Evaluation of drum-buffer-rope and the 'DISASTER' scheduling package

Agirregomezkorta, A, 1994. Evaluation of drum-buffer-rope and the 'DISASTER' scheduling package. MPhil, Nottingham Trent University.

Preview

Text 10290299.pdf - Published version Download (57MB) | Preview

Abstract

A growing interest in the detailed scheduling of the shop floor activities has been identified in the last few years. Production scheduling is now often proposed as a vehicle to reduce production lead times and overall inventories, and improve customer service.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate one such approach to scheduling: the Drum- Buffer-Rope (DBR) scheduling technique and its implementation in the DISASTER scheduling package.

Initially, literature surveys were carried out to define the range of different manufacturing environments, identify the types of solutions to the scheduling problem, and explore the Theory of Constraints (TOC) philosophy which forms the basis of DBR and DISASTER. After this, DBR and DISASTER were evaluated using simulation studies combined with simulation work that had already been published, general use of DISASTER, and visits to companies using DBR and DISASTER.

The main conclusions of the thesis are: firstly, the Drum, Buffer and Rope concepts are not particularly new ideas but rather a new way of combining established ideas together. Secondly, DBR provides a good solution where there is one clearly defined Capacity Constraint Resource (CCR), however, is less effective where there is no single clearly defined CCR and methods such us Linear Programming may produce better results in these circumstances. Even so, the Drum-Buffer-Rope scheduling technique generally performs better than dispatching rules.

The DISASTER scheduling package may not accomplish all that is claimed for it. For example, it has limited modelling capabilities. However, it fully implements the DBR concepts and has additional features to deal with multiple CCRs. Furthermore, because it is an interactive Decision Support System it is useful for strategic planning and because of insights the users can gain using the package, it encourages them to be involved in a Process of on Going Improvement (POOGI).

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Agirregomezkorta, A.
Date:	1994
ISBN:	9781369325485
Identifiers:	Number Type PQ10290299 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	05 Jul 2021 15:23
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2024 15:39
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/43325

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads