Launch and Rate Change

We Are Launching a New Product on the Line

A new product lands on a floor that is already busy. The work content is estimated, the tooling is late, and the first units take more hours than the plan. Most launch pain comes from planning launch hours as if they were rate hours.

What Is Usually Going On

  • Work content is an estimate, never timed on the floor.
  • The line balance was not redone for the new mix.
  • First units are planned at mature hours per unit.
  • Standard work and training come after the first units, not before.
  • Problems found at first build have no fast path to engineering.

How to Fix It

  1. Time the work contentStart from the estimate, then time the first builds and update it.
  2. Rebalance for the mixAdd the new product to the yamazumi at its share of demand. Check the heaviest model at each station.
  3. Plan the learning curvePlan HPU by unit or by month along a curve from your own history. Staff and schedule to it.
  4. Write standard work firstSequence, key points and reasons before first build, corrected after.
  5. Run one build issue logEvery issue from first builds on one list with an owner and a date, reviewed daily during launch.
  6. Gate the rampDo not raise the rate until FPY and cycle time hold at the current step.

Start Free

Guides and web tools on this site. No account needed.

Guide
Production Ramp Management: When Everything Changes at Once
Guide
Standard Work
Guide
Learning Curve Theory: The Math Behind Improvement
Calculator
Cycle Time Calculator
Calculator
First Pass Yield Calculator
Template
PDCA Worksheet
Web tool
Process Modeler (free web)

When It Moves to the Floor

The same work as an offline file you keep: saved scenarios, print and export, no internet needed on the floor.

Common Questions

How many hours should the first units take?

More than mature, by an amount your own history should tell you. With no history, time the first builds and fit a learning curve to them.

When should standard work be written?

Before the first build, from the process plan, then corrected as the first units are built.

What does readiness mean for a launch?

People trained, tooling and equipment proven, work instructions released, material flowing, and FPY and cycle time stable at the current step.

Existing line or a new one?

Check the balance with the new mix. If it breaks the balance or takt for the products already on the line, model a separate cell.