We have created new phantom subsets called “items for diameters” and which are not stocked. These subsets group together all components needed in the production of the assembled tube, manufactured in final assembly. The connector is now back with the case in common items. The system thus gains in simplicity and in flexibility.
In fact, the simplification of the bills of material using delayed differentiation is possible only with changes of manufacturing processes. Obviously, as we have shown changing the BOM without changing the processes, leads to increase in delays!
4. Conclusion
We have seen the usefulness of scheduling that uses the two-level MPS concept for industrial manufacturers who need to diversify their products. But we have equally identified its limitations in a classical production environment: its vulnerability stems from gaps in forecasting and from production problems.
It was then necessary to find a way of working that would make our management system more reliable when faced with the day-to-day realities of production. Solutions appeared in how actions are organized in the workshop, providing a simultaneous gain in the simplification of the management system (reduction of bills, modularisation) and in the reactivity of the physical flow (reduction of lead times, delayed differentiation, flexibility).