Manufacturing services
High-mix manufacturing needs flow that accommodates different routes, work content and customer requirements. Duggan helps design those connections and supports the workforce as the design becomes daily practice.
Where we start
Discuss the product mix, engineering releases, fabrication routes and assembly needs. Late delivery alongside excess inventory often points to connections and sequencing that need redesign. The first scope identifies which product families and shared resources determine the customer commitment.
What we do together
Use product-family analysis, mixed-model methods and flow through shared resources to design the future state. Layout work and practical education support the design where needed. Implementation assistance helps resolve real operating decisions while preserving the connections the design depends on.
What this can enable
Reduce queues and repeated reprioritization while improving the ability to handle changing demand and product mix. The aim is a clearer delivery commitment across engineering, fabrication and assembly, with visible signals that show when the flow needs attention.
Scope, deliverables and success measures are agreed around your operation.
Fabrication, assembly and test are left with less time to meet the customer commitment.
Plenty of work in process does not mean assembly has the complete set it needs.
Large batches can protect an apparent unit cost while increasing queues and delaying other orders.
Expediting alters priorities without resolving the connections that made work late.
Product families group work by the processes and capability it needs. Duggan’s mixed-model methods connect demand, work content and sequencing so variety is an input to the design.
A machine or fabrication process may serve several value streams. Flow through Shared Resources connects that work with the needs of assembly, using defined sequencing and turnaround requirements.
The pacemaker is the process at which the value stream’s schedule is set. Its position and connections help preserve sequence and reduce repeated scheduling at individual processes.
Practical education and on-site support help people understand why the connections matter. Changes during deployment can then be assessed against the intended flow and customer commitment.
Discuss customer needs, product mix and constraints. A scoping visit informs the proposal where appropriate.
Build the Product Family Matrix and define flow, sequencing and shared-resource connections.
Use layout design and 3P where required. Teach the methods the workforce will implement.
Work alongside the workforce to resolve practical issues while preserving the intended operating design.
Duggan can add implementation capacity through Senior Associates and Operations Engineers. Support is tailored to the pace of change and the work your operation can absorb, from periodic coaching to more intensive on-site involvement. Responsibilities and availability are agreed in the scope.
Duggan recommends continued support as the design is implemented. This helps the workforce make practical decisions without losing the connections the future state depends on.
Engagement example
Duggan connected assembly, paint and shipping using flow design, practical handling changes and visible execution.
Early output reached 15 units per day from a baseline of 12. The 21-per-day figure was a target, not the reported achieved result.
Read the case study →
Engagement example
Duggan’s published account describes connected receiving, fabrication, assembly and shipping, with visual signals and standard responses.
The account describes less daily management intervention and leadership attention redirected to customers and new products.
Read the case study →Examples relate to the stated engagements. Outcomes depend on the starting conditions, scope and implementation.
When people can see work moving and respond to interruptions, fewer daily decisions need to return to management. Operational Excellence creates capacity for leadership to work on customers, new products and growth—what Duggan calls working on Offense.
Connect priorities, handoffs and responses around the customer commitment. Assess progress through delivery, lead time, work in process and recurring interruptions.
Understand what the operation can support as demand, product mix or capacity needs change. Use that clarity to make growth and investment decisions.
No. Routes, work content and demand inform product families and the design of shared resources.
No. Physical layout changes are considered where the flow design requires them and are scoped accordingly.
Timing depends on the number of value streams, complexity and implementation support. Agree the design and deployment phases during scoping.
A defined value stream can be a starting scope. Its connections to shared processes and supporting functions still need to be considered.
Tell us where engineering, fabrication or assembly loses time, and which customer commitments are affected.
Use the enquiry form below to start the conversation.
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Email thealey@dugganinc.com or call +1 (401) 601-7286 and we'll respond within 2 business days.
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Email thealey@dugganinc.com or call +1 (401) 601-7286 and we'll respond within 2 business days.
