| Finite Capacity Scheduling | | | | actual fighting. It will be hard to fight waving sticks |
| by Gerhard Plenert PhD and Bill KirchmeirI met | | | | when B-1 Bombers are flying overhead; because by |
| Gerhard and talked with him for an hour at a | | | | the time you see them it is too late. Saddams army |
| customers office of one of our franchisees in Reno | | | | never had a chance since we had logistically won the |
| NV, which specializes in antique car restoration and | | | | war before it started. Many battles in history, even our |
| maintenance. Gerhard was in the waiting room reading | | | | own civil war was about train tracks, supply and |
| what may have been Steven Hawkins, so we began | | | | troops moving and feeding armies. The South had |
| talking. Imagine my surprise to find he had worked with | | | | factories but found it hard to match the output of the |
| so many great companies in the early computer days | | | | North. Larger Armies more guns, better stabilized |
| and with the automotive industry and many other | | | | currency. Innovation helped when they changed the |
| heavy Equipment Industries. Well since I had him there | | | | bullets and muskets, which could shoot farther with |
| for 1 hour, I barraged him with questions from | | | | better accuracy yet within months both sides had all |
| converting Space Energy (radiation and different light | | | | the same technology. In WWII Germans were working |
| spectrums into energy for our planet), to taking his | | | | on the hydrogen Bomb and so were we, at least |
| methods to the service industry. He too barraged me | | | | Einstein in his letter to the president indicated he |
| with questions on franchising, and later we talked about | | | | believed they were working on it when he asked for |
| the status of expert and we both laughed when we | | | | funding of the Manhattan Project.Innovation in |
| found out we were both published in our fields of | | | | Manufacturing is important it helped Pirelli and Firestone |
| expertise. He admitted to writing books about his | | | | and a few other tire manufacturers increased |
| subject so I ordered one and it shocked me that it | | | | production and leap frogged other technologies. But in |
| was $55.00 plus tax, after reading it, I was shocked | | | | the end they all had the new technology and the real |
| that so much information on the reality of efficiency | | | | problem was who could build the most using the same |
| had ever been compiled in one place.First off I would | | | | technology. Cold War days, we simply out spent and |
| like to say that this book is not just for Manufacturing | | | | bluffed our way into winning the cold war. We may |
| Executives. I believe this book should be read by our | | | | have to do this again. We and the Russians both had |
| Military for infantry Logistics and moving forces into a | | | | the technology, and the resources, yet our great |
| hostile area for possible future engagement. It should | | | | economic machine was too powerful, probably due to |
| be read by NASA who occasionally has missed | | | | the productivity derivative of a capitalistic society vs. a |
| appointments with Asteroids or launches. As NASA | | | | communist one. Even though none of the last three |
| learns how to attain multi-dimensional space travel it will | | | | paragraphs were in the book, it is necessary to further |
| be imperative to be a the right place at the right time | | | | point out why this book is so important.Another great |
| and to jump dimensions of space time otherwise it | | | | quote in the book;Behold the turtle who only makes |
| does not appear that travel beyond the speed of light | | | | progress when he sticks his neck out.I believe that |
| will occur in our life time. Computers are here to stay | | | | FCS is the solution to DaimlerCryslers dilemma in |
| and they can help us streamline efficiency and allow all | | | | Europe. Many countries there and their citizens favor a |
| business models to work in real-time. The new way of | | | | customized car like a Dell computer delivered in less |
| manufacturing will be FCS and not Infinite Scheduling | | | | than 30 days. Not the one size fits all car, which has |
| Backwards Pass (ISBP). Many aspects of this book | | | | been Fords answer to profit taking in Europe. |
| dealt with the implementing of such a system and also | | | | Tomorrow and todays new demands are for zero |
| with the reality of change and the fear and roadblocks | | | | inventory and immediate delivery with maximum |
| by conventional wisdomers.Great Quote;Newtons Law | | | | efficiency; this can all be achieved with FCS. It also can |
| to manufacturing;For every expert with a perfect | | | | work in training of new Army recruits, Navy pilots, and |
| solution there is an equal and opposite expert with a | | | | third world dictators. I believe car wash guys can easily |
| perfect solution.Now, there in lies the problem. How to | | | | implement such a training version of FCS even though |
| get there. We all want the same results in government, | | | | no one has ever done it before. I also believe that we |
| we want utopia. In Economics we want stabilization, in | | | | can deliver real time services to our customers and |
| manufacturing we want the ultimate efficiency. So in | | | | allocate the necessary resources without wasting by |
| US governments we have Democrats, Republicans | | | | GPS tracking, real time scheduling changes, labor, |
| and now we have CHADs. In Economics we have | | | | supplies, equipment and crews. There is no difference |
