Pitch and Heijunka (ピッチと平準化) – Part 1 of 2

Pitch at the Pace maker

Definition of Pitch / Mizusumashi Cycle

•         Pitch refers to how often we release and take away work from the pacemaker

•         The amount of time needed in a production area to make one container of products

•         It is a measurement of how the value stream, or more specifically the pacemaker, is performing to our schedule (Takt)

Takt = The Customer Demand Rate

Pacemaker = The point at which we schedule the production

Pitch = How we measure the pacemaker to see if it is attaining Takt

Pitch is mainly established at the Pacemaker process only. It provides a sense of pace to the line and helps insure that completions are achieved at predetermined intervals of time.

Management Time Frame

•         If we release and take away work from the pacemaker ,once a week, there is no Takt image

•          If we schedule and check production every pitch, we can rapidly respond to problems and maintain Takt time

•          Also, transfer of materials can be in smaller batch

Creating Pitch at the Pacemaker

Pitch Interval

With a Pitch of 24 minutes and effective work time of 430 minutes per shift, we can establish the number of Pitch Intervals per shift

Pitch Intervals = 430/24 ~ 19

This ideal condition may not always be present due to:

•         Package sizes seldom work out to exact multiples

•         Family groups with work content >30% violate Pitch

•         Set Up times must be added to the Pitch when expected to take place

Pitch Example

From Pitch to Heijunka…. See part 2.