Articles and white papers

Lean Manufacturing Lean Manufacturing
Monday, November 07, 2011
Organizations that continue to manufacture in high-cost countries must eliminate any “fat” from their manufacturing if they are to remain competitive. Lean manufacturing has evolved over the last 50 years from its roots in the Toyota Production System and today embodies a variety of concepts and techniques.
 
The Luddites of Lean The Luddites of Lean
Monday, September 12, 2011
Most people reading this will assume that the Luddites in the title are those who have not embraced the Lean manufacturing message, but in fact the Luddites are the many Lean practitioners who ignore the benefits technology can bring in creating an even Leaner environment. To try and understand why these practitioners are seen as Luddites, a simple review of Lean Manufacturing will help.
 
The Leanest Lean you have ever Seen The Leanest Lean you have ever Seen
Monday, September 12, 2011
Lean manufacturing is currently one of the buzz words in industry and quite rightly so. Most companies are under pressure to produce more products in shorter delivery times, without visibility of future demand and with fewer inventories. That’s quite a feat to achieve. The question always arises as to whether there is a place for IT in lean manufacturing initiatives.
 
Optimisation Techniques and Their Application to Production Scheduling Optimisation Techniques and Their Application to Production Scheduling
Monday, September 12, 2011
This paper is a short resume of various optimization techniques and their application to production scheduling. Descriptions of four different optimization techniques are given. The use of each technique is described in the context of real-world production scheduling decision-making environments.
 
Making more money with Finite Capacity Scheduling Making more money with Finite Capacity Scheduling
Monday, September 12, 2011
The ever increasing pressures from the market place has caused companies to re-assess how the production planning function is carried out and to look for tools that will support the decision making process and generate achievable schedules in a timely manner. This paper describes the use of a graphical, finite capacity scheduling package that can be linked with existing systems such as MRP software to provide the user with a rapid decision support tool that balances demand with capacity.
 
Empowering the Planner Empowering the Planner
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Much has been written about lean manufacturing over the years and one of the major 'wastes' that lean manufacturing initiatives target is inventory in all its forms, raw materials, WIP and finished goods. If you have read what has been written, or paid for a lean practitioner to advise you, you will have inevitably concluded that IT will play no part in any lean initiative, and that Visual Production Control (VPC), typically in the form of Kanbans and supermarkets, is the only way forward.
 
Analyzing Production Schedules Analyzing Production Schedules
Thursday, September 01, 2011
More powerful, low cost computing systems and software development tools that allow creation of fast, easy-to-maintain software have driven the cost of sophisticated software down with no compromise in performance. For manufacturing, the most visible example of enhanced price/performance software is finite capacity scheduling (FCS) systems. As with any tool, the real value in understanding what the results have to say.
 
Keeping an eye on the Food Processing KPI Keeping an eye on the Food Processing KPI
Thursday, September 01, 2011
One of the fastest growing sectors of business over the last few years has been in the production of fresh and pre-processed foods for the large multiples. Everything from fresh salads to pizza, pre-prepared meals, soups, sauces etc are experiencing bumper demand.
 
‘Welcome to the New World of Planning ‘Welcome to the New World of Planning" by Ortec
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
This content-rich document looks at everything from defining the term ‘Planning’, looking at why and when to plan, through to an analysis of the Planning process in steps, data analysis, communicating information, how to improve company profits and customer service, and how to secure acceptance for the change management process involved in putting in place a sound Resource Planning regime.
 
Design of Modular Layouts for Fabrication-Based Assembly Facilities Design of Modular Layouts for Fabrication-Based Assembly Facilities
Friday, April 01, 2011
In a fabrication-based assembly facility, the material flow network in the facility is obtained by merging the routings of all the parts and subassemblies into a precedence hierarchy defined by the Bill of Material (BOM) of each product...
 
 
 
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