Predictive cost reduction based on a thermodynamic model, in which parameters associated with a process are accessed. The parameters include a quantity of units of Work-in-process at first and second times, and first and second constants respectively indicative of growth between the first and...

This Application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/479,333, Filed: June 18, 2003.

Derivation of the the conversion factor ßM, from bits of entropy to dollars of waste

Effective Mass Me of WIP derived from Little’s Law

Derivation of the the conversion factor BM, from bits of entropy to dollars of waste

Derivation of Minimum Batch size to minimize WIP and Cycle Time R

The Ohno Criterion states that WIP with faster velocities have lower cost than WIP with average slower velocities, in manufacturing cycles per unit time: v=G/W where W= number of pieces of Work In Process Inventory (WIP), and G = rate at which pieces exit from WIP to finished goods per unit...

Entropy was first glimpsed in 1824 when Sadi Carnot, son of the Prime Minister of France, observed that steam engines wasted 97% of their heat energy, and wondered how efficient they could be. An engine works by drawing in heat energy Hi from gasoline and exploding it at high temperature Ti,...

From the time of Henry Ford it has been known that large reductions in cost result from radical reductions in process cycle time. In the case of a Model T, a reduction in cycle time from 14 days to 33hours (i.e. 90% reduction) allowed the same car to be sold at $345 vs. $850. It would be of...

Presentation to John D C Little and Steve Graves