Implementation of S-DBR in four manufacturing SMEs: a research case study

Abstract

Production planning and control systems (PPCs) are tools that have a major effect on the performance of manufacturing companies. An inappropriate determination of the applicability of PPCs could seriously jeopardise the ability to achieve competitive priorities. This mistake can be expensive for any company, but proper implementation is particularly critical for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are characterised by limited access to financial resources. Simplified Drum–Buffer–Rope (S-DBR) is a PPC control approach that is characterised by minimum detail in the planning stage and a primary emphasis on the control of execution. Therefore, this approach is a suitable choice for the highly variable context of SMEs. This study aims to explore the practical issues related to S-DBR implementation in four Ecuadorian SMEs through case study research. The case analysis within this study first identifies the choices made in the implementation process design within the four companies according to process and product characteristics. We then conduct a cross-case analysis to explore the effects of the S-DBR implementation process designs on a group of performance measures. Our research findings provide new insights into the S-DBR implementation process in the context of SMEs, and the effects of this approach on performance measures.

Keywords:

• Simplified Drum–Buffer–Rope
• small and medium manufacturing enterprises
• performance measurement
• production planning and control systems

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the four companies that participated in this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marcos Buestán Benavides

Marcos Buestan is an aggregate professor in operations management in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral (ESPOL). He holds an MSc degree in productivity and quality from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico. He is currently a PhD candidate in industrial engineering at the University of Ghent in Belgium. He has industrial experience in operations and quality improvements.

Hendrik Van Landeghem

Van Landeghem is a full professor in operations management among the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Ghent University (Belgium). He is an expert on design and optimisation of manufacturing and logistics systems and the application of these systems within industry. He is also an expert in lean management, specifically with respect to implementation methods. He has written more than one hundred articles on these and related subjects. He has written or contributed to several books, including a work on best practices in operations management and three recent volumes on lean implementation methods and flow optimisation for SMEs.