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Teaching students basic differences among various production systems, such as the American JIC (Just‐in‐case) system, the Japanese JIT (Just‐in‐time) system and the latest OPT (Optimised‐Production‐Technology) system, is not a simple task. Students can be taught basic principles, but whether they truly understand and appreciate what makes one technique superior to another is questionable. After considerable experience in teaching JIC, JIT and OPT, and because of the above concerns, this author has designed a human simulation, called the Production Walk Games. Through these production walks, students not only learn, but also experience, three production methods. The production techniques are briefly discussed and how they are simulated for the students through their production walk games is explained. Two sets of results of these walks are presented and briefly analysed.

A detailed analysis of Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Kanban, optimised Production Technology (OPT) and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS), including the applied assumptions behind these and their limitations and weaknesses, shows that each system is sound in its own way and can accomplish low cost, high quality, on‐time production. People problems, however, can destroy the effectiveness of any system and in this respect Kanban and OPT systems solve the majority of people problems, while FMS installations, by design, eliminate most problems of this type. The experience gained during the coming decade may lead factory managers to use two or more of these systems side by side.

This monograph will review recent thinking as applied to the management of materials within organisations. In considering the type of organisation to which the comments will apply, it is of use to recognise the following sectors:

The key to any successful organization must be its communication network. Bold statement, but is it true? It is, of course, a sweeping generalization and one with which anyone would have difficulty in picking an argument. One way to determine what is, and what is not, vital to your organization is by eliminating it from the equation and asking yourself where you would be without it. Do away with your communication system, apart from the most basic, and see what you are left with? If the answer is not a great deal, then you can, it is hoped, appreciate the importance of what you have, and realize the attention it deserves. Taking things for granted is an all too common phenomenon.

Takes the development of a new optimization process for production scheduling and develops it into a systematic‐mathematical algorithm. Tests this algorithm against a simulated production environment and compares the generated schedules against those generated by EOQ, MRP, JIT, and OPT. The result is that bottleneck allocation methodology (BAM), with its critical resource based capacity scheduling out‐performs these other models in an intermittent demand discrete manufacturing environment.

Key components of the logistics mix are described in an effort to create an understanding of the total logistics concept. Chapters include an introduction to logistics; the strategic role of logistics, customer service levels, channel relationships, facilities location, transport, inventory management, materials handling, interface with production, purchasing and materials management, estimating demand, order processing, systems performance, leadership and team building, business resource management.

In recent years a growing number of firms have reported dramatic results from an operation's improvement technique called Constraint Management (CM). For example, Ford Motor Company's Electronics division attributes reductions in manufacturing cycle time as high as 89 per cent, 76 per cent fewer product returns, reductions in inventory of 49 per cent and 43 per cent lower freight costs to its implementation of CM. Others such as GM, Grand Rapids Spring and Wire, Valmont/ALS, and Kent Moore Cabinets report similar results. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a basic understanding of Constraint Management, which has also been referred to as synchronized manufacturing; the Drum, Buffer, Rope technique; OPT (Optimized Production Technology); the Theory of Constraints, and to explore its potential impact on logistics managers.

Discusses the role of accountants in the US. Shows that although the European and Asian countries overtook America as the leading industrialized areas, accountants are helping to readjust the balance. The various roles of the accountant are examined and various luminaries quoted in the promulgation of this. Standard‐setting is an important masthead for quality and expertise in productivity, as are various cost accounting methods such as OPT (optimized production technology). Goes on to show that accountants have a very important advisory role to play in most businesses. Concludes that accountants have many tools at their disposal to help in improving productivity levels for organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to address the gap between definition and practical aspects of production efficiency in mass customization (MC). The paper summarizes all major issues impacting efficiency in MC. Also, the paper reviews metrics, relationship between various parameters and provides a best practices benchmark toolkit to achieve higher machine efficiencies.

The paper identified and categorized multiple challenges impacting machine efficiency in MC through a literature review spanning over three decades, and also ranked the identified issue-based parameters. Top issues were found varying across different types of industries identified through the review. Metrics pertaining to efficiency and degree of MC are reviewed in the paper. A chronological review of issues is presented, and a chain diagram is built in the paper. Toolkit of best practices created with solution strategies and tools are summarized through the review.

The paper found that MC reasonably impacts machine efficiency which needs to be addressed. Major issues through literature review-based ranking are uncovered, and worldwide research trend and comparison are presented. Active research in this area is observed to be at its peak since 2010. The extensive use of strategies and benchmark toolkit for improving efficiency are summarized.

Ranking of issues has been done through a literature review; hence, there can be skewness depending on the frequency of issues researched by various authors in various areas of industries.

This paper is useful for manufacturing managers and companies willing to increase the size of their product portfolio and choices within their available resources without compromising machine efficiencies and, thereby, the cost. The identified issues help in providing a comprehensive issue list to the academia.

This paper describes what is believed to be the first study that explicitly examines the issues faced in achieving machine efficiency while manufacturing in an MC environment.

Successful implementations of scheduling techniques in practice are scarce. Not only do daily disturbances lead to a gap between theory and practice, but also the extent to which a scheduling technique can adequately model the processes on the shopfloor, and the extent to which the optimization goal of a technique matches the organizational goal are not great enough. Further, the schedulers’ actions may play an important role in the fulfilment of the generated schedules. The organizational structure with its different responsibilities and conflicting goals may also result in the poor performance of scheduling techniques. Besides these, there is the problem of measuring the quality of a schedule. Discusses the causes for these gaps and illustrates the solutions to improve scheduling by way of a case study.