Product Variance Invisibility
Overall facility cycle-time seemed reasonable. But disaggregated by product: Variant A (45 sec), Variant B (55 sec), Variant C (68 sec). The 50% variance between variants wasn't analyzed or optimized.
What Became Visible
Product-level cycle-time analysis revealed: Variant A had simple assembly; Variant C had complex connector crimping requiring sequential steps. Product design differences drove most cycle-time variance. Some variance was preventable; some was inherent to product.
Product-Specific Process Optimization
Variant C received specialized assembly procedures: parallel subassembly stations, pre-crimping quality verification, optimized sequence. This reduced Variant C cycle-time from 68 to 58 seconds.
How it worked: Product-level visibility enabled targeted optimization. Procedures matched product complexity rather than forcing one-size-fits-all processes.
Results
from cycle-time reduction
from product-mix optimization
from product-specific optimization
Product variants have different process requirements. One-size-fits-all procedures leave optimization on the table. Product-specific optimization captures variant-specific gains.
Operational Reality
The facility hadn't accepted that variants required different procedures. Targeted optimization improved efficiency within each product's inherent constraints.