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Backflushing
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ByDavePiasecki
Bewilderment,fear,andsometimesrepulsionarereactionsyoumayreceivewhenyousuggestbackflushingmaterialsina
productionreportingsystem.IrecallareactionIreceivedwheninformingthenewdirectorofoperationsatamanufacturing
plantonthedetailsofshopfloorreportingbeingusedwhichincludedbackflushing.Thereactioncanbestbedescribedas
oneyouwouldexpectfromsomeoneexperiencinghisfirstvisittoaproctologist.Thesereactionsareusuallydueto
confusionastowhatexactlybackflushingis,howitworks,andwhentouseit.
Sowhatisbackflushing?Ifyouasksomeoneinvolvedwithengineeringormaintenancetheylllikelydescribeitasreversing
theflowofmaterials(generallyliquids)toflushcontaminantsfromsometypeoffilteringdevice.Watertreatmentplantsarea
goodexamplewherewaterisfilteredthroughsandtoremoveimpuritiesperiodicallytheywillreversetheflowthroughthe
sandtoforcethecontaminantstothesurfacewheretheycanberemoved.Ifyoutrytomakeacorrelationbetweenthis
processandtheprocessforbackflushingmaterialsininventorymanagementyouwillfindthatthereareabsolutelyno
similarities,hencetheconfusion.Backflushingissimplyaninappropriateandmisleadingtermusedtodescribeamethodfor
issuingmaterialstoproductionordersatthepointthatproductionofaspecificoperationiscompleted.
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Tomakethingsclearer,foraportionofthisarticleIwillrefertobackflushingaspostproductionissuing.Iwillalsousethe
termpreproductionissuingtodescribethemethod(s)forissuingmaterialmostpeoplearefamiliarwith.Itsimportantto
discussthesimilaritiesintheprogramsusedtoexecutepostproductionissuingandpreproductionissuingtodemonstrate
thatthetwomethodsareessentiallysmallvariationsofasingleprocess.
Thestandardflow.
Whenyoucreateaproductionorderyouwillusuallyentersomeverybasicinformationsuchasitemnumber,requested
quantity,andrequesteddate(inmostMRPsystemsthisinformationisautomaticallyenteredwhenyouconvertaplanned
order).Thisinformation(knownastheproductionorderheader)isthenusedtocreatethematerialslist(alsocalledpartslist
orpicklist)andtheroutingforthisspecificproductionorder.Thematerialslistiscreatedbymultiplyingthequantityrequired
fromtheorderheaderbythequantityperofeachcomponentonthebillofmaterialswhichresultsinadetailedmaterialslist
showingeachcomponent,thequantityper,andthetotalquantityrequiredtoproducetherequestedquantityofthefinished
item.
Whenitcomestimetostartproductionthereareseveralmethodsusedtoaccumulatethematerialsrequiredforproduction.
Onemethodistosimplyusethematerialslistandpickallofthematerialsandtransportthemtotheproductionarea.You
thenuseaprogramdesignedtoissuethecomponentstoaspecificproductionorder.Thisprogramwillgenerallyrequireyou
toentertheproductionordernumbertobringupthematerialslist.Youcanthenaccepttheentirematerialslistasasingle
transactionandtheprogramwillissuethequantityoneachdetaillinetotheproductionorderreducingonhandbalancesby
thatquantity.Ifthematerialslistdidnotspecifythelocationsthematerialsweretobepickedfrom,youwouldhavetoenter
thatdetailinformationbeforecompletingthetransaction.Theprogramwillprobablyalsohaveanoptiontoincreaseor
decreasetheentirematerialslistattheheaderlevelbychangingthequantityrequiredofthefinisheditemalldetaillineswill
thenrecalculatebasedonthisquantity.Youwouldalsohaveoptionstochangequantitiesonindividualdetaillinesoronly
issueindividualdetaillines.
