You have run a capacity resource profile on your shop. Products have been routed sequentially through resources A, B, C, and D. The capacity resource profile tells you that resource A is scheduled at 95 percent of capacity, resource B at 80 percent of capacity, resource C at 130 percent of capacity, and resource D at 100 percent of capacity. Assuming that the data we used to calculate the capacity resource profile are accurate, how would you employ the "drum, buffer, rope" thinking?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

This concept is discussed in the text. The drum or control of the process is at the bottleneck, resource C. A small buffer inventory should be held between resource B and resource C. A rope (communication) should be directed back to the start of the process, resource A, to prevent inventory from building up. Depending on the situation, a second rope can extend from the finished goods inventory location (another buffer) to resource C as described in the text. An excellent response to this question will include a diagram similar to Exhibit 23.9 and/or Exhibit 23.11.