Improving shop floor control: An entropy model approach

New manufacturing theories and techniques such as just-in-time and total quality management advocate the use of small lots in production and subsequently reduction of setup times. This yields better quality, lower response time, less operating expenses and less work-in-process. The implementation of the small-lot concept often encounters opposition from production people who feel that increasing the number of lots (an apparently inevitable result of reducing their size) implies a need for more information and more information technology. By means of a normative model, based on information theory and the entropy measurement, this paper proves that the move toward smaller lots implies less information needs. The model also shows the relationship between improvement activities, such as setup and time per part reduction, and the information needs.