Implementation of Drum, Buffer, Rope Scheduling

1
IMPLEMENTATION OF
DRUM, BUFFER, ROPE
SCHEDULING
Rishikesh Rai, NIFT KOLKATA
Drum, Buffer, Rope Scheduling
2
System
 Drum: A schedule for the Constraint resource

 Rope: The time interval between when material is
required at the constraint and the release of the
raw material to the first station
 Buffer: The difference between the rope and the
minimum time required in the stages preceding
the constraint
What are the benefits of this process?
3
 Better process control

 Reduced inventories
 Reduced operating
expenses
 Increased throughput
How can we control a system with
4
dependent events?
 Step 1: Identify the system’s bottleneck

 Step 2: Exploit the system’s bottleneck
 Step 3: Subordinate everything else to the
bottleneck
How can we improve a system with
5
dependent events?
 Step 4: Elevate the system’s constraint.
Improving the Process using TOC
Principles…
6
1.Identify the constraint.
This implies the need to examine the entire process to

determine which process limits the throughput.
It must be kept in mind that a constraint limits

throughput with respect to overall business
sales, not merely inventory production.
Principles…
7
2. Exploit the constraint.
Find methods to maximize the utilization of the constraint

toward productive throughput.
For example, in many operations all processes are shut

down during lunchtime or during breaks.
If a process is a constraint, the operation should consider

rotating lunch periods so that the constraint is never
allowed to be idle.
2. Exploit the constraint. …
8
Suppose, for example, an operation has a certain process that

represents a clear and large constraint.
Suppose also that they currently have 7 productive hours for an

8-hour shift (30 minutes for lunch and two 15-minute
breaks).
Assuming they have multiple workers that can operate the

process (or can train more), they could stagger lunch times
and break times for just that one process, allowing it to
operate the full 8 hours.
Principles…
9
3. Subordinate everything to the constraint.

Effective utilization of the constraint is the most
important issue. Everything else is secondary.
4.Elevate the constraint.

Essentially this means to find ways to increase the
available hours of the constraint, including adding
more of it.
Principles…
10
5. Once the constraint is a constraint no longer, find the new one

and repeat the steps.
As the constraint effective utilization increases, it may cease to

be a constraint as another process becomes one.
In that case the emphasis shifts to the new process constraint.
It is also possible that a process-related change in the production

will cause a different process to become the constraint.
Notes on the five steps:
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The third step is accomplished by
 Releasing material at the gateway (first processing)

center at a rate that will keep the constraint busy.
 Prioritization of non-constraint tasks based almost

exclusively on constraint needs.
12
The concept of exploit really implies getting the

most from existing constraint resources.
TOC suggests that exploiting should be maximized

prior to spending additional money to acquire more
of the constraint resource.
13
The fifth step is really a warning to continually

check to ensure the constraint has not shifted.
Effective exploitation of existing constraints and a

shift in product mix are examples of events that can
cause the constraint to shift.
A case study
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Make pocket [1.28 ]
Prepare front [1.42] Make back[2.57] Make collar [3.55]
Set pocket[0.88]
Attach back & Make sleeve [2.45]

front[0.68]
Set collar[1.82]
Set sleeves[3.87] Make cuff[2.48]

Finish
Set cuff[1.15]
Button
hole and
Bottom
Side seam[0.95] stitch
15
 The time taken to reach the start of constraint = 18 hrs

