A simulation model with synchronization manufacturing stations

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to develop an efficient analytical procedure to evaluate performance of the most general pull production systems particularly when multiple‐part‐types are involved. The authors consider a kanban controlled production system that can be modelled as a closed queuing network with different product classes. The production line is decomposed into stages which consist of one or several stations and an output buffer. Each stage is associated with a given number of kanbans. The main idea of this analytical algorithm is to analyze each subnetwork individually using a product form approximation technique. The iterative procedure is used to find the unknown parameters.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors design a multiclass queuing network that can be used to represent kanban controlled production systems. To solve this model, three procedures are used: decompose the original network into M subnetworks, convergence of unknown parameters in each subnetwork, and convergence of unknown parameters in the original network. The authors now describe these procedures separately.

Findings

The main contribution of this paper is the formulation of the problem of kanban controlled production systems with several part‐types. The methodology is based on approximate formula with decomposition and is applicable to more general manufacturing environments. The authors' method can be applied to both limited and unlimited demands. The analytical algorithm designed in this work has demonstrated excellent performance in analyzing kanban controlled production systems.

Originality/value

The methodology of this algorithm is based on approximate formula and is applicable to more general manufacturing environments.

Citation

Lin, F. and Chen, Y. (2012), "A simulation model with synchronization manufacturing stations", Management Decision, Vol. 50 No. 7, pp. 1308-1325. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741211247021