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Tag Archives: Pull

Why I Don’t Like Two-Bin Systems

On the surface, a “two bin system” seems a great, simple solution to a part resupply process that could otherwise get complex.
And, on the surface, I don’t argue with that.
But two-bin has some limitations. And because it is so simple to set up, those limitations are frequently not understood or taken into account.
What is “Two [...]

A Systematic Approach to Part Shortages - Part 2

For kanban to work well, there has to be a solid foundation under it. That foundation is production leveling or heijunka.
Before I get to far into this, though, I would like to point something out: At the mention of leveling, people who are only just learning about kanban will point out all of the good [...]

A Systematic Approach to Part Shortages - Part 1

The short story of assembly problems is lack of parts. Part shortages drive all kinds of waste, including: juggling the schedule; expediting; bigger lots or batches - and all of these things end up causing shortages later on in a self-reinforcing death spiral.
So how did an assembly shop which built about 10 units / day, [...]

Is The MRP Algorithm Fatally Flawed?

Robert Johnston, now at the University of Melbourne, did his PhD work at Monash University. His dissertation, “
The Problem With Planning” presents a thought provoking thesis.
- Early robotics and computational intelligence models were built on a model which research at MIT debunked as unworkable in the 1980’s.
- The MRP algorithm uses the same model.
- Therefore, [...]