Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Work Combination

Overview

A work combination chart can be used to show the breakdown of activities in a process. The start and the end times for each step in the process are shown along with the overall TAKT time for this process. A work combination chart can be used to show the breakdown of the time that each step in the process takes. This chart can then be used to make further improvements to the process by eliminating or minimizing the non-value-added steps.

To add this tool your workbook, click on Lean and then select Work Combination.

Inputs

Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
inputs
1
Analysis Type: Specify the tool format for this analysis. This selection is not enabled since there is only one format available.
2
Num Steps: Specify the number of steps in your process. This information is used to reformat your worksheet and create a table for data entry. Note that any data below this table will be cleared.
3
Completion Time: Enter the TAKT time. The TAKT time worksheet can be used to calculate the TAKT time. The TAKT time is the time available to complete all the process steps defined for this study.
4
Time Units: Enter the TAKT time units. Make sure to select the right units for this time which makes sense for your process.
5
View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
6
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file on this topic.
7
Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
8
OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.
On the worksheet, enter the details of your process.
  • Enter the description of the details for each process step.
  • Identify if the step is Value Added (VA) or Non Value Added (NVA). If a step contains both VA and NVA elements, try to break it down further so that the step is either VA or NVA.
  • Enter the duration of the step in hh:mm:ss format. This number can be obtained from the time-study worksheet.
  • The start times and the end times are automatically calculated assuming that the steps progress sequentially. If some steps are being done in parallel, you will to manually adjust the start and/or the stop times.

Charts

If you click on the Charts button, you will see the following dialog box. Charts
1
Title: The system will automatically pick a title for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own title you can specify a title for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
2
Sub Title: The system will automatically pick a subtitle for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own subtitle you can specify a subtitle for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
3
X Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the x-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
4
Y Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the y-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
5
X Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the x-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum x-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum x-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the x-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is currently disabled and you will not be able to change this setting.
6
Y Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the y-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum y-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum y-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the y-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is currently disabled and you will not be able to change this setting.
7
Horizontal Lines: If you want to add a few extra horizontal reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 12;15 then two horizontal lines are plotted at Y = 12 and Y = 15 respectively. Note that this input is currently disabled and you will not be able to change this setting.
8
Vertical Lines: If you want to add a few extra vertical reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 2;5 then two vertical lines are plotted at X = 2 and X = 5 respectively. Note that this input is optional.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output calculations. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below.
outputs You can look at the chart to get an idea of whether your total cycle time is less than the TAKT time. If so, your process is capable of meeting customer demand. If the total cycle time is greater, then you may need to try to reduce this time to meet the TAKT time. You can also look at the VA and NVA activities and perform a Kaizen event to reduce the total NVA time. Once you perform a Kaizen and improve the process, you will have to create a new work combination chart for the new process.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder within the software.
  • Create a work-combination chart for the data shown in the Time Study case. (Work Combination 1.xlsm)