Manufacturing flow control method and system
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method for managing a lifecycle of notification signals for replenishment of a good from a supply point to a consumption point, the method comprising the steps of:
- initiating a good notification signal from a consumption point that replenishment of a specified good is requested;
transmitting a request notification signal to a supply point;
determining, by the supply point, whether the specified good can be delivered by said supply point;
transmitting, by the supply point, a shipping notification when the specified good is sent to the consumption point;
receiving, by the consumption point, a delivery notification when the specified good arrives; and
changing a state of the good notification signal to closed when the good notification signal has been fulfilled, wherein the state of the good notification signal is stored and can be viewed after the step of initiating.
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Abstract
A method and system for performing managed workflow including communication between (1) a consumption point for at least one material and (2) at least one supply point for the at least one material. Tracking of the replenishment of the at least one material enables a workflow management system to assess compliance with at least one of performance and conformance. Tracking includes the utilization of flow control (e.g., Kanban) techniques for inventory management.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for managing a lifecycle of notification signals for replenishment of a good from a supply point to a consumption point, the method comprising the steps of:
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initiating a good notification signal from a consumption point that replenishment of a specified good is requested;
transmitting a request notification signal to a supply point;
determining, by the supply point, whether the specified good can be delivered by said supply point;
transmitting, by the supply point, a shipping notification when the specified good is sent to the consumption point;
receiving, by the consumption point, a delivery notification when the specified good arrives; and
changing a state of the good notification signal to closed when the good notification signal has been fulfilled, wherein the state of the good notification signal is stored and can be viewed after the step of initiating. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 37)
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- 11. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of changing the state comprises changing the state to closed only after receiving plural shipping notifications from plural supply points in order to fulfill a single good notification signal.
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34. A machine for reading machine-readable Kanban labels, the machine comprising:
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a Kanban label scanner for scanning a machine-readable Kanban label that does not include a Kanban quantity;
a transmitter for transmitting an identifier read from the machine-readable Kanban label to a storage device; and
a receiver for receiving, from the storage device, at least one of a part number, an identification of the supply point, an identification of the consumption point and a Kanban quantity corresponding to the identifier read from the machine-readable Kanban label.
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36. A computer-implemented method for visually defining a product synchronization, the method comprising steps of:
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a. adding nodes to a diagram to represent processes of the product synchronization;
b. adding connected lines between nodes to a represent flow of products;
c. assigning a percentage of process output to each flow;
d. generating flow ratios based on input processes and flows; and
e. calculating required resources for the processes of the product synchronization using said flow ratios.
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38. A computer-implemented method for viewing a plurality of product synchronizations as one visual diagram that is a graphical mixed-model product synchronization, the method comprising steps of:
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a. combining a plurality of product synchronizations to product a single connected node graph in memory, wherein nodes represent processes and connections represent flows; and
b. placing nodes on a visual diagram while minimizing (1) distances between connected nodes and (2) intersections between nodes and connecting lines.
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Specification