Learn how OPT acts in process optimization by identifying production bottlenecks

The world has changed and the production processes are no longer the same! Today, we have a multitude of products at our disposal and sometimes it goes unnoticed how many parts or problems are related to the entire system. In this context, the OPT is born.

Optimized Production Technology is a somewhat new production administration system, but it has gained space on production lines around the world.

So that you know more about this recent system, in this article you will learn:

• What is OPT?
• OPT operational objectives;
• How did the OPT come about?
• What are production bottlenecks?
• The 9 principles of the OPT;
• What is the Lung, Drum and Rope system?

Prepared? So, come with me!

What is OPT?

OPT (Optimized Production Technology) is a method developed in the 1970s by Israeli researchers. It's a production management methodology that helps organizations have greater profitability and less waste. This aid occurs from the identification, management and resolution of the company's bottleneck resources.

In addition, the process is the union of two main elements: your philosophy, demonstrated in 9 principles and copyrighted software. For those who don't have the software, don't worry! It is possible to extract many benefits only from philosophy and its principles.

Like OPT, the Lean Manufacturing philosophy has a deep relationship with the search for optimization by reducing waste. Both are forms of production optimization that every professional in the areas of engineering and administration needs to know!

OPT operational objectives

OPT focuses on profitability and, therefore, its performance is measured from three operational objectives, which we will see below.

1. Throughput

Throughput says about Maximizing the flow of products sold. This is the rate at which the system generates money through product sales. It is important to say that the flow is based on the products sold, and not on those that have been produced but not yet marketed.

2. Inventory

Inventory is about reducing inventory levels in the system. The stock is quantified by the money spent on the production of products, but only considering the raw material. It does not account for the profit margin or operating expenses, which fall into the next category.

3. Operating expenses

Operating expenses is to reduce operating expenses. It is the operating costs that the OPT system spends to transform inventories into flows.

In addition to these operational objectives, such as profit, 3 other Financial Indicators are taken into account. They are: net profit, return on investment and cash flow. Below is a brief explanation of each of them.

OPT Financial Indicators

• Net profit: that's the company's real income. It can be calculated by the difference between total revenue and total cost.
• Return on investment (ROI): evaluates the return on what was invested from own and third-party investments.
• Cash flow: refers to the movements of money in a certain defined time.
  

How did OPT come about?

The OPT emerged in the 1970s, with Israeli physicist Eliyahu M. Goldratt, encouraged by problems he faced with production logistics.

In the 1980s, the author published a book called "The Goal". In it, he explains the paths of Alex, a production manager who needs to quickly make his company make a profit again. Based on these principles, he manages to reverse the situation and is still promoted.

So, the philosophy of the OPT was developed and transformed into a production management system, which precedes the so-called Restrictions Theory (TOC). The OPT was precisely Eli Goldratt's frustration to give up optimization methods and create Restrictions Theory.

The principles used in this system seek to reaffirm the fact that priority should be in the planning of bottleneck resources. Were you curious to know the types of resources? Below I'll explain it to you better.

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What are the production bottlenecks?

Production bottlenecks can be defined in two different types. Understand a little more about the difference between the two below:

Bottlenecks resources

This is the name given when a resource interferes with the pace of production, generating a decrease in it. This happens when it has lower availability than other workstations on the same line.

Resources, no bottlenecks

They are those that, unlike the one mentioned above, do not present variation in flow, because their availability is equal to or greater than that required, not interfering with production capacity.

Bottlenecks can occur for various reasons, either due to levels of irregular demand or some adversity. Therefore, the most important thing is to map where they are to solve them effectively.

To solve this problem, OPT provides 9 principles that must be used to be put into practice, here they go:

The 9 principles of the OPT

Next, I'll explain to you the 9 principles of OPT. They are:

1. Balance the flow and not the capacity

The initial approach focuses on capacity balancing and only then tries to establish a smooth and if possible continuous flow of materials.

