Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) pursues the single-minded focus of reducing product and service lead-times. This methodology extends throughout the organization to every function that impacts customer order fulfillment. As a result, in addition to the shop floor, any front office function that involves order entry, application engineering, manufacturing engineering, new product introduction, etc. is included. Wondering what your next process improvement step is? Our QRM consultants can help you build on your process improvement gains.

QRM is an out growth of the Time Based Competition (TBC) concepts that were being developed around 1989. It has matured to the point where it consists of key core principles that are logically derived, a methodology for deployment, and a track record of successful case studies. QRM builds and extends upon the techniques developed in numerous other process improvement methodologies that have come before it such as Total Quality Management, Lean Manufacturing, Re-engineering, Constraint Management, and Six Sigma. It will most likely be the foundation for the body of knowledge that will ultimately form the Agile or Flexible Manufacturing methodology

The most significant development to come out of QRM is the use of applied statistics to gain an understanding of how particular characteristics such as process variability, arrival time variability, and queuing theory impact a given system or process. These characteristics are used by QRM to develop a concept called the "System Dynamics" to describe the underlying principles that govern how a particular system works. Particularly significant is that QRM uses this technique to understand how multiple factors interact such as the impact of Lot Sizes on Lead Time.

As is usually the case, mature techniques from previous methodologies can contribute substantially to the use of QRM such as: Design of Experiments (DOE), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), buffer management, branching cause/effect diagrams, etc.

QRM is the next step in your process improvement efforts. It builds on gains you have made with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and Constraint Management. Contact us for QRM Manufacturing Consultants.