FlowLean

Continuous Flow

Producing and moving one unit at a time through a sequence of steps with no stops or batches between them.

Continuous flow is the ideal lean state in which a product moves through every value-adding step without stopping, waiting, or batching. In its purest form it is one-piece flow.

Flow exposes problems immediately (there is no inventory to hide them), dramatically shortens lead time, and is enabled by balanced work, short changeovers, and reliable equipment.

Go Deeper
One-Piece Flow guide→Value Stream Mapping guide→
Related Terms
One-Piece Flow
Moving a single unit through each step at a time, with no batching or queues between operations.
Flow
The smooth, uninterrupted movement of material and information through a value stream with minimal stops or queues.
Lead Time
The total elapsed time from order (or raw material) to delivery (or finished product), including all waiting.
Takt Time
The rate of customer demand — available production time divided by demand — that sets the pace production must match.
Line Balancing
Distributing work evenly across stations so each cycle time is at or below takt, minimizing idle time and bottlenecks.

Put Continuous Flow into practice

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