| Friedman and Keynes. In manufacturing it use to be | | | | fundamentally between labor at a manufacturing |
| Deming and TQM vs. the old way of thinking. Today it | | | | facility and labor on a job site or multiple jobs sites for |
| is finite capacity scheduling (FCS) with software | | | | that matter. A computer does not cry when you add |
| scenarios vs. other systems we have been taught, | | | | perimeters and does not need more food or coffee to |
| such as Material Requirements Planning (MRP). Supply | | | | run by the seat of its pants. It is not an emotional issue, |
| Chain Management (SCM), Schedule Based | | | | it just is. Likewise a computer can calculate many |
| Manufacturing (SBM), Enterprise Resource Planning | | | | equations simultaneously, many can easily do 10,000 |
| (ERP) all of which may appear to be viable on first | | | | possibilities per second. Still want to play chess with a |
| glance and work for a limited purpose if all things are | | | | computer? So does that mean the death of the |
| equal. However it does not appear that in the history | | | | entrepreneur?Does that mean the Howard Hughes |
| of our Planet all things have ever been equal. In theory | | | | days of innovation and flying by the seat of your pants |
| maybe, yet even on the most level of playing fields, | | | | are done forever? No there will always be prototypes, |
| they are skewed in one way or the other, by size, | | | | with no parts available yet, but what it does mean is |
| weight, strength, materials, wind, etc. There is always a | | | | that the entrepreneur can see his dreams come to |
| variable or a gray area (thank god otherwise | | | | fruition better because they may actually make a |
| attorneys would all be out of work eyh?). Incidentally | | | | profit. Does it mean that there will be no more |
| god did not make attorneys, otherwise they would still | | | | defective units? No, there will always be defective |
| be arguing if Adam and Eve should receive belly | | | | parts from manufacturers who rely on sub parts, |
| buttons, and with no supreme court yet established to | | | | which are not built in the same way. In Taiwan many |
| kick it back to a lower court the human race would | | | | company have experienced up to 35% more |
| never have come to be, during those last days before | | | | productivity by only changing to the methodology of |
| the rest. Or maybe god got so tired of dealing with | | | | Finite Capacity Scheduling. So for America to |
| attorneys he had to rest.The book went into detail the | | | | complete its productivity without affecting its bottom |
| cost to expedite a job, and to deliver on promises | | | | line we simply produce more with the same amount of |
| made by sales staff to acquire the order, which were | | | | labor and manufacturing abilities. Think of it. Even if the |
| impossible considering all the other promises, which | | | | dollar is strong a shit we can still sell for less because |
| were to be scheduled simultaneously. This caused | | | | we are producing more with the same fixed base |
| over time and accidents and problems with compliance | | | | costs. This means we can beat everyone still.Let the |
| issues with many agencies and still did not get all the | | | | innovators innovate and the manufacturing Schedulers |
| jobs done so the customer base was in constant | | | | schedule using FCM systems and we will increase our |
| attrition. In wartime you need to expedite everything | | | | output and win, even if we are all using the same |
| and one of the reasons that we beat the Germans | | | | secrets stolen from our scientific communities. The |
| was because we built 96,000 aircraft to their 30,000 | | | | book refers to Peter Drucker who stated that the true |
| that last year of the war. It was not that we had | | | | measure of productivity is the output per unit of time |
| better aircraft. They had equally brilliant minds on their | | | | given the finite resources. Yes I believe this to be and |
| side, and a hell of a head start. We of course had the | | | | have always said the money is in the time and not the |
| desire to win. And we had the manufacturing and the | | | | completed job.This should be obvious to anyone who |
| resources as Germany was running out of everything. | | | | has bid a job to low and later completed the job |
| Charles Lindbergh warned us on his visit of the | | | | quicker than anticipated due to a new method of |
| Luftwaffe and their incredible planes and weapons of | | | | operation discovered upon commencing of the job. |
| war that the Germans already had pre-war (many | | | | Sometimes it takes a few times to see how to |
| called him a NAZI sympathizer, which is hard argue, but | | | | actually do the work and then refine the technique, in |
| we should have still listened. He was definitely | | | | actuality you are performing manual Finite Capacity |
| enthralled with their innovations). It truly was the | | | | Scheduling even though it is the most elementary part |
| manufacturing and the great American push to move | | | | of the actual FCS model. Now add jobs, labor, and |
| mountains that won us the war. Everyone participated | | | | resources to the equation and then try to factor in all |
| and helped in the war efforts. Breaking the backs of | | | | the materials and times the materials, soaps, supplies, |
| the Germans was not easy, breaking their | | | | etc are needed and what do you have? A complex |
| manufacturing abilities and running them out of | | | | mess, which requires lots of thought and time. |
| resources is what helped almost as much as the | | | | |