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How DeVal Lifecycle Support Uses the Rules of Flow to Improve Manufacturing Efficiency

Updated: Nov 19

DeVal Lifecycle Support is dedicated to operational excellence and advancing military readiness. By applying the Rules of Flow, we continuously improve our manufacturing processes, particularly in high-mix, low-volume settings. This approach allows us to maximize surge capacity, optimize setups, and enhance productivity, allowing us to better serve our customers with high quality, on time deliveries.



High-Mix, Low-Volume Manufacturing: The Key to Boosting Surge Capacity


The Rules of Flow are a guiding set of principles aimed at eliminating waste, minimizing set up times, and maintaining continuous production by identifying and mitigating constraints up front. By emphasizing process visibility, standardization, and accountability, this approach streamlines processes, driving greater efficiency through increasing throughput.


In manufacturing, cycle time reduction is typically the focus, but when setup time exceeds cycle time, the constraint shifts. DeVal Lifecycle Support’s work is a high-mix, low-volume production environment, where often the time for job setup exceeds the actual manufacturing time. Often, these highly specialized set up processes are where bottlenecks occur- because of the high level of detail needed in manufacturing individual components and jobs.


"When analyzing our workflow in the high mix, low volume manufacturing environment set up and planning becomes the critical time constraint because the planning and setup phases often take longer than the actual production run.” states DeVal Chief Operating Officer Rohit Bhalla. “This reality requires a deliberate focus on streamlining changeovers and optimizing workflows upfront to maintain efficiency throughout the entire process. By leveraging tools like whiteboards and systematic scheduling systems, we strategically improve planning visibility for each member of our team, critical to ensuring better alignment and predictability across the organization.”


A key aspect of our agile manufacturing process is the First Time Build process, which validates the entire internal manufacturing cycle before moving to full production. This approach identifies and resolves potential bottlenecks early, eliminates non-value-added time, and streamlines product throughput. It ensures that all key ingredients—materials, tools, and processes—are accounted for before production begins. For our customers, the Form/Fit/Function Validation phase provides a low-rate production test of the new design, using the build-test-build method to refine and perfect the product. This enhances quality and reduces costs while supporting scalability, enabling us to meet the unpredictable demands of military readiness and other critical industries with confidence. This is especially important for supporting warfighter readiness in contested logistics environments, where the ability to ramp up production quickly and efficiently is paramount.


The Rules of Flow: Six Steps to Optimize Manufacturing Processes


DeVal’s Rules of Flow approach includes six essential steps designed to enhance efficiency throughout our CNC department and the entire manufacturing process.


  1. Manufacturing Process Planning: Thorough planning establishes clear expectations and aligns our team for every project, allowing us to identify and address key constraints early to boost throughput. From the office to the shop floor, each job is meticulously prepared to flow seamlessly through every stage of production.


  2. Tooling Load Machine System: Pre-matching tools to each job before it reaches the machinist minimizes delays and streamline production for greater efficiency.


  3. Fixturing Validation and Setup: First-time build processes verify fixture accuracy, ensuring readiness and reliability for high-mix manufacturing jobs.


  4. CNC Programming Efficiency: Programming is tested in advance to prevent delays, ensuing seamless operation during machining.


  5. Material Planning and Traceability: DeVal’s materials team ensures that all necessary materials are readily available with complete documentation, maintaining traceability and compliance throughout the process.


  6. In-Process Quality Control with Gauging: Quality begins on the production line with precision gauges in place, ensuring every part meets specifications right from the start.


Small Business Agility: How DeVal Adapts to Meet Surge Capacity


As a small business, DeVal Lifecycle Support capitalizes on its agility in high-mix, low-volume environments to rapidly scale and meet unpredictable demands. Unlike larger manufactures, our size allows us to respond quickly- which is critical for responding to defense industry requirements.


Through clear communication and streamlined processes, DeVal ensures flexible, responsive operations – ready to handle both standard production and urgent surge demands seamlessly.


Achieving a 40% Setup Time Reduction with Continuous Improvement


Our commitment to continuous improvement has delivered measurable results. During an 8-week Rules of Flow Training Program, DeVal achieved a 40% reduction in setup times, significantly enhancing production efficiency. Developed in collaboration with DVIRC, this program emphasized visual controls, cost-effective enhancements, and Lean Manufacturing principles, all custom tailored to address our specific operational requirements.


At DeVal Lifecycle Support, the Rules of Flow drive our continuous improvement efforts, enabling us to streamline processes, expand capacity, and deliver high-quality products for the defense industry. By prioritizing efficiency in high-mix, low-volume settings, we ensure our products are designed with high efficiency with quality and speed, resulting in faster turnaround times for our customers.



 

DeVal Lifecycle Support, a Parts Life, Inc. Company, is a full service build to print mechanical manufacturer of armament and ground support equipment, sub-assemblies, and major parts and components for military systems and sub-systems for over 60 years. As a small business certified HUBZone contractor for the Department of Defense, DeVal LCS is a full-service original equipment manufacturer with extensive high precision machining capabilities used to support our prime and government customers. Products include munitions trailers adapters & add-ons, drawbars, cargo loaders, weapon transport adapters, bomb hoist, dollies, self-propelled weapons loaders, testing and tool sets, and more. DeVal operates under regimented performance guidelines constituted by ISO9001:2015 and AS9100D Certified Quality Management Systems Programs.


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