Optimizing the Number of Kanbans for Two-stage Production System Based on Queuing Theory
LIN Yu
LI Yajiao
SHI Yingjie
Abstract：Excess inventories not only take up a lot of space, but also reduce the capital turnover, increasing the cost of enterprises. To solve the problem, Kanban system is proposed firstly. Then a method of determining the optimal number of Kanbans in two-stage production system is developed on this basis. Considering the actual situation, with the shortage cost, work in process cost, machine production cost and cost of idle machines all combined, the Markov process is identified and queuing theory used to build the model of optimal per-unit-time cost to obtain the optimal number of Kanbans. Then, a case is studied to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our model. Sensitivity analysis shows that, when the number of Kanbans is small, it is more sensitive to the parameters of the shortage cost and work in process cost. In addition, the optimal number of Kanbans increases as the rate of the latter production process increases.
Keywords：Kanban systemWIPqueuing theorynumber of kanbans
Publication Date：2017-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 71-76 )