Blog
Insights on production scheduling, lean manufacturing, and manufacturing software from 35+ years of industry experience.
Safety Stock — Manufacturing Glossary
Learn what safety stock is, how to calculate safety stock levels, a worked example with numbers, and why safety stock decisions impact production scheduling and delivery.
Scheduled Receipt — Manufacturing Glossary
Learn what a scheduled receipt is in MRP, how open orders affect net requirements calculations, a worked example, and why accurate scheduled receipts prevent planning errors.
SMED: Single-Minute Exchange of Die for Faster Changeovers
Learn what SMED means in lean manufacturing — a systematic method for reducing machine changeover time to under 10 minutes, enabling smaller batches and flow.
Standard Work: The Baseline for Every Improvement
Learn what standard work means in lean manufacturing — the documented best-known method for performing each task, providing the baseline for continuous improvement.
Time Bucket — Manufacturing Glossary
Learn what a time bucket is in MRP and scheduling, how bucket size affects planning precision, a practical example, and when to use daily versus weekly buckets.
Time-Phased Order Point — Manufacturing Glossary
Learn what time-phased order point (TPOP) is, how it improves on traditional reorder points, a worked example, and when manufacturers should use TPOP for inventory planning.
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM): Maximizing Equipment Reliability
Learn what Total Productive Maintenance means — a lean manufacturing strategy for maximizing equipment effectiveness through proactive, operator-driven maintenance.
Value Stream Mapping (VSM): See the Waste, Fix the Flow
Learn what value stream mapping means in lean manufacturing — a visual tool for documenting material and information flow to identify waste and design improvements.
Value Stream: The Complete Flow from Raw Material to Customer
Learn what a value stream means in lean manufacturing — the complete sequence of activities required to deliver a product from concept to customer delivery.
Visual Management: Making Production Status Visible at a Glance
Learn what visual management means in lean manufacturing — using visual signals to communicate production status, standards, and problems instantly on the shop floor.
Waste Elimination: The Core Objective of Lean Manufacturing
Learn what waste elimination means in manufacturing — the systematic process of identifying and removing non-value-added activities to improve flow and reduce cost.
Work-in-Progress (WIP): The Hidden Cost on Your Shop Floor
Learn what work-in-progress means in manufacturing — the inventory of partially completed items on the shop floor, and why controlling WIP improves scheduling.