ABSTRACT
When solving a jigsaw puzzle, people usually find the corner pieces first and then put them into place. The job of the corner pieces of Lean/RfS is to stop the firefighting caused by batch logic through:
◾ Implementing a fixed plan for green items ◾ Using a buffer tank to absorb normal sales and production variability ◾ Integrating Lean/RfS into existing planning and production management processes
These result in a stability that provides the foundation for sustainable improvements and increased performance across the entire supply chain and in all business functions, making it possible to achieve better product quality, higher market share, increased margins, and happier employees. It also gives people time-time to think, time to investigate root causes, and time to implement standards. Sustainable improvement is very difficult to obtain when there is a different plan each week, when the plan keeps changing, and when firefighting and symptom solving are the normal way of operating. This is the situation we find in most manufacturing companies because they are using planning systems based on batch logic or economic order quantity (EOQ), either of which will guarantee a different plan every time, combined with unnecessary levels of variability.
