Manufacturing System Throughput Excellence: Analysis, Improvement, and Design

＂Manufacturing throughput refers to the time it takes for a product to pass through the manufacturing process, being converted from raw materials to finished goods. Some of the different stages that manufacturing throughput accounts for include processing, inspection, move time (the time it takes to move a product in and out of different manufacturing stations), and queue time (the time spent waiting in between these different stages). As Industry 4.0 technologies allow for more on-demand manufacturing to occur, throughputs increasingly refer to the time it takes for a customer to place an order to the completion of the finished product. Improving manufacturing throughput can have a direct impact on a company’s efficiency, operations, and financial performance＂--

Herman Tang, PhD, MBA, is a distinguished Professor in the School of Engineering at Eastern Michigan University, USA. Previously, he held the position of Lead Engineering Specialist at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis). He has published extensively on topics related to manufacturing, quality assurance, and other subjects.