Page 317 - Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning

296 PART 3 Managing with the MRP System

inventory tracking the desire to track the costs of the parts back to the parent item, and
one can only begin to imagine how to plan and manage this enterprise effectively.
Effective integrated systems can help to provide clarity in this web of complexity.
With the advent of environmental responsibility and the ISO14000 standard, it is not
surprising to see remanufacturing processes used in an increasingly wide variety of
industries. These industries include automotive, electronics, defense, communications,
education, electrical, health care, food, furniture, glass, graphic arts, mining, transporta-
tion, retail, metal fabrication, pharmaceutical/chemical, plastics/rubber, lumber/paper,
textiles, and apparel. As remanufacturing processes and planning become better defined
and understood, it is not surprising to find that remanufacturing is good business and
good for business. No longer is this operation one that consumes profits from a compa-
ny; remanufacturing actually can produce profits for a company.

REMANUFACTURING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Remanufacturing companies have long held the belief that they are very different from
the traditional manufacturing enterprise. George W. Plossl, CFPIM addressed the ques-
tion of just how different remanufacturing and manufacturing are. His conclusion was
that there are more similarities than differences:

Similarities:
1. Both involve suppliers, plants, and customers.
2. Both have two fundamental questions: Are we making enough in total, and are
we working on the right items now?
3. Both have the same basic logic guides.
■ What will we make?
■ What resources are required?
■ Which are now available and adequate?
■ Which are on the way and should arrive soon?
■ What else must be procured and when?
4. All activities fall into one of two categories: planning and execution.
5. The same system framework is common to all manufacturing, including aero-
space and defense and remanufacturing.
Differences:
1. Disassembly is required of cores in remanufacturing but not in new product
manufacturing.
2. Capacity planning involves less predictable rework, classic capacity require-
ments planning is not justified, and rough-cut capacity techniques generally are
better.
3. MRP programs must handle decimal fractions and negative lead times, show-
ing when components from disassembly will be available for final assembly.