Setting minimum performance levels for two-card kanban-controlled lines

The production literature has focused on the problem of setting the number of kanbans to achieve a desired performance level. However, in practice, station supervisors are given the authority to set kanban numbers and the management problem is to find for each station the minimum level of performance required for a desired line production rate. This paper shows how to find minimum performance levels to guarantee production rates independently