Pull Production Systems Research Articles

Application of methodology 5s in an industrial assembly company in the City of Manaus, AM

The 5S Program is used to promote quality management in any business environment that seeks growth in its niche, minimizing process losses, costs and waste, increasing production and product quality. Thus, this article aims to demonstrate the improvements implemented with the application of the 5S Program in the machining sector in an assembly company Manaus Industrial Pole (PIM) that focuses on a pull production system. The research is of an applied nature, consisting of a bibliographical survey and a case study in the assembly company from July to October 2022. In the application of the tolerated meanings, the organization of items that were being used, as well as those that admitted were unused, disposal of worn-out materials that could no longer be used, accommodation of tools and equipment in their proper places, so that everyone could have access. The sense of cleanliness was applied to the use of cleaning kits allocated in supports oriented to the five production lines of the machining sector. The sense of standardization determined the cleaning of the machines in three stages, in a total time of 6 minutes, the sense of self-discipline, requires verification with more time, to identify whether the principles become a company culture. The benefits identified from the implementation of 5S are the elimination of waste, optimization of time and space, teamwork, improvements in health, reduction of accidents etc.

A Comparative Study of Unbalanced Production Lines Using Simulation Modeling: A Case Study for Solar Silicon Manufacturing

In the solar silicon manufacturing industry, the production time for crystal growth is ten times longer than at other workstations. The pre-processing time at the ingot-cutting station causes work-in-process (WIP) accumulation and an excessively long cycle time. This study aimed to find the most effective production system for reducing WIP accumulation and shortening the cycle time. The proposed approach considered pull production systems, and the response surface methodology was adopted for performance optimization. A simulation-based optimization technique was used for determining the optimal pull production system. The comparison between the results of various simulated pull production systems and those of the existing solar silicon manufacturing system showed that a hybrid production system in which a kanban station was installed before the bottleneck station with a CONWIP system incorporated for the rest of the production line could reduce the WIP volume by 26% and shorten the cycle time by 16% under the same throughput conditions.

A Study on the Selection between Push and Pull Production Systems When Delivery Date Is Postponed Due to Customer Request

A Study on the Selection between Push and Pull Production Systems When Delivery Date Is Postponed Due to Customer Request

Modeling and Analysis of Pull Production Systems: A Proactive Approach

Modeling and Analysis of Pull Production Systems: A Proactive Approach

Implementation of a Pull System – A Case Study of a Polymeric Production System for the Automotive Industry

Abstract This work, developed as a case study, propose, describe, and evaluates an implementation of a pull system in a SME company producing polymeric components for the automotive industry. The production system of the company was based on the push paradigm, which creates high stock levels and high lead times. The main purpose was to develop a pull production system controlled by Kanbans in the painting line. To achieve this goal, this case study demonstrates the application of relevant lean tools, such as, VSM, SMED, Kanban System, Supermarkets and Leveling. Through the SMED’s application, it was possible to reduce the setup times in 38% and make annual earnings of approximately 83000€. The application of a Kanban System, Leveling and Supermarket enabled the WIP’s reduction between injection and painting in 56% and, also, between painting and expedition in 45%. Also, the lead time decreased and the value-added time increased. Thus, this is an exemplary case study for the implementation of a pull system and can be used both by practitioners and researchers interested in this theme.

System dynamics modelling of fixed and dynamic Kanban controlled production systems: a supply chain perspective

PurposePull production systems have received much attention in the supply chain management environment. The number of Kanbans is a key decision variable in the pull production system as it affects the finished goods inventory (FGI) and backorders of the system. The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of the fixed and dynamic Kanban systems in terms of operational metrics (FGI and backorders) under the demand uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the system dynamics (SD) approach was used to model the performance of fixed and dynamic Kanban based production systems. SD approach has enabled the feedback mechanism and is an appropriate tool to incorporate the dynamic control during the simulation. Initially, a simple Kanban based production system was developed and then compared the performance of production systems with fixed and dynamic controlled Kanbans at the various demand scenarios.FindingsFrom the present study, it is observed that the dynamic Kanban system has advantages over the fixed Kanban system and also observed that the variation in the backorders with respect to the demand uncertainty under the dynamic Kanban system is negligible.Research limitations/implicationsIn a just-in-time production system, the number of Kanbans is a key decision variable. The number of Kanbans is mainly depended on the demand, cycle time, safety stock factor (SSF) and container size. However, this study considered only demand uncertainty to compare the fixed and dynamic Kanban systems. This paper further recommends researchers to consider other control variables which may influence the number of Kanbans such as cycle time, SSF and container size.Originality/valueThis study will be useful to decision-makers and production managers in the selection of the Kanban systems in uncertain demand applications.

