What is a Drum-Buffer-Rope system for planning and control?

What will be an ideal response?

Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) is a planning and control system based on the theory of constraints that is often used in manufacturing firms to plan and schedule production. It works by regulating the flow of work-in-process materials at the bottleneck or the capacity constrained resource (CCR). The bottleneck schedule is the drum because it sets the beat or the production rate for the entire plant and is linked to the market demand. The buffer is a time buffer that plans early flows to the bottleneck and thus protects it from disruption. It also ensures that the bottleneck is never starved for work. A finished-goods inventory buffer can also be placed in front of the shipping point in order to protect customer shipping schedules. Finally, the rope represents the tying of material release to the drum beat, which is the rate at which the bottleneck controls the throughput of the entire plant. It is thus a communication device to ensure that raw material is not introduced into the system at a rate faster than what the bottleneck can handle. Completing the loop, buffer management constantly monitors the execution of incoming bottleneck work. Working together, the drum, the buffer, and the rope can help managers create a production schedule that reduces lead times and inventories while simultaneously increasing throughput and on-time delivery.