Lean manufacturing and lean scheduling do not work for high mix low volume custom job shops or machine shops. Here's why and what DOES work. Lean Manufacturing | Lean Scheduling Why? Lean manufacturing was developed most notably in Toyota. In Toyota's environment...
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Step-by-Step Setup Reduction for Job Shops
Setup Reduction to Increase Flow and Productivity for Job Shops and Machine Shops Setup Reduction for Job Shops can be a challenge, no doubt. We often hear job shops explain that they can’t increase FLOW & PRODUCTIVITY because they have long setups. We’ve found...
Drum Buffer Rope (DBR) Summary: A Simple 5-Minute Guide
What is Drum Buffer Rope? Drum Buffer Rope (DBR) is a Theory of Constraints. production method used to control manufacturing flow. It synchronizes production with the speed of the bottleneck (the Drum), protects it with a time Buffer, and uses a communication...
The Goal book by Eliyahu Goldratt SUMMARY
The path to publishing The Goal book was difficult. In 1984 there were no business novels. Eliyahu Goldratt or Eli would tell a story about publishers passing on his book because it was a business book and a “love story”, and they did not know what shelf to put it...
How to measure Due Date Performance so you CAN improve it!
Last updated: Aug 27, 2025 TL;DR: Most job shops track due date performance with “percent on-time,” but that metric is misleading (it's an effect), and it doesn't help you to improve (find the causes). Here's what to measure instead. Due date performance (DDP, also...
How to Recession Proof Your Job Shop
Recession Proof Your Job Shop or Machine Shop Whether you think we are already in a recession, or one is coming, most economists and talking heads agree that things are going to get worse before they get better. I contend that your participation in any recession or...
Here’s why it’s hard to REALLY improve
Theory of Constraints Continuous Improvement It's hard to improve because it's difficult to get perspective on your own business. Here's a demonstration of perspective ... What's this picture of: (Hover on the picture to see the answer.) And what's this a picture of?...
Job Shop Schedule: Getting On Time & Reducing Lead Times
Job Shop Schedule: The SECRET to Getting On Time & Reducing Lead Times There's no question that the job shop schedule has it challenges. And every time we encounter one of the many challenges, our schedule is out of date, and we need to update the schedule. In...
Flow Based Scheduling | Flow Manufacturing
In Velocity Scheduling System we are focused flow based scheduling or flow manufacturing which is the physical flow in manufacturing. In Velocity PRICING System we focus on the flow of money and information. For this article we are referring to physical flow....
Increase Job Shop Productivity NOW!
Whether you’ve continued to manufacture or you’re ramping back up after COVID-19, you may find yourself with fewer people for any number of reasons: People out sick People not wanting to come to work Fewer people can work at one time for social distancing Layoffs you...