In a drum-buffer-rope scheduling system, the "drum" represents which of the following?
A) a drum of jobs to be selected
B) the master schedule for the operation
C) a safety stock of material
D) the constraint against too much being loaded into the master schedule

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In a drum-buffer-rope scheduling system, the "drum" represents the master schedule for the operation, which is the schedule that determines when each job should be released into production. The drum is often set by the availability of the system's bottleneck, the constraint that limits the overall throughput of the system. The buffer represents a time buffer that is placed after the bottleneck to protect against variability and uncertainty in the system. The rope represents the communication and synchronization mechanism that ensures that work orders are released into production according to the drum schedule and that the buffer is replenished as needed. Safety stock is typically used in inventory management to protect against supply or demand variability, but is not directly related to drum-buffer-rope scheduling. The constraint against too much being loaded into the master schedule is also not directly related to the concept of the drum in drum-buffer-rope scheduling.

In a Drum-Buffer-Rope Scheduling System, the "Drum" Represents Which of the Following