Create a DETAILED Value Stream Map using TWI Case Study Value$-$Stream

TWI Industries Case Study available in Google.

TWI Industries produces several components for tractors. This case

concerns one product family$-$Steering Arms $$ which are produced in

many configurations. TWI's customers for this product family are both

original$-$equipment tractor builders and the aftermarket repair business.

Because of the wide variety of product configurations and the

fact that customer configuration requirements vary from order to

order, steering arms are a "make$-$to$-$order" business. It currently

takes a customer order $27$ days to get through TWI's production

processes. This long lead time and a significant order backlog have

prompted TWI to quote a $60-$day lead time to customers. However,

TWI's customers cannot accurately predict their size requirements

more than $2$ weeks out, and thus they make adjustments to their

orders $2$ wecks before shipment. These order adjustments lead to

order expediting on the shop floor at 'TVI.

Although TWI Production Control releases customer orders to

production roughly in the order that they are received, orders are

batched by product configuration on the shop floor to reduce the

number of time$-$consuming changeovers. This also creates a need

for order expediting.

The Product

A steering arm is a metal rod with a forged fitting welded to each end.

TWI's steering arms are available in $20$ different lengths, $2$ diameters,

and with $3$ different types of end fittings. $($Each end of the steering

arm can have a different fitting.$)$ This means there are $240$ different

steering arm part numbers that 'TWI supplies.