One Piece Flow

This describes the material flow in a production line from one station to the next. The design of the line (the machines, tools, and equipment) ensures that only "one" part moves to the next station. Once the line is loaded with components (after change over), the material flow follows the pull concept. The operators in the line can work on several stations (balanced work scope) and can also rotate with other operators in the line. The line output is determined by the machine cycle time. In periods of lower demand levels, the line output can be slowed down by reducing the number of operators.