The process of selecting a part family is one of the most time consuming, but very important steps in the plan to become a Lean organization. Developing part families will reduce set up times and lead times to the customer. This also creates capacity to better support business growth and increase profits for the company.

Purpose

To establish a guideline that will be used to determine what type of part can be efficiently run in a particular cell. To determine the parts that can be produced with the same machines, material sizes, tooling, etc.

Who Does It?

A broad cross-section of employees should be involved, including representatives from quality, tool crib, programming, purchasing, customer service, and management.

Time Frame

1 week.

Tools and Techniques

Part Matrix used for identifying all parts currently manufactured

Tool Matrix used for identifying all parts that fit in a type of machine

Family Matrix used for identifying families of parts

A "family" is a group or collection of related things. This definition also applies to the process for determining a part family. Members of a part family may or may not look alike. They may or may not be made from the same material. Some may have threads, others may not; some may have grooves while others may not.

When developing a part family, the most important thing to remember is that as long...