The road to lean repetitive batch manufacturing: Modelling planning system performance

The author places research undertaken into a periodic order cycle inventory management system for repeitive batch manufacturers into the context of lean production and world class manufacturing. The authors describe the attributes of the current marketplace, and how approaches used by successful users of the world-class manufacturing and lean production techniques can be applied to a repetitive batch environment. The paper proposes a methodology to help traditional repetitive batch manufacturers in a route to continual improvement by: highlighting those areas where change would bring the greatest benefits; modelling the effect of proposed changes; quantifying the benefits that could be gained through implementing the proposed changes; and simplifying the effort required to perfrom the modelling process. It concentrates on increasing flexibility through managed inventory reduction by rationally decreasing batch sizes, taking account of sequence dependent set-ups and the identification and elimination of bottlenecks.