Glossary
Drum-Buffer-Rope
Drum-Buffer-Rope is term used in conjunction with Theory of Constraints (TOC) and is a method of scheduling which is aimed at balancing the flow of products in a process. D-B-R controls the flow of materials through the plant in order to produce products in accordance with market demand with a minimum of lead-time, inventory and operating expenses. The definitions of DRUM, BUFFER and ROPE are where DRUM is the schedule for the constraint, BUFFER is the protection built into the process against unknown and unplanned events and ROPE, which is the schedule for releasing raw materials to the production floor.