Ensured Start Of Production

Is a concurrent and cross-functional approach to secure a smooth and quality-ensured industrialisation ramp up. An important milestone in a project.

Different companies start production in different ways depending on the product, but it usually includes planning, testing, validation, and then scaling up to full production.
 
The common target is to minimise the problems during Start of production and give time to correct ocurring problems

1.  The Jump Start
2.  The Batch Start
3.  The Ramp up Start
4.  The Ramp up and Batch trials Start
5.  Problems during Start of Production
6.  Involvment
7.  Parts during Start of Production
8.  The generic production process

1.  The Jump Start

The Production Process might demand it
There is no room for errors in this scenario
– to make sure that they don’t occure, design for assembly meetings and simulations need to be performed early in the project
A jump start of production means starting production quickly and efficiently, often to meet urgent demand or shorten the time to market.

What is significant for a jump start of production?
-  Good preparation
-  Clear processes
-  Skilled and trained employees
-  Reliable suppliers
-  Tested product and process
-  Strong coordination
-  Quality control
A successful jump start of production requires good preparation, trained people, available materials, clear processes, and strong coordination.

2.  The Batch Start

Batchwise production until reaching 100% production speed
This way of acting gives time for correction between the batches

Steps to perform a batch start of production
-  Prepare the production process
-  Train employees
-  Produce a small batch
-  Inspect and test the batch
-  Analyse the results
-  Adjust the process if needed
-  Run a new batch
-  Inspect and test the batch
-  Analyse the results
-  Adjust the process if needed
A batch start of production means producing a small number of units first, testing quality and processes, and then increasing production once everything works correctly.


3.  The Ramp up Start

Slowly ramping up the production speed to see problems earlier and have the time to work around them, but not forgetting to solve the root problem this way gives the coworkers that are to produce, time and possibility to learn how.

Steps to perform a ramp-up of production
-  Start with a small production volume
-  Monitor quality and performance
-  Solve problems quickly
-  Train employees
-  Increase production step by step
-  Coordinate with suppliers
-  Reach full production capacity
A ramp-up of production means gradually increasing production volume while monitoring quality and improving the process until full capacity is reached.

4.  The Ramp up and Batch trials Start

This way intends to use the advantage of both ways (Batch and Ramp up) so you run batches full speed during the ramp up
Problems are often speed related and are caught in the batches while the ramp is there to teach the production line how to produce

Batch trials are performed to verify that the product and process work correctly before increasing production, combined with a ramp-up phase where production is gradually scaled while maintaining quality and efficiency.
Batch trials help find problems before full production, while the ramp-up phase allows employees to learn and helps stabilise the production process.


5. Problems during Start of Production

-  Companies tend to have checklists that are used during Start of Production – making
  sure that all problems are found
-  All problems that occur late in the process are expensive to correct
-  Design for Assembly needs to be performed from early in the project, no matter what
  way you chose to start production,
-  To change a design before prototypes/machine parts/modules are bought is a lot
  cheaper than when the production has started
-  During the ramp up or start of production, different problems can occur
  -  Parts can not be mounted together
  -  Design mistake of parts
  -  Parts not delivered
  -  The technique to mount them together is not working
-  The fit between two parts is not right
-  Parts out of tolerance, wrong design
-  Parts out of tolerance, wrong production
-  The education doesn’t reach defined quality targets or participation levels

6.  Involvment
To get involvement from everyone early in the project is easy to say but not so easily achieved
-  Within an organisation we tend to work with the same time perspective, which is not
  true between organisations.
  E.g. Product Development typically work with new Products that take years to
  develop.
  In Production you work with things that need to be mounted now.

7. Parts during Start of Production

Depending on the strategy of production, parts need to be ordered and delivered in different ways
Production could be performed in different ways
-  Make to stock
-  Make on order
-  Configurate on order (the specific variant is created on order)
-  Orders from Engineering to produce prototypes or pre samples (usually performed in a
  project)
This needs to be decided in the cross-functional team

8. The generic production process
-  Decide on your production process
-  Who or what function does what
-  What is the needed outcome to satisfy as the input to the next step of the
    process
-  During the Start of production this process needs to be tested and show its
   efficiency
-  Test the efficiency of the process during SOP

A generic production process looks like this:
- Created
- Estimated
- Scheduled
- Released
- Prepared/Picked
- Started with integrated Quality Check
- Finished
- Reported Finished
- Quality Check
- Put in store or delivered
- Finished
- Period closure

Planned are 4 workshops during April 2026
No cost for participating
No limit in numbers attending the meetings

Waterfall Project

17/08 2026

09.00-09.30

17.00-17.30

Iterative development

24/08 2026

09.00-09.30

17.00-17.30