Manufacturing control with a push-pull approach

Kanban systems have been successfully used to reduce inventory and improve customer service in many industries. Their advantages and limitations are discussed in this paper. Although numerous models have been developed to overcome these limitations, the studies published did not consider some of the very essential characteristics of manufacturing systems and the value added to parts when the pull or push principle was applied. This paper presents a push-pull approach which pushes through certain manufacturing stages and pulls elsewhere based on the characteristics and value added at these stages. A generalized labelcorrecting algorithm to determine the desired stages of an IDEF3 model is developed and an industrial case study is presented. This methodology is suited for a repetitive manufacturing environment of a mixed type, i.e. job shop and flow shop, and leads to achieving the following objectives: (1) reduced in-process inventory; (2) shortened delivery lead times while maintaining or improving delivery dependability; (3) increased productivity and machine utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)