A method for assessing pull production systems: a study of manufacturing, healthcare, and construction

Pull production systems (PPS) are key elements of lean production, encompassing a number of attributes that have been presented by various studies. However, no earlier work has jointly considered all of those attributes. This study presents a holistic method for the assessment of PPS, which was developed based on a systematic literature review and interviews with 13 experts. The method allows for the assessment of 23 attributes of PPS, divided into three groups: design, stability, and control. Sources of evidence for applying the method involve interviews, observations, and analysis of documents. This study reports the use of the method in companies from three sectors: manufacturing, healthcare, and construction. Results pointed out the method’s contribution for understanding the context-dependent nature of PPS and implementation trade-offs. Occasional violation of pull principles might be legitimate and not necessarily detrimental to performance.

Proactive Pull Systems with Applications

The concept of pull production systems, such as kanban and CONWIP (Constant-Work-In-Progress), has been proposed for a long time. Although they have been implemented at some production systems with positive outcomes, some failure cases have also been reported. To find out the reason, a fundamental study of pull systems is conducted through queueing theory in this work. The theory of pull systems is developed from the perspective of information. The main advantage of kanban is to facilitate synchronization in an assembly line. However, consistent with prior observations, we find productivity improvement is achieved through variability reduction rather than kanban, and both kanban and CONWIP will reduce system capacity. To enjoy the benefit of kanban and avoid its shortcomings, a proactive pull system based on queue times is proposed. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the concepts. The implementation and benefit of proactive pull systems are explained through a case study in a semiconductor fab.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in Petrochemical Industry Using Interpretive Structural Modeling

Across different geographical and industrial boundaries, different firms are attempting to implement sustainability in their supply chain in response to pressures from different groups. This article aims at identifying and analyzing influential practices for implementing sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). By determining these practices, top management can focus on them in order to improve the performance of their supply chains. The petrochemical industry was selected because of its role in the Iranian economy and its considerable environmental and social impacts. The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique was used as a useful technique to identify interrelations between different sustainable practices. According to the results, set up reduction and pull production system (related to JIT practices) are driving other practices, and these practices have vital role among other practices. There are four practices related to evaluating and collaborating suppliers and other industry peers, which occupy the highest level.

A preventive maintenance policy for a pull system with degradation and failures considering product quality

This paper aims to integrate a two-period condition-based preventive maintenance (TP-CBM) into a pull production system by using Kanban control policy. The pull system is subject to continuous degradation and random failures. It is assumed that the system’s degradation can be divided into several stages, where the hazard rate increasing factor is introduced to describe the failure rate at each stage. Meanwhile, quality of products is also considered. Markov chain is used to formulate the process of degradation and periodic inspection policy is adopted to trigger the preventive maintenance. A mathematical model is proposed to obtain the optimal production control and maintenance policies, i.e. the inspection rate, the amount of Kanban and the preventive maintenance threshold. A genetic algorithm combined with integer programming is proposed to solve the problem. Numerical instances indicate that the proposed TP-CBM policy is effective and efficient.

Transportation of part supply improvement in agricultural machinery assembly plant

This research focused on the problem caused by the transportation of part supply in agricultural machinery assembly plant in Thailand, which is one of the processes that are critical to the whole production process. If poorly managed, it will affect transportation of part supply, the emergence of sink cost, quality problems, and the ability to respond to the needs of the customers in time. Since the competition in the agricultural machinery market is more intense, the efficiency of part transportation process has to be improved. In this study, the process of transporting parts of the plant was studied and it was found that the efficiency of the process of transporting parts from the sub assembly line to its main assembly line was 83%. The approach to the performance improvement is done by using the Lean tool to limit wastes based on the ECRS principle and applying pull production system by changing the transportation method to operate as milkrun for transportation of parts to synchronize with the part demands of the main assembly line. After the transportation of parts from sub-assembly line to the main assembly line was improved, the efficiency raised to 98% and transportation process cost was saved to 540,000 Baht per year.

