Mehmet Savsar - Kuwait University College of Engineering & Petroleum Department of Industrial & Management Systems Engineering

Push-pull production control systems can be based on the implementation of just in time (JIT) control in the last stage of production by triggering the production at the first stage when a withdrawal occurs in the last stage. Intermediate stages are operated according to a push system of production. In this paper, a discrete model is developed to study and analyze the behavior of a push-pull system with unreliable equipment at any stage. The model, which is based on an iterative process and implemented on the computer, is also utilized to optimize the buffer capacities at intermediate stages and number of kanbans at the last stage, or final buffer, which is used to trigger the production at the first stage.

Serial production, Push-pull system, Buffers, JIT system, Constant WIP, Machine failures