The effect of the drum-buffer-rope (DBR) approach on the performance of a synchronous manufacturing system (SMS)

The main objective of any manufacturing system is to organize the resources in a shop floor for effective transformation of raw materials into finishe d products. Synchronous manufacturing (SM) is a manufacturing management ph ilosophy that has a set of principles, procedures and techniques where ever y action is evaluated in terms of a common global goal of the organization (Seetharama et al., 1997, Production Planning and Inventory Control). A man ufacturing system that adopts the above principle is called as synchronous manufacturing system (SMS). In order for a manufacturing plant to achieve t he benefits of a synchronous operation, a logistical control system that is manageable and results in predictable performance is required. The drum-bu ffer-rope (DBR) approach, which is a generalized system, satisfies the abov e requirements through computer simulation. This paper focuses on the effec t of DBR principles on the performance of a synchronous manufacturing syste m. A case study has been taken up in a small-scale industry and analysis ha s been carried out on the effect of the DBR approach on the performance of the system. This work has been performed on an IBM/PC compatible system usi ng the promodel software and C language.