IfthisisstartingtosoundlikeImtalkingaboutyourspecificsoftwareitsbecausethisisverystandardfunctionalityand
mostprogrammerswillrefrainfromgettingtoocreativeintheseareas.Whilethisisthemostcommonmethodfor
accumulatingtherequiredmaterialsandissuingthemtherearequiteafewvariations.Youmayhavesomematerialsthatare
stockedatthemachinethesearereferredtoaspointofusematerials.Youmayhavethepersonthatpickedthematerials
alsogoaheadandissuethepointofusematerialseventhoughtheyhaventactuallypickedthemoryoumayhavethe
operatorissuetheseduringproduction.Youmayalsohavesituationswheretheamountofmaterialsrequiredtocompletethe
entireproductionorderistoolargetostageatthemachineallatonceandsmallerquantitiesarepickedandissuedas
productionrequires.Inthistypeofissuingyoumayusethepreviouslydescribedprogram,selectingindividuallinesand
specifyingquantitypickedoneachtrip,oryoumayuseaseparateprogramwhereyouenterthecomponentitemnumber,the
quantity,andtheproductionordernumbertodirectlyissueindividualtransactionstothespecificproductionorder.Thistype
oftransactionprogramandprocesswilllikelybehighlypronetoerrorsunlessusedwithanautomaticdatacollectionsystem
suchasthoseusingbarcodes.
Backflushing
Inpostproductionissuing(backflushing)youarenotissuingthematerialsuntilproductionisposted(reported)againstthe
operation.Thematerialsmaybeaccumulatedthroughwhatevermeansaremostefficientforyouroperation.Oncethe
operationiscompleted,theoperatorwilluseaprogramtoposttheproductionagainsttheoperation.Theoperatorwill
generallyentertheproductionordernumber,operation,quantitygood,scrapquantity,andlaborandmachineinformation.The
productionreportingprogramwillthenbringuptheissuingprogram(essentiallythesameprogramasinthepreproduction
issuing)usingthesumofthegoodandscrapquantitytorecalculatethematerialsrequired.Yougenerallythenissueallthe
materialsasonetransactionjustasyouwouldhaveinthepreproductionissue.Youwouldalsohaveoptionstochange
individualitemquantitiesandaddindividualscrapquantitiestodetaillines.Anotheroptioncommonlyusedinpostproduction
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issuingistohavetheissuingprogramworkinthebackgroundwithouttheoperatoreverseeingit(blindbackflushing).
Nowyoucanseethatthedifferencebetweenpreproductionissuingandpostproductionissuingisessentiallyjustthetiming
ofthetransactionsandalittletransactionautomation.Sowhereisitadvantageoustousebackflushing?
Inoperationswherescrapiscommoninthefinisheditemandyoucontinuetoproduceuntilyouhaveagoodquantity
equaltotheorderedquantity,youwillfindpostproductionissuingwillsimplifytheissuingprocesssinceyouwont
knowhowmanyyouwillrununtilyouhavecompletedproduction.
Whenyouusepointofusematerials,postproductionissuingsimplifiestheissuingprocessandmakesiteasierto
performcountsonthepointofusematerials.Ifyouweretopreproductionissuethesematerialsyouwouldneedto
rectifythesystemcountswithanyordersthathadquantitiesissuedbutnotyetconsumed,however,ifyou
postproductionissueyoushouldhaveasystemtoactualcountmatchaftereachproductionposting.
Inverylongproductionruns(daysorweeks)wherepreproductionpostingtakesthematerialsoutoftheonhand
inventorybalancedaysorweeksbeforetheyarebeingusedandputsthedollarvalueintoaWIPaccount.Anyone
thathastriedtorectifyWIPaccountswilltellyouthatthelessyouhaveintheWIPaccountandthequickerthings
comeoutoftheWIPaccountthebetteroffyouare.ItsfareasiertotrackinventorythanWIP(seearticleonWork
InProcess).Youalsomayhavesituationswhereyoudonthaveenoughoftherawmaterialsfortheentire
productionrun,however,morewillbearrivingduringtherun(JIT/kanban)preproductionpostingwouldforceinventory
oftherawmaterialsnegative.ItsimportanttonotethatIamassumingthatifyouaredoinglongproductionrunsthat
youarepostingquantitiesproducedperiodically(eachshiftoreachday)ratherthanwaitinguntiltheentirerunis
complete.
Whenyouareusingbulkmaterialssuchasbarstock,rollstock,sheetgoods,anddrygoodsorliquidsinbulk
containers,wheretheexactquantitycannotbepicked.Forexample,ifyouneed1000linearfeetofmaterialthat
comesinbulkrollsof300linearfeet,preproductionissuingof1000eventhoughthematerialhandlerdelivered1200
causesaconfusinginventorysituation,andissuingtheentire1200wouldrequireyoutoreverseissue200whenyou
returntheremainder.
