A parameter design framework for designing robust Just-In-Time production systems with Kanban.

Abstract

Many industries are in the process of adopting or considering adoption of the Just-In-Time philosophy and techniques. Most of these firms are not characterized by the type of environment which is required for transferring the philosophy, such as stable manufacturing factors. The adverse effect of environmental uncertainties on the operating phase of Just-In-Time systems in general and the performance of Kanban systems in particular has been well documented. This dissertation proposes a framework for designing robust Kanban systems, by adopting the product and process design approach pioneered by Genichi Taguchi. A robust Kanban systems is one whose performance is insensitive to environmental uncertainties. As part of our investigation, we illustrate how frequency domain experiments can be used in order to investigate the effect of noise factors and their interactions on the performance of a Kanban system. The technique allows us to examine simultaneously many factors that previous researchers have studied separately, and so explore and identify important interaction effects. We develop a general framework for designing a robust Kanban system that can be applied to different production configurations, and illustrate the robust design process via a simulation study of a three-stage manufacturing line.