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                                                 Japanese Manufacturing Techniques Introduction The Japanese make do with little and avoid waste.    The modern Japanese system of hand-to-mouth management of materials, with total quality control is consistent with their inclination to conserve resources. The Japanese have a “just-in-time” production objective.    They use engineering to drastically cut machine setup times so that it is economical to run very small batches.    The idea is to make one piece just in time for the next operation.    The economic order quantity approaches one unit.    The main benefit is not reduction in inventory carrying costs but improvement in quality, worker motivat...

AGGREGATE PLANNING   Aggregate Planning: Attempts to match the supply of and demand for a product or service by determining the appropriate quantities and timing of inputs, transformation, and outputs.    Decisions made on production, staffing, inventory and backorder levels. Characteristics of aggregate planning: Considers a "planning horizon" from about 3 to 18 months, with periodic updating Looks at aggregate product demand, stated in common terms Looks at aggregate resource quantities, stated in common terms Possible to influence both supply and demand by adjusting production rates, workforce levels, inventory levels, etc., but facilities cannot be expanded. Production Plan  (manufacturing aggregate plan): A managerial statement of the period-by-period ( time-phased ) production rates, work-force levels, and inventory investment, given customer requirements and capacity limitations. Staffing Plan  (service aggregate plan): A managerial statement of the ...