before implementation
 The rule of thumb to apply is to halve the existing

lead time, therefore the new time is 9 hrs.
 We apply a second rule of thumb and divide the
buffer into zones of one third each
A Journey Through Time
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The buffer is the whole of the duration of the part of the system that the buffer protects
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We will use our 9 hours buffer as we derived above, so this slice of work is the drum’s work
for one hour 10 hours out from the scheduled processing date. There are 5 parts in our
slice. The products shown as “lilac,” “red,” “green,” “blue,” and “orange.” The time interval,
for the sake of clarity in this example, is – hours – rather than finer divisions of hours or less
that we might expect to find in reality.
On the first day of the schedule all the products are released (as scheduled) and are in
zone 3 of our time buffer. Their physical location at the end of the day is as follows.
18
Lilac might be small batch or a simple process that is completed quickly, it moves
forward further (and maybe faster) than the rest.
After another day we are at day 2 and still within buffer zone 3 the process
looks like this.
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We can see that red has moved quite quickly relative to the others and blue hasn’t moved at
all. How does this happen? Different jobs travel through different routings, and have different
wait times (because of other jobs in front of them) and different processing times (either
because of different batch size or different work). And of course sometimes things don’t always
go as planned; we have break-downs, people are absent, and “stuff happens.”
By day 4, one day into buffer zone 2 we see the work has evolved as follows.
20
The next day, day 5 (buffer zone 2), the work looks like this
21
The green and red jobs are complete, the lilac and orange jobs are progressing
well and blue is moving forward.
At the end of day 6 – the last day of buffer zone 2 we see the following
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Three of the five jobs are completed by the end of buffer zone 2, and two are
lagging behind. Because the end of day 6 is the starting of day 7 and the first day
of zone 1 (the red zone) we have a buffer penetration. Two jobs that ought to be
finished by now have not been finished. They must be located and appraised to
ensure that they will reach the constraint in the remaining time.
The end of day 7
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Now 4 jobs have been completed. The lilac job was completed sometime on day 7. The
blue job will have been located and checked to see that it will meet the schedule and be
available at the drum by the end of day 9 – the last day of zone 1 – or preferably
sooner. We would have preferred that most jobs were completed by the end of day 6,
but sometimes “stuff happens” and not all jobs are complete at that time. The blue job
might require some “assistance” to ensure its completion.
The situation at day 8
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We find at the end of day 8 – with just one day to spare – that all of the jobs are completed and
waiting to be processed on the constraint according to the schedule on day 10. Zone 1 – the red
zone – of the buffer was penetrated by as much as 2 days by the blue job and as much as 1 day by
the lilac job. However the drum is now fully protected and the drum schedule will not be
compromised, our exploitation strategies are fully protected by adequate subordination of the other
resources.
Implementation methodology
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 Study the system and identify the constraint.
 Design an exploitation strategy for the constraint

by creating logically consolidated production cells.
 Subordinate all processes to the constraint by

determining buffers and buffer management.
Weekly plan
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 Week 1: Study the system closely. The time needed for each operation to
be studied and noted.
 Week 2: Design an exploitation strategy for the constraint
 Week 3: Design a corresponding cellular layout for the product.
 Week 4: Implement the cellular layout designed and start production.
 Week 5-7: Monitor the progress and maintain the buffers (buffer
management).
 Week 8: Evaluate the performance of the system and improve.

27

Thank you…. 

Implementation of Drum, Buffer, Rope Scheduling

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What is Drum Buffer Rope scheduling?

What is Drum Buffer Rope scheduling?

What are the benefits of Drum Buffer Rope scheduling?

What are the benefits of Drum Buffer Rope scheduling?

1

 Drum: A schedule for the Constraint resource

 Better process control

 Step 1: Identify the system’s bottleneck

1.Identify the constraint.

This implies the need to examine the entire process to

It must be kept in mind that a constraint limits

2. Exploit the constraint.

Find methods to maximize the utilization of the constraint

For example, in many operations all processes are shut

If a process is a constraint, the operation should consider

Suppose, for example, an operation has a certain process that

Suppose also that they currently have 7 productive hours for an

Assuming they have multiple workers that can operate the

3. Subordinate everything to the constraint.

4.Elevate the constraint.

5. Once the constraint is a constraint no longer, find the new one

As the constraint effective utilization increases, it may cease to

In that case the emphasis shifts to the new process constraint.

It is also possible that a process-related change in the production

The third step is accomplished by

 Releasing material at the gateway (first processing)

 Prioritization of non-constraint tasks based almost

The concept of exploit really implies getting the

TOC suggests that exploiting should be maximized

The fifth step is really a warning to continually

Effective exploitation of existing constraints and a

Attach back & Make sleeve [2.45]

Set sleeves[3.87] Make cuff[2.48]

 The time taken to reach the start of constraint = 18 hrs

 The rule of thumb to apply is to halve the existing

 Study the system and identify the constraint.

 Design an exploitation strategy for the constraint

 Subordinate all processes to the constraint by

 Week 2: Design an exploitation strategy for the constraint

 Week 3: Design a corresponding cellular layout for the product.

 Week 4: Implement the cellular layout designed and start production.

 Week 8: Evaluate the performance of the system and improve.

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