Order review/release: research issues and perspectives

SUMMARY

This paper examines the order review/release (ORR) function and its impact on the operation of the shop floor. A source of disagreement between practitioners and researchers, ORR is an important element of any shop floor control system. This paper attempts to provide a better understanding of this element by presenting a framework for ORR. This framework not only identifies the important dimensions of ORR but also new dimensions for research. The paper also explores the relationship between ORR and job dispatching through a simple computer simulation model. The results indicate that the ORR, while reducing time spent in queue on the shop floor, does not always reduce the total time spent in the system.