Kanban, a parts movementsystem making heavy use ofvisual signals in place of docu- ments. Small parts are no
Piezo • Nano • Positioning

Quality, Efficiency and Flexibility

Kaizen, Kanban, Fractals, Demand-Flow Technology (DFT)

Kaizen: Kaizen , a Japanese philosophyof involving the entire enter-prise in a strategy of analysisand continuous improvement of all procedures. Periodic workshops bring theKaizen ethos to all PI employ-ees, helping with goals like making production more effi- cient, eliminating unnecessary processing loops, or instituting “just in time” parts manage- ment. In this way the companycan assimilate new develop-ments more rapidly and make important resources available where needed. Delivery times and costs are reduced and quality improved. Good is Not GoodEnough Flexibility Through ModernOrganization We want our customers to beexcited about the quality of our products and services. An im- portant tool in this quest is Fractals, Kanban, Demand Flow Technology The PI Production Departmentis divided into several autarkic Fractals. Each Fractal is virtual-ly a company within the com- pany, responsible for all proce-dures from procurement and production planning to quality testing. Parts replenishment is, to a large extent, handled by
Parts replenish-ment is controlled by the Kanban parts movementsystem. longer ordered or tracked intern- ally at all, but rather suppliedby an outside service provider (outsourced C-part manage- ment). All other aspects of pro-duction and procurementunderly a Demand Flow Technology system. Flexibility Through Competent Partners High quality requires qualifiedpartners. Over the years PI has thus qualified a number of
View of the store-room. Small parts are no longer ordered or tracked internally at all, but rather supplied by an outside service provider (outsourcedC-part management). highly specialized suppliers with whom we now work as part-ners—partners whose concep-tion of quality is every bit as high as our own.
View of one of theproduction Fractals . A-9