In Lean Manufacturing one-piece flow is the state of perfection that we aspire to. Why? It unlocks many operational and economic benefits: faster cycle time, higher quality, and greater efficiency. The economically optimal batch size for a manufacturing process is an economic tradeoff, but it is a tradeoff that can be shifted to favor small batches. We’ve learned to make one-piece flow economically feasible by driving down transaction cost per batch. One-piece flow is unquestionably a sound objective for a manufacturing process. Continue reading