Manufacturing cycle time definition
/What is Manufacturing Cycle Time?
Manufacturing cycle time is the interval needed to convert raw materials into finished goods. A detailed analysis of this time period can result in a significant reduction in the amount of time needed to convert a customer order into a finished product, which can represent a significant competitive advantage. Manufacturing cycle time is comprised of the following four types of elapsed time:
Process Time
Process time is the time required to actually work on the conversion of raw materials into finished goods. Products can be redesigned to shrink process time.
Move Time
Move time is the time required to move an order from one workstation to the next. It can be compressed by moving workstations closer together and moving goods continuously with conveyors.
Inspection Time
Inspection time is the time required to examine a product to ensure that it is free of defects. Inspections can be built into the production process, so that no separate inspection function is needed.
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Queue Time
Queue time is the time required for a job to wait in front of workstations before being processed. It can be reduced by shrinking the total amount of inventory in work-in-process.
How to Calculate Manufacturing Cycle Time
To calculate manufacturing cycle time, add together the process time, move time, inspection time, and queue time associated with a manufacturing cycle. For the most reliable outcome, measure these four times across a number of cycles, and use the average outcome to derive the full manufacturing cycle time. The formula is as follows:
Process time + Move time + Inspection time + Queue time = Manufacturing cycle time
Example of Manufacturing Cycle Time
For example, the cycle time for an order is tracked, with the following results:
+ 10 minutes process time
+ 2 minutes move time
+ 2 minutes inspection time
+ 80 minutes queue time
= 94 minutes manufacturing cycle time
As the example shows, queue time usually makes up the bulk of all time spent in the manufacturing process, and so is an excellent area in which to focus time-reduction activities - especially since this is a non value-added activity that does nothing to improve the final product.