A new comment from “Kevin Kohls” was received on the post “Q4 - Kevin Kohls” of the weblog “TOC Thinkers”.
C-More, as it now called, is a GM internal product, and will probably never see the light of day outside of the corporation. Its strength is speed and focus - its really designed for the auto industry and the types of systems they run. Because it is performing a set of calculations (vs. a simulation, which tries to discretely describe every event) it's very fast. But it cannot be used for all manufacturing situations, and its not programmable by the user. However, it doesn't mean its the only tool out to identify bottlenecks. Using simulation software, like Simul8, is another option, although slower. For basic systems, C-More will predict the bottleneck in seconds, and a simulation in minutes. If you have a small plant, that may not be a big deal. But for an auto plant, with hundreds of workstations, that can mean the difference between looking at the results today (with C-More) or tomorrow (with simulation). Finally, its important to point out that we rarely started with C-More at GM, nor do I start with simulation in consulting. Usually the traditional method of looking for buffer accumulation is the best way to start. You can also start data collection at that time. Over time, the system becomes more "balanced", and bottlenecks will be harder to identify. With data collection now in place, having a bottleneck analysis tool is worthwhile.
For anyone who is interested in seeing how simulation is used to find bottlenecks, I am presenting a webinar through PMC (www.pmcorp.com) on the topic on June 18, 2008, at 11 AM EST. You can register by contacting Claudia Gdowski on 313-441-4460, Ext 1131. Be sure to tell her you found out about the webinar on TOCThinkers.
Kevin Kohls * Commenter name: Kevin Kohls *
Commenter email: kkohls@bottleneckbusters.com
Commenter URL: http://ww.bottleneckbusters.com
