Are “lean strategies” inconsistent with the achievement of optimization?
Why or why not?
This site may help you formulate your answer.
http://www.isr.umd.edu/~jwh2/projects/gahagan.html
If you post your ideas, we'll be glad to critique them.
Optimization includes cost, schedule, and performance criteria. Often times manufacturing or production waste is trivial cost, and it may pay to have some waste. For instance, in getting a ship out of drydock (cost 56K per day) it may pay to order from multiple vendors to get just one seavalve to get the ship out of dock. THe other, the late one, can go wherever, or sold for scrap. The idea is not to subobtimize on some subelement of cost, schedule, or performance...and waste management might be a subelement that is trivial. Never let the bean counters manage a project for you.
Optimization includes cost, schedule, and performance criteria. Often times manufacturing or production waste is trivial cost, and it may pay to have some waste. For instance, in getting a ship out of drydock (cost 56K per day) it may pay to order from multiple vendors to get just one seavalve to get the ship out of dock. THe other, the late one, can go wherever, or sold for scrap. The idea is not to subobtimize on some subelement of cost, schedule, or performance...and waste management might be a subelement that is trivial. Never let the bean counters manage a project for you.
Lean strategies and optimization are not necessarily inconsistent with each other. Optimization involves achieving the best possible outcome in terms of cost, schedule, and performance criteria. On the other hand, lean strategies focus on eliminating waste and maximizing efficiency.
In the example provided, ordering from multiple vendors to get a seavalve to get a ship out of drydock may seem like waste at first glance. However, from an optimization perspective, it might be necessary if the cost of keeping the ship in drydock (e.g., $56K per day) outweighs the cost of ordering from multiple vendors.
The key is to ensure that the overall optimization goals are met while also considering lean principles. This means finding the right balance between eliminating waste and achieving the desired outcome within the given constraints.
To further explore this topic, you can refer to the following site: http://www.isr.umd.edu/~jwh2/projects/gahagan.html. It provides additional insights that can help in formulating a more comprehensive answer to the question.