About this Presentation
Simplified drum buffer rope (SDBR) is now the official choice of Goldratt Consulting to manage production. We highlight the rational of choosing SDBR over DBR. Some new concepts have been added in the last 6-7 years to the SDBR approach: 1. The planned load: the total load on the weakest link. 2. A unique approach to managing make-to-stock environments has been developed that does not use time buffers, but instead uses one stock buffer. The planned load concept enables SDBR to manage production even when a capacity constraint resource (CCR) is truly active. The approach to make-to-stock also supports the idea of refraining from detailed scheduling of the CCR. Lately some critical additions to the above approach were made. The need to support rapid response orders and at the same time, ensure perfect delivery of existing orders in standard times has led to the development of an algorithm to ensure safe time quotations to customers, which is based on the planned load. However, in a rapid response situation we don't always know how much capacity is required when a regular order shows up, because rapid response orders might follow and consume the available capacity. A mechanism for capacity reservation is suggested. All the above new developments are now translated into software. The authors conclude the presentation by briefly demonstrating the new features of the software, with special emphasis on the planned load concept and how management should use it. The visuals of the software provide a summary of the theoretical approach and show the links to reality. The capacity reservation allocation and management is the core of the discussion. A full paper on the use of SDBR in rapid response implementation is attached. Benefits include: 1. More able to decide between implementation of SDBR or traditional DBR; 2. Understand the concept of the planned load and its practical ramifications. 3. Understand the capacity reservation needs and dilemmas.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
The session shows why traditional Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) can be overly complex for many operations — relying on detailed finite capacity scheduling and multiple buffers that reduce flexibility and slow response to changing priorities.
It reveals how Simplified-DBR (S-DBR) reframes flow planning by focusing first on market demand and a single protective buffer per order, enabling simpler release decisions, clearer priorities, and faster execution without detailed CCR sequencing.
The presentation illustrates how S-DBR puts the drum beat on customer demand rather than internal constraint scheduling, aligning capacity use with true market needs and improving delivery reliability.
It emphasizes that understanding the distinction between planning and execution, and protecting flow through buffer-based priority signals rather than complex schedules, enables organizations to implement TOC flow methods more broadly and faster.
Instructor(s)
Eli Schragenheim
Eli Schragenheim is a well-known international management educator, author and consultant active in various fields of management. He worked with a huge variety of organizations all over the world, including public-sector organizations, industrial, high-tech and start-ups. Since he had joined Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, the famous creator of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in 1985, Eli Schragenheim had taught, spoke at conferences, and consulted all over the globe. Eli Schragenheim is the author of several books on various aspects of management. His last book, Throughput Economics – Making Good Management Decisions, together with Henry Camp and Rocco Surace, was published in July 2019. Eli Schragenheim first book Management Dilemmas (1998) showed a variety of problematic situations in management and the rigorous analysis leading to the right solution. Next he collaborated with William H. Dettmer in writing Manufacturing at Warp Speed. In this book the new concept of Simplified-DBR, now a key concept in production planning according to TOC, was introduced. He collaborated with Carol A. Ptak on ERP, Tools, Techniques, and Applications for Integrating the Supply Chain, and with Dr. Goldratt and Carol Ptak on Necessary but Not Sufficient. In 2009 his book Supply Chain Management at Warp Speed, with William H. Dettmer and Wayne Patterson was published. In March 2015, Eli has opened a blog, now containing more than 140 articles on various topics in TOC that everybody can access.