ABSTRACT
The entry describes the traditional DBR approach that was developed in parallel with the lean movement in the late 20th Century. At the time, the authors pointed out that traditional manufacturers sought to keep every plant operation fully loaded because it was viewed as “efficient.” This led to overproduction and caused unsold product spread throughout the plant. MRP systems were often programmed to support high utilization of work center capacity.JIT, from the Toyota Production System, sought to replace “push” with “pull” to eliminate the overproduction. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) evolved along with JIT. Within the TOC tool kit, the shop floor control system, called drum–buffer–rope (DBR), is one of its most significant elements. The objective was to maximize continuous flow of the products that generate revenue for the company, while minimizing the amount of work‐in‐process.
