Characterizing the Fractal Manufacturing System

In this chapter, we compare the characteristics of Fractal Manufacturing to other manufacturing systems. The aim of Fractal Manufacturing Systems is to speed up manufacturing lead time (MLT) while observing on-time delivery (OTD). This has to be done by implementing a flow-like single job flow (SJF). As just mentioned before, to maximize throughput speed, queuing of jobs must be avoided, therefore, WIP has to be minimized. Due to the fact that it is not Pull-based but relying mainly on a Push manufacturing principle, we can characterize it as a Push-JIT manufacturing, or more precisely Push-JIS to the opposite of Toyota’s Pull-JIT system. Due to the JIT characteristic, intended as minimized WIP manufacturing, and the application of many Toyotas’ lean implementation techniques, also this Fractal Manufacturing System has a clear lean connotation. In the following, Fractal Manufacturing will be compared to the existing manufacturing systems.