What's this got to do with TOC?

Well, apart from the fact this costume is real cool and kinda freaky, I think it shows us the way we should be thinking when taking on the six questions of new technology (well, at least 1-5):


Question no. 1:  What is the Power of the Technology?

Question no. 2:  What current limitation or barrier does the new technology (or product) eliminate or
vastly reduce?

Question no. 3:  What usage rules, patterns and behaviors exist today that consider the limitation?


Question no 4:  What rules, patterns and behaviors need to be changed to get the benefits of the new
technology?

Question no 5 – later version:  What is the application of the new technology that will enable the
above change without causing resistance?

Question no 6:  How to build, capitalize and sustain the business?
(I copied the questions from Eli Schragenheim's artice "Using the Six Questions by Dr. Goldratt on Riddle no. 3")

Should I elaborate?

Happy Halloween and enjoy the treats

Using S-DBR for Rapid Response Manufacturing

In this 2006 article,

 Eli Schragenheim, explains how to use S-DBS to support a competitive advantage of accepting requests for faster delivery dates in return for a premium.

S-DBR is short for simplified DBR and Schragenheim claims it has now totally replaced DBR in the GG consulting work. This is due to the fact that the classic DBR has too much protection in it and was overly rigid - the schedule was set at such a level of detail that each time a change was needed it impacted the entire system. This means that local variance is amplified to the entire system. S-DBR, on the other hand, uses only one layer of protection, meant to protect the system as a whole and leaves the micro-management to the people who can do it the best - the floor operators and foremen. The explanation of S-DBR and its mechanism is very detailed and clear.

While S-DBR can be used in any manufacturing system (made to order, to stock, to availability and so on) the focus of this article is made to order. In this kind of environment there may be customers willing to pay more for expedited treatment. Adding the ability to respond rapidly without negatively impacting the standard operations can allow the company to gain those premiums, establishing a decisive competitive edge. The article shows how to reserve capacity for the expedited orders and how to manage them.