Examples:
ForasimplifiedexampleofanoperationwherepostproductionissuingwouldmakesenseIllcreateafictitiouscompanythat
makesprepackagedfoodproductsforvendingmachines.ThiscompanycalledTheTasteLikeCardboardSnackCompany
hassetupaproductionworkcellfortheirsandwichassemblythatmakesseveralcombinationsofsandwichesonwhiteor
wheatbread,withham,turkey,orbeef,AmericanorSwisscheese,andmustardormayonnaise.Thisgivesyouabouta
hundredseparatefinishedcombinationsandtheywillgenerallyrunabout30productionorderspershift.Thefinalstepinthe
assemblyistorunthesandwichthroughanautomatedheatsealpackagingmachinewhich,despitetheirbestefforts,
managestotrashaboutonepercentofthesandwichesrunthroughit.Sincetheyareamaketoordermanufacturerwithno
tolerancesallowedtheymustproducetheexactnumberofgoodsandwichesasordered.
Sincetheyaredealingwithveryfewcomponents(onlynine)tomakeupallofthesecombinationsitwouldmakesenseto
treatthesecomponentsaspointofusematerialsespeciallysincetheyarestoredinbulkform.Tryingtopickandsegregate
exactquantitiesofmustard,mayonnaise,meat,cheese,andbreadforeachproductionorderwouldbeinefficient(and
probablymessy).Duetothescrapproblemyoureallydontknowhowmanysandwichesyouwillneedtomaketogetthe
correctquantity,sopreproductionissuingwouldforceyoutogobackandenteradditionaltransactionsforthescrap
materials.Whileitmaybepossibletousedigitalscalesforthemeatandcheese,flowmetersforthemayonnaiseand
mustard,andacounterforthebreadtotrytoautomaticallycaptureexactquantitiesusedperproductionorder,itjustisnta
costeffectiveoptionandhavingtheproductionoperatorsmanuallytrackactualusagewilllikelyprovetobeanaccuracy
nightmare.Thebestoptionhereistouseblindpostproductionposting.Alltheoperatorneedstodoisenterthegoodquantity
andthescrapquantityandletthesystemcalculatetherest.
ArealworldexampleofpostproductionpostingIhadrecentlyencounteredwasforamanufacturerofpaperboardpackaging
materials.Oneofthefamiliesofproductsproducedwereroundlidsthatconsistedofacustomprintedinsert,rimbase
material,rimlabelmaterial,andadhesive.Theinsertswerestockedonpalletsofanywherefrom20,000to200,000
dependingonsize,therimbasematerialandrimlabelmaterialwereonbulkrolls,andtheadhesivecameinbulkcontainers.
Theformingofthelidswasasingleoperationonasinglemachine.Thisformingoperationwashighlypronetoscrapand
theywereamaketoorderoperationthatrequiredaspecificgoodquantitybeproduced.Productionrunscouldgofrom
severalhourstoseveraldaysandwouldbegroupedsothatmultipleordersusingthesamerimbasematerialandrimlabel
materialwererunconsecutively.
Alloftherawmaterialsarestoredinrandomlocationstorageinthewarehouse.Materialhandlerswoulddeliverrimbase
material,rimlabelmaterial,adhesive,andinsertsasneededtokeepthemachinerunning.Materialhandlerswouldenter
locationtransfertransactionstomovethematerialsfromthestoragelocationstoaspecificmachinelocationsetupforthe
lidformingmachine.Whentheproductionoperatorfinishedanorderorwhentheshiftended,theoperatorwouldpostquantity
goodandquantityscrapped,thebackflushprogramwouldthencalculatematerialrequirementsandissuethemfromthe
machinelocation.
Byusingmachinelocationsforthebackflushingweessentiallyisolatedthestoragelocationsfromtheproductionreporting
systemandwereabletomaintaincyclecountinginthestorageareas.Bytheway,didImentionthatthiswasa24/7
operation?Thisalsogavethebenefitofveryquicklycatchingproductionreportingerrorsjustbymonitoringtheinventoryat
themachinelocations.
