A production and materials flow control mechanism for quick response manufacturing (QRM) is proposed. This is called generic paired-cell overlapping loops of cards with authorization (GPOLCA). It is an adaptation of the POLCA mechanism developed as part of the QRM strategy. GPOLCA implements an input-output control order release strategy based on an inventory of production authorization cards instead of materials. It is best suited for companies that manufacture large variety of products with variable demand. A description of GPOLCA is made together with a comparative study of its performance in relation with other mechanisms namely MRP and POLCA. The results show that GPOLCA attains better performance.Keywords: Production control; Simulation; QRM; GPOLCA IntroductionIn today's changing manufacturing world with new paradigms such as mass customization and global manufacturing operations and competition, companies need greater capabilities to respond quicker to market dynamics and varying demands. The adoption of suitable production and materials flow control (PMFC) mechanisms, combined with the implementation of emergent technologies, can be of great value for improving performance and quality of manufacturing and of service to customers. Quick response manufacturing (QRM) can be an effective competitive strategy for companies that work on a make-to-order (MTO) basis of large product variety ranges with variable demand, or even for companies that work on a engineering-to-order (ETO) basis (Suri, 1998). QRM focuses on reducing lead times throughout all the production supply chain activities of an organization. Externally, QRM means responding to costumers needs by providing quick design and manufacture of products. Internally, it means reducing lead times for all tasks, improving quality, reducing costs and increasing the speed of response. PMFC strategies for QRM must address the need and the capability of firms to respond quickly to highly changing product demand requirements. This is usually not possible with inventory replenishment strategies such as the one implemented by the Toyota Kanban System (TKS), (Suri, 1998). Paired cell overlapping loops of cards with authorization (POLCA) is a hybrid push-pull PMFC mechanism developed as part of the overall strategy of QRM. According to Suri (1998), POLCA is a mechanism that overcomes the limitations of pull systems in high-variety and/or customization product environments, demonstrating its apparent relevance for the MTO and ETO sector. Suri (1998) uses the pull and push concepts as defined by Spearman and Zazanis (1992). These authors consider push systems as those that control throughput (TP) by establishing a master production schedule and measure work-in-process (WIP), and pull systems as those that control WIP and measure TP against the required demand. In this paper, a new PMFC mechanism, called Generic POLCA (GPOLCA) is proposed, to address QRM under MTO and ETO environments. The performance of GPOLCA is evaluated and compared with MRP and POLCA in...

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Past research on workload control (WLC) has been essentially focused on discrete order release. This means that release of orders to the shop floor takes places on a periodic basis. Continuous order release has been somehow neglected, in spite of its apparent potential for improving system performance, including the reduction of order flow times. This paper addresses a simulation study of this order release approach. The study contributes for improving the basis for setting workload norms and selecting the workload control strategy under continuous order release. Additionally, it gives insights on the choice of routing alternatives, which facilitate the linkage of continuous order release mechanisms with the specific characteristics of the shop floor.