Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [760]
11Deming devised an experiment to show the results of such tampering before a process has stabilized. The funnel experiment in the APICS Dictionary (Blackstone, 2008, 56) is defined as “An experiment that demonstrates the effects of tampering. Marbles are dropped through a funnel in an attempt to hit a flat-surfaced target below. The experiment shows that adjusting a stable process to compensate for an undesirable result or an extraordinarily good result will produce output that is worse than if the process had been left alone.” Here you are adjusting again before the process has stabilized. (© APICS 2008, used by permission, all rights reserved.)
12Of course, we assume here that all the efforts to exploit the current capacity of the CCR have been done. Actions like staggering breaks and lunches plus overlapping shifts reduce or eliminate down time on the constraint and increase capacity by over 10 percent.
13Goldratt (2009) compares and contrasts the traditional assembly line, the Toyota Production System, and drum-buffer-rope. Based on his analysis, Goldratt provides four concepts of supply chains. These four concepts were discussed in Chapter 9. The fourth concept, flow, relates heavily to MTA.
14The APICS Dictionary (Blackstone, 2008, 144) defines vendor-managed inventory (VMI) as “(a) means of optimizing supply chain performance in which the supplier has access to the customer’s inventory data and is responsible for maintaining the inventory level required by the customer. . .” (© APICS 2008, used by permission, all rights reserved.)
15Forecasting the demand means manually changing the target levels according to the “maximum” forecast within the reliable replenishment time and doing it before the peak is supposed to start.
16This problem is not unique to TOC. Manufacturers have long been trying to identify hybrid production systems that would work under the push system. The APICS Dictionary (Blackstone, 2008, 61) defines hybrid production method as “(a) production planning method that combines the aspects of both the chase and level production planning methods.” (© APICS 2008, used by permission, all rights reserved.)
17When we speak about a dedicated production line, then the production lead time could be very fast and the actual replenishment time is the wait time for the line itself.
18See Chapters 16 and 20 in this volume.
1Editors’ note: This chapter describes a state-of-the art software package and how it addresses the realities of complex manufacturing and supply chain environments. The author was invited to contribute to the handbook as he has studied these environments using the TOC Thinking Processes, has an in-depth understanding of the causal linkages from symptoms to core problem(s) and has struggled with developing comprehensive solutions to these core problems. He is an expert in this development work.
2In distribution, the APICS Dictionary (Blackstone 2008, 131) makes a significant distinction between the meanings of these two terms. A product is a good within the supply chain, while an SKU is defined as: “an item at a particular geographic location.” © APICS 2008, used by permission, all rights reserved.
3Sales at the end of the chain in the long-term are the only measures that matter. If a sale is made within the links of the supply chain, it is to fill inventory positions for future sales at the end of the chain. Therefore, once the supply chain is filled it will sit without movement until the consumer purchases at the consumption point. Most managers within a traditional supply chain focus only on sales to the next link, not sales at the end of the chain.
Copyright © 2010 by Amir Schragenheim.
4In TOC terminology, we call these undesirable effects (UDEs) and we search for the core problem causing these UDEs.
5Throughout this chapter I will use the term manufacturer/distributor to represent either a supply chain based on a company that manufactures the majority of parts that flow through