Tipsonimplementingpostproductionissuing(backflushing).
Backflushingisperformedbyoperation,inthebillofmaterialyouwillhavetolinkthecomponenttothespecific
operationandsetthebackflushingflag.Youmayalsohavetosetbackflushingflagsonthespecificoperationinthe
routing,theprogramusedforproductionposting,andatthemachine/costcenterlevel.Thedetailsofeachsystem
mayvarysoreadthedocumentationforyourspecificsoftware.
Youmayalsofindbackflushflagsontheitemmasterifso,thisislikelyusedonlyasadefaultinsettingupbillsof
material.Changingthistobackflushwillprobablynotchangeanyexistingbillspreviouslycreated.
Changinganitemonabillofmaterialtobackflushwilllikelynotchangetheitemonthematerialslistsonany
existingproductionorderspreviouslycreated.Youwillprobablyhavetochangethesemanuallyordeleteandrecreate
theorders.
Backflushingisgenerallynotaglobalsetting,whichmeansyoucanchosespecificbillsofmaterialstobackflushand
evenspecificitemswithinabillofmaterial.Forexample,youcouldbackflushonlypointofuseitemsandperform
preproductionissuingonotheritemswithinthesameproductionorder.
Billofmaterialsoftenhaveoptionsforenteringscrappercentages.Notethatthisscrapinformationisusuallyonly
usedformaterialsplanningpurposesandwillprobablynothaveanyeffectonthebackflushquantities,however,you
shouldtesttoseehowyoursystemhandlesthis.
Ihighlyrecommendsettingupmachinelocationsandbackflushingfromtheselocationsratherthanbackflushing
fromspecificstoragelocations(thisisoftensetupatthemachine/costcenterlevel,however,itmaybesetupon
theitemmaster,billofmaterial,orrouting).Itemsstoredinspecificlocationsshouldbetransferredtothemachine
locationwhenpickedforproduction.
Youmayneedtosetupsomealternativepickingdocuments.Creatingareportthatconsolidatesallmaterials
requiredataspecificoperationforallproductionordersexpectedtoberanduringthatshiftgivesyoutheefficiency
ofbatchpicking.Pointofuseitemscanbetreatedsimilartothewayyouwouldreplenishforwardpickinglocationsin
adistributionoperation.
Ifyouareusinglottrackingofcomponentsyoumaynotbeabletoperformblindbackflushing,youwillprobablyneed
toenterlotinformationinthedetailoftheissuingprogram.
NeedImentionthataccuratebillofmaterialsandroutingsarecritical.
Thoroughlytestyoursystem.Verifytheeffectsoninventoryaccounts,onhandbalances,allocations,andlocations.
Ihaveonlydiscussedbackflushingmaterials,however,somesystemsmayalsoallowyoutobackflushlabor.Backflushing
laborissimplyusingthequantityproducedinformationandthestandardlabor,machine,andsetuphoursintheroutingto
calculatelaborandmachinetimetoapplyagainsttheproductionorder.
Backflushingisnotanideologyitsnotsomethingyoushouldbefororagainst.Itssimplyamethodforissuingmaterials
thatworkswellwhenappliedcorrectlyandworkspoorlywhenappliedincorrectly.Operationsnotusingpointofusematerials,
bulkmaterials,orthosewhereproductionscrapdoesnotforceanincreaseinrunquantitieswillfindnobenefitto
backflushing.Contractmanufacturersandengineertoordermanufacturersmayfindsystemsetuptooextensiveorbillof
materialaccuracyinadequatetosupportbackflushing.Operationsthathaveorcaneasilyputinplaceautomateddata
collectionsystemstoaccuratelyissueexactquantitiestoproductionorderswillalsohavelittleneedtoconsider
backflushing.
GotoArticlesPageformorearticlesbyDavePiasecki.
Copyright.ContentonInventoryOps.comiscopyrightprotectedandisnotavailableforrepublication.
DavePiasecki,isowner/operatorofInventoryOperationsConsultingLLC,aconsultingfirmprovidingservicesrelatedto
inventorymanagement,materialhandling,andwarehouseoperations.Hehasover25yearsexperienceinoperations
managementandcanbereachedthroughhiswebsite(http://www.inventoryops.com),wherehemaintainsadditionalrelevant
information.
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