The Plan for Every Part (PFEP)
By Chris Harris
Managers are making progress in creating areas of continuous flow as more managers learn about value-stream mapping and continuous-flow cells but many are having trouble sustaining steady output. The problem often is the lack of a lean material-handling system for purchased parts to support the cells.
These companies are becoming lean in terms of operating their cells, but they are still mass producers in supplying the cells. They lack the key elements of a door-to-door lean material handling system for purchased parts:
∙ a Plan for Every Part
∙ a properly located and managed purchased-parts market
∙ a rigorous material-delivery route using standard work
∙ pull signals to tightly link their areas of continuous flow to the supply of materials.
The consequence is starvation of processes, loss of flow, and a major waste of effort and money in keeping too much inventory and spending too much time hunting for missing items.
To introduce such a system, you have to understand everything about every part: How each part is purchased, received, packaged, stored, and delivered to its point of use. In fact, much of this information exists in your organization, but it is stored in many different places under the control of many managers and is mostly invisible. The first step in creating a lean material-handling system for purchased parts is collect all of the necessary parts information in one place – the Plan for Every Part (PFEP).
The chart below shows the most common categories of parts information for a PFEP. However, this is not a cookie cutter approach. Every plant is different.  You might want to add columns that you need and take out ones that you don’t find useful. Furthermore, as conditions change, the specific items in your PFEP may need to change. The watchword fo
r the PFEP is flexibility, so you need to insure that your information management system is able to accommodate continuous change.
PFEP Data Elements
Part #
Number used to identify the material in the facility
Description
Material name (e.g., frame, bolt, nut, yoke)
Daily Usage
Maximum amount of material used in a day through the entire plant
Usage Location
Process/areas where the material is used (e.g., Cell 14)
Storage Location
Address (location) where the material is stored
Order Frequency
Frequency that the material is ordered from the supplier (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, as required)
Supplier
Name of the material supplier
Supplier City
City where the supplier is located
Supplier State
(State, province, region, district) where the supplier is located
Supplier
Country
Country where the supplier is located
Container Type
Packaging type of the container (e.g., cardboard box, reusable tote, wire basket)
Container Weight
Weight of an empty container
1 Part Weight
Weight of 1 unit of material
Total Package Weight
Weight of a full container of material
Container Length
Length or depth of the container
Container Width
Width of the container
Container Heightsort of in order
Height of the container
Usage Per Assembly
Number of parts required for 1 finished product
Hourly Usage
Maximum number of pieces used per hour
Standard Container Quantity
Piece count of material in one container
Containers Used Per Hour
Maximum number of containers required per hour
Shipment Size
Size of a standard shipment in days  (1 week shipment = 5 days)
Carrier
Company providing parts-transportation services
Transit Time
Travel time required from the supplier to the facility (in days)
# of Cards In Loop
Number of pull signals that are in the system
Supplier Performance
Supplier performance rating that includes on-time delivery, quality, etc.
Source: Making Materials Flow workbook, Lean Enterprise Institute,
You’ll want to make the information in the PFEP visible to everyone in the facility, and you’ll need to sort the PFEP by categories (e.g., part description, order frequency, container type, and hourly usage). So, you’ll need either a computer spreadsheet (such as Excel) or computer database (such as Access) to house the PFEP.
Most facilities start with an Excel spreadsheet. They may someday migrate the data into an Access database, but it’s important to use a tool that is user friendly and has sorting capabilities
Fill the PFEP
After selecting the application, the next step is to load the data in the smallest element possible. For example, don't put a container's height, length, and width in one column. Create a separate category for each dimension (width, height, and length). This is critical information for designing storage locations. Similarly, avoid putting suppliers' addresses in
one column. Break them up into city and state so you can sort by these categories in case you want to set up an external material movement system (milk runs) among plants.
Begin filling the PFEP with parts data from one cell. Add data cell-by-cell for all the cells in the value stream. Ultimately, it will include comprehensive information on every part in the entire facility. 
Smaller facilities that have just one or two simple value streams may be able to develop and fill the PFEP from the outset with parts information for the entire plant. For larger facilities, it's important to start with a scope that you can manage. Managers who try to develop the PFEP for large facilities with many value streams all at once and risk not getting the project finished. Or even worse, they take shortcuts that compromise the quality of the data. It's much easier to start small and expand on your initial success than to get in over your head, fail, and have to start all over again - or to simply give up.

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