Load-Based POLCA: An Integrated Material Control System for Multiproduct, Multimachine Job Shops

This article proposes a supporting framework for the implementation of the material control system POLCA (paired-cell overlapping loops of cards with authorization). The POLCA system is particularly appropriate for environments that involve highly variable demand and large product variety, which force small batch (or even one-of-a-kind) production. We propose a load-based version of the POLCA control system (LB-POLCA), which determines the POLCA parameters (release authorizations, allowed workloads in the loops) according to an advanced resources planning (ARP) system that adequately captures the stochastic behavior of the production system and enables fine-tuning and high-level optimization of the manufacturing lot sizes. We also discuss the implementation of an electronic LB-POLCA system in a metal shop of Spicer Off-Highway Products Division, a subsidiary of the Dana Corporation.