MRP/sfx: A kanban-oriented shop floor extension to MRP

Abstract

Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) and JustIn-Time (JIT)/kanban are two widely used production scheduling and control (PS& C) methodologies in the manufacturing industry. MRP has better planning capabilities, while JIT has superior shop floor control capabilities. MRP is applicable to a wide range of manufacturing companies, while successful JIT/ kanban implementation is generally restricted to repetitive and serial manufacturing. Several hybrid MRP/JIT systems have been proposed by researchers and practitioners to combine the benefits from both methods, while eliminating some of their drawbacks. A few companies have successfully implemented customized hybrid systems. However, there are no 'generic' methods by which JIT/kanban can be combined with MRP. This paper introduces a generic and widely applicable JIT/ kanban-type shop floor extension to MRP. Further, it incorporates specific techniques that eliminate the drawbacks of JIT/kanban and enable it to be used with MRP in a broad range of manufacturing plants. The techniques include: (i) the Kanban Card Controller, which links the MRP output to the JIT/kanban input; (ii) the Kanban Prioritizer, an optimal scheduling methodology, which enables JIT to be used effectively in non-serial production facilities; and (iii) a dynamic lead time estimator which calculates lead time based on the most current shop floor parameters.