Multi-agent system approach applied to a manufacturer’s supply chain using global objective function and learning concepts

The supply chain efficiency is essential to guarantee the producer competitiveness. As this environment encompasses intelligent actors, it can be model as a multi-agent system. In order to evaluate the interactions, competition, strategies and their consequences in this context, this study aims to analyze the multi-agent system approach applied in a manufacturer’s supply chain, considering a pull production system. Then, this study starts with the literature review about multi-agent systems and its application to supply chain. After, the proposed system is explained, describing its architecture, organization, objectives, negotiation and learning aspects. All the assumptions, individual objective functions and global objective functions are presented in this section. Following, the interactions and implementations aspects are addressed. The negotiation design was inspired in the monotonic concession protocol and the Dutch auctions. The agents learning aspect is broached by the \(\upvarepsilon \)-greedy heuristic. Finally, the experiments design, results and conclusions are presented. The results show the agents’ behavior and the overall system evaluation.

REDUTEX: a hybrid push–pull production system approach for reliable delivery time in knitting SMEs

The textile sector is composed of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide. Nowadays there is a shortage of technological knowledge in SMEs. Lead time is a critical indicator in any productive company organisation. The aim of this research was to provide an approach, called REDUTEX, based on theoretical concepts of lean and synchronous manufacturing in order to help to understand the behaviour of SMEs and to improve the manufacturing process by reducing the customer lead times. The integration of these philosophies is the basis of REDUTEX; a hybrid push–pull production system approach to knitting SMEs. With this approach, it is possible to obtain a process reliability when the restrictive resource capacity (RRC) is identified, optimised and protected. By synchronising all activities to the rhythm of RRC, through a continuous flow, it is possible to obtain high-impact results through a dual automated system and product quality, through a visual control. REDUTEX uses a push system from the RRC to the location of the supermarket, where accumulated inventory may be distributed in the internal assembly department and external family workshops, making a pull system. Subsequent re-assembly processes use a push system until the end of the product. The stages of REDUTEX are explicitly described and applied to real data, so that the staff of SMEs can easily understand the behaviour of the process and implement it. One of the advantages of REDUTEX is that it does not need highly trained staff. The research methodology was conducted as a case of study in twelve SMEs and validated and implemented in three textile companies of the southern area of the state of Guanajuato in Mexico, obtaining reliable delivery times and very promising results.

Acquiring Knowledge Needed for Pull Production System Design through Data Mining Methods

Article deals with defining relationships for setting the optimal number of kanban cards in individual circuits of pull production systems, in order to minimize work in progress, while maximizing the number of completed orders in the observed time interval. To achieve this objective, data mining methods were used.

Production and Material Planning in the Push and Pull Integrated System for Routine Products and Customers’ Orders

In this article the push and pull production system is investigated and the proper policies are presented to facilitate the production of customers’ orders and routine products. In this push and pull integrated manufacturing system we should choose the best production methods in different circumstances. Using linear programming is the method used to calculate the MPS and based on that MRP and SFC (for 4 weeks) are determined. Besides, the customers’ orders and all the material needed are added to the plan. The production system and raw material preparation are different in push and pull systems and the best decision should be made to consume the investment efficiency and deliver the production as customers need. In addition, a cycle of receiving orders from sales department is suggested. The results of calculation the plans for MPS, MRP, SFC, customers’ orders, etc. are determined. After calculating the MPS based on the push system, the orders are investigated for SFC and MRP system. Solving these models isn’t easy and soluble unless useful and comprehensive methods are used. This is a job sequences production line which is push and pull integrated system.

Fundamental simulation studies of CONWIP in front-end wafer fabrication

Production planning and control in semiconductor manufacturing is complicated by high-level of re-entrant. Job batching is commonly used to reduce required setup time and maximize workstation utilization. New research promotes CONWIP in pull production systems, while limiting overall work-in-process. However, the implications of batching on CONWIP systems have not been well studied. This paper describes a series of simulation studies and adopted ANOVA and response surface methodology to investigate the effects and relationship of batching on different numbers of CONWIP cards, demand composition, re-entrant, and setup times. Simulation results show that all batching systems exhibited a high number of CONWIP cards and low job mix, total layers, and setup times when the lowest average flow time as well as the highest throughput level and workstation utilization are achieved. The overall result reveals that batching systems outperform non-batching systems in the simulation model of a CONWIP production control system in semiconductor manufacturing.

