ABSTRACT
This chapter uses an academic job shop scheduling (JSS) software, LEKIN, to demonstrate how an High-Mix Low-Volume manufacturer can “plan the work then work the plan” on a daily basis without using Enterprise Resource Planning or Lean tools for production planning and operations scheduling. The scheduling software helps to determine which orders to release into production, how to set priorities at individual work centers so they process orders in the right sequence, and utilizes performance metrics for on-time delivery performance and waste elimination. The chapter discusses the fundamentals of JSS. It used the LEKIN academic scheduling software to solve a simple JSS problem involving ten different parts that comprise a single sales order that had to be produced in a cell. LEKIN is also capable of dealing with sequence-dependent setup times in all the environments.