OPT emphasizes the flow of materials and not the capacity of productive resources.

2. The use of a non-necking resource is not determined by its availability

The use of a non-neck is determined by some other restriction of the system, such as a bottleneck. There is no point in putting production capacity to a maximum if there are bottlenecks in the production process, because this generates more intermediate stocks. Then production should be based on the greater capacity of the bottleneck.

3. Use and activation of a resource are not synonymous

If the activation of the resource does not imply a contribution to the achievement of the objectives, it cannot be called use.

For example: a machine produces 100 parts in 2 hours and the next process needs 4 hours to meet this demand. So it's not necessary for the first resource to also be produced for 4 hours, as this will generate stock.

4. An hour wins on a bottleneck resource, it's an hour won for the global system

As mentioned earlier, it is the bottlenecks that limit the global production system. Therefore, gaining time on the bottleneck feature impacts all production.

5. An hour earned on a non-neck appeal is nothing, it's just a mirage.

The benefits are not the same in reducing setup times in bottlenecks and non-necks. That is, if you are going to improve the process of a resource that is not a bottleneck, it will not generate lead time gain in the end.

6. The transfer batch may not be and often should not be equal to the processing batch

Batch processing is the number of parts you will process on your equipment. The transfer batch is the number of pieces you will move on to the next step.

7. The processing batch must be variable and not fixed

For example: in a batch of 100 pieces, it is not necessary to wait for the completion of all to continue, you can divide into 4 processing batches of 25 each. This reduces the waiting time for the process.

8. The bottlenecks not only determine the flow of the entire system but also define their stocks

Stocks should be located at points in the process so that they can isolate the bottlenecks from the uncertainties that may occur with non-bottleneck processes.

9. The programming of activities and productive capacity should be considered simultaneously and not sequentially. Lead-times are a result of programming and cannot be assumed

Lead times are programming results and cannot be assumed, it is the function of production sequencing and not system input as occurs in MRP. This principle says that the output of the system should be the processing time and not the input

These nine principles of the OPT, in a way, are intuitive and useful for companies that want to maximize earnings and reduce expenses. Thus, the use of some of the topics mentioned even precedes the use of OPT Software.

However, some of these principles cannot be applied without the help of software. So, for the solution to be complete and extracted to the maximum from OPT, it is necessary to use specialized software.

This feature makes OPT advocates argue that the programs generated by it are more realistic than those generated by MRP

The Drum, Lung and Rope system (Drum-Buffer-Rope)

The Drum, Lung and Strings system is the system in which the OPT programs its activities. As we have seen, its programming is based on the 9 principles and then I will talk about the main aspects of this system.

In manufacturing environments, it is very common to have several restrictions, such as market, supply, company policy, production process capacity. These characteristics favor the existence of bottlenecks.

Thus, the drum, lung and rope system acts to optimize the processing of production activities. Understand how it works next.

Drum

The drum determines the rhythm for the restriction. It is the schedule in detail of the restrictions with all the items that must be produced, quantities, and the start and end times.

It is the demands that determine the starting point of Drum.

Lung

A lung is a time machine used to protect the neck from uncertainties. The lung is measured in units of time and not by the number of items. It acts as a "breath", that is, the task that precedes the bottleneck produces more than the bottleneck can process, so that the bottleneck never stops, so that production is not affected.

Rope

The rope is the information mechanism used to synchronize the factory and determine the release of materials in the supply chain.

It ensures that the release of the items will be in the exact quantity and will be processed by the restriction. Through its use, it is guaranteed that resources operate at the same pace, without raising inventory levels in processing.

Benefits of OPT

The benefits of OPT include several advantages in the production of complex lines with several workstations. The factory becomes a single production unit with it, and the conceptions of production tempo and tempo are applied in programming management.

In addition, the objective of Optimized Production Technology is to develop a system to support the management of organizations, to achieve greater profitability and agility in identifying and solving problems.

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