JDSU

Self-Balancing, True Continuous Flow Processing
Self-Balancing – turn a good assembly line into a great one.

Line balancing has been a challenge ever since Henry Ford created the first assembly line, yet there have been no major improvements in 80 years – until now.

Still not widely known or practiced, Self-Balancing processing is a breakthrough in achieving continuous flow, and has been developed to handle complex manufacturing processes (including batch processes, mixed model, and fluctuating yields). By being able to pull and take a hand-off of the unit, at any point in the process, the division of labor is constantly optimized, and most of the cumbersome problems of trying to balance a line are solved. It removes the hidden waste of waiting when the slowest station or Operator is setting the pace for the rest of the line. In-process queues/buffers are also eliminated.

JDSU is the worldwide leading provider of broadband test & measurement solutions and optical products for communications, commercial and consumer markets. The Company offers test and measurement systems and services for telecommunications service providers, cable operators, and network equipment manufacturers. In addition, the Company offers components, modules and subsystems for optical communication, display, security, medical/environmental instrumentation, decorative, aerospace and defense applications.

Gordon Ghirann, Lean Manufacturing Specialist

Gordon received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He has been developing the Self-Balancing process since 1998. In that time he has implementing the process on a wide variety of lines around the world. He is presently employed by JDSU. Gordon and his family live in California.