ROAD MAP OF DEVELOPMENT FOR PULL SYSTEM IN THAILAND SMALL AND MEDIUM AUTOMOTIVE PART MANUFACTURER

Since most of the Thai small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that manufacture automotive parts are facing problems in the production system inefficiency and the employees that do not understand the working system properly, accordingly, the production costs have risen up. This research aims to provide guidelines to develop a pull production system for small and medium enterprises that manufacture automotive parts using the lathe method in the production. Data was collected from the interview conducted with the employees at the factory which manufactures automotive parts by the lathe method and using the pull system efficiently in 5 factories in Thailand. The results from the study were analyzed, compiled, and made it suitable in order to develop the pull production system for the small and medium enterprises that manufacture the automotive parts by the lathe method in Thailand step by step. The results showed that in order to develop the production system to the pull system, the firms should operate according to the following steps: 1.) Set up the agency which is directly responsible for the system 2.) Train the employees 3.) Do 5S activity and visual control 4.) Conduct training across the production lines 5.) Bring Kanban and Kaizen cards into use 6.) Set standard for the production and once the production process of the enterprises is put into the pull system, it must be maintained to keep it as a standard. In addition, it improves the quality of production system of the enterprises. The advantage of adopting the pull production system is that the firm can quickly adjust the system according to the production procedures. Although the study focused only on the firms that use the lathe method, the researcher found that the study could be applied to the factories using other manufacturing methods.

Issues of organizational cybernetics and viability beyond Beer’s viable systems model

The paper starts summarizing the claims of Beer’s viable systems model to identify five issues any viable organizations has to deal with in an unequivocal hierarchical structure of five interrelated systems. Then the evidence is introduced for additional issues and related viable structures of organizations, which deviate from Beer’s model. These issues are: (1) the establishment and (2) evolution of an organization; (3) systems for independent top-down control (like “Six Sigma”); (4) systems for independent bottom-up correction of performance problems (like “Kaizen”), both working outside a hierarchical structure; (5) pull production systems (“Just in Time”) and (6) systems for checks and balances of top-level power (like boards and shareholder meetings). Based on that an evolutionary approach to organizational cybernetics is outlined, addressing the establishment of organizations and possible courses of developments, including recent developments in quality and production engineering, as well as problems of setting and changing goal values determining organizational policies.

Application of Pull Concept-based Lean Production System in the Ship Building Industry

Shipbuilding is a convoluted process. The production system of a shipyard can be illustrated by using the concept of a pull production system. Lean is based on the principle of a pull production system. The shipbuilding process is improved significantly but the lean production system is introduced at very small scales. In a shipyard, different types of wastages such as scraps, overproductions, idle times, etc. are produced, lean is a just-in-time production system that can focus on the elimination of these wastages to ensure lower costs and lower production times and higher quality products as well as better service and delivery. Simulation modeling is used to evaluate the performance of the production system and kanban is a pull-type scheduling method that can be used to simulate the pull production system of a shipyard for the optimization analysis. The goals of this article are to identify the important wastages in a shipyard that can increase production time and cost, to design the production system of a shipyard based on lean philosophy, to derive the basic principles of the lean manufacturing as well as to develop the control mechanism of this production system, the simulation analysis of the production system done by using the lean principle, and to identify the limitations for applying the lean production system in a shipyard production.

Application of Pull Concept-based Lean Production System in the Ship Building Industry

Shipbuilding is a convoluted process. The production system of a shipyard can be illustrated by using the concept of a pull production system. Lean is based on the principle of a pull production system. The shipbuilding process is improved significantly but the lean production system is introduced at very small scales. In a shipyard, different types of wastages such as scraps, overproductions, idle times, etc. are produced, lean is a just-in-time production system that can focus on the elimination of these wastages to ensure lower costs and lower production times and higher quality products as well as better service and delivery. Simulation modeling is used to evaluate the performance of the production system and kanban is a pull-type scheduling method that can be used to simulate the pull production system of a shipyard for the optimization analysis. The goals of this article are to identify the important wastages in a shipyard that can increase production time and cost, to design the production system of a shipyard based on lean philosophy, to derive the basic principles of the lean manufacturing as well as to develop the control mechanism of this production system, the simulation analysis of the production system done by using the lean principle, and to identify the limitations for applying the lean production system in a shipyard production.