Duplicate Assembly Bench: Let Development Use Production Hardware Without Interrupting Operators
A copied assembly bench gives product development the same standard hardware used in production, without taking over a live workstation.
- Creator
Audacity Micro- Company
- Henry Holsters
- Wastes
Product development and mold testing need to build assemblies that match production. If development borrows a production bench or asks operators for hardware, operators are interrupted and test builds may depend on memory instead of the real standard.
The team placed a duplicate assembly bench in the development workspace and stocked it with the same standard hardware pieces used in production, including spacers and screw posts.
Make proven production knowledge visible and reusable where development work happens.
What is a Duplicate Assembly Bench?
A duplicate assembly bench is a development workstation that mirrors the production assembly bench closely enough for realistic sample builds. It gives developers access to the same standard hardware used by operators.
In the source, the workspace is used for product development, mold design, and mold testing. The bench holds standard hardware pieces, including spacers and screw posts, so development can build assemblies that match what production would do.
The purpose is knowledge reuse. Instead of recreating the production setup from memory or interrupting operators to borrow parts, development works from the same proven hardware standard in its own area.
Why it works
The duplicate bench turns the production standard into a reusable development resource.
- Knowledge reuse: Development uses the same hardware choices already proven in production instead of inventing a separate test setup.
- Added value: Mold tests and sample assemblies are more useful because they are built against the production standard.
- Mistake-proofing: Keeping standard spacers, screw posts, and hardware visible at the bench reduces the chance of testing with the wrong or nonstandard parts.
- Flow protection: Operators are not interrupted when development needs to build or test an assembly.
Evidence: The transcript describes a product development workspace with a duplicate of the assembly benches and standard hardware pieces, including spacers and screw posts, used to build assemblies that match what production would do.
How to create this idea
- 1Pick the reference bench
Choose the production assembly bench that development most often needs to copy. Treat its hardware choices as the current standard.
- 2List the standard hardware
Record the parts development must have available, such as spacers, screw posts, and other standard hardware pieces used on the production bench.
- 3Set up the duplicate
Place an assembly bench in the development area. Stock it with the same standard hardware so sample builds can be done without taking parts from operators.
- 4Use it for real tests
Build mold test samples and development assemblies at the duplicate bench. Compare the build to what production would actually do.
- 5Keep it current
When production changes the hardware standard, update the duplicate bench. A stale copy creates new errors instead of preventing them.
Best used when
- product development
- mold testing
- sample assemblies
- shared hardware
- operator interruptions
Less useful when
- one off builds
- no standard hardware
- unstable process
- space constrained areas
Products and tools mentioned
- Assembly bench: Used as the duplicate workstation in the development workspace.
- Assembly hardware: Standard hardware pieces stocked so development can build like production.
- Screw posts: Standard pieces kept at the bench for assembly testing.
- Spacers: Standard pieces kept at the bench for matching production assemblies.
Tags
- Problem
- interruptionswaitingwrong parts
- Lean methods
- knowledge reusestandard workmistake-proofing
- Application
- assemblyproduct developmentmold testing
Captured from Audacity Micro at Henry Holsters in the video "THIS is what a LEAN shop looks like - Lean Machine Shop Tour", at 00:05:42. On Lean Toolbox. Watch the original video on YouTube ↗
