Mixed-Model Scheduling

Mixed-model scheduling is where good lean cells either succeed—or fall apart.You've reduced changeover time.You've built a flowing cell.Your people know how to run the work.And yet… delivery is still unpredictable.Schedules change daily. Expedites dominate. Customers pull you in five directions at once. The cell can flex—but the schedule can't.This book fixes that.What This Book Is AboutMixed-Model Scheduling is a hands-on guide to leveling production in high-mix, low-volume environments where demand changes daily and batching destroys flexibility.This is not theory. It's not academic lean. And it's not software-driven scheduling that ignores reality on the shop floor.Instead, you'll learn how to:Design a leveled daily schedule that actually fits your available timeCalculate EPE (Every Product Every Interval) and use it to control lead timeSet right-sized batch quantities without slipping back into large-batch habitsSequence products to minimize changeover painBuild and run a physical heijunka board that operators actually followUse pitch to monitor execution hour-by-hourRespond to breakdowns, shortages, and rush orders without destroying the scheduleLock in discipline so batching creep doesn't quietly returnWho This Book Is ForThis book is written for:Manufacturing engineersProduction supervisorsPlanners and schedulersOperations and plant managers…who operate cell-based production with repeating products and want shorter lead times, predictable delivery, and less chaos.If you run true one-off jobs, haven't defined product families, or still change over in hours—not minutes—start with the earlier books in the Lean Line Pro series.What Makes This DifferentMost scheduling books assume:Stable demandLow product varietySoftware will solve the problemThis book assumes reality:Demand changes constantlyMix matters more than volumeDiscipline matters more than mathVisual control beats spreadsheetsYou'll work through a realistic example step-by-step, including schedules that don't fit at first, and learn how to adjust without breaking the system.What You'll Have When You're DoneBy the end of this book, you'll have:A working mixed-model schedule you can run Monday morningA clear daily operating rhythm for your teamA visual system that makes problems visible immediatelyThe discipline to keep scheduling boring—and delivery reliableOne cell. One schedule. One improvement project.If your cell works—but scheduling is still chaos—this book shows you how to fix it. This book builds on:Product Families (Vol. 1)SMED & Changeover Reduction (Vol. 2)Cell Design & Flow (Vol. 3)Together, they form a complete, implementation-focused lean production system.