THE COMPLETE KIT - MODELING THE MANAGERIAL APPROACH

One of the fundamentals of good operations management practices is the ''complete kit'' concept, which suggests that work should not start u ntil all the items required for completion of a job are available. The se items (the kit) include components, tools, drawings and information . Starting a job with an incomplete kit means more labor time to finis h the job, longer lead time, more work in process, reduction of throug hput, poor quality and impairment of due date performance. This paper analyses the various facets of the complete kit approach by an analyti cal model that shows when it is preferable to use this concept. The te ndency of practitioners tb work with incomplete kits is explained usin g the prisoner's dilemma. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.