needs.

FLOW MANUFACTURING VS. BATCH PRODUCTION

The opposite of one-piece flow is large-lot production. Although many companies produce goods in large lots or batches, that approach to production builds delays into the process. No items can move on to the next process until all the items in the lot have been processed. The larger the lot, the longer the items sit and wait between processes.

Large lot production can lower a company's profitability in several ways:

• the lead time between customer orders and delivery of products is lengthened
• labor, energy, and space are required to store and transport products
• the chances for product damage and/or deterioration are increased

  One-piece flow production can help solve these problems:

• customers can receive a flow of products with less delay
• risks for damage, deterioration, or obsolescence are lowered
• it allows for the discovery of other problems so that they can be addressed
• it drives continuous improvement by eliminating inventory relied upon to address problems

The following illustration shows the impact of batch size reduction when comparing batch-and-queue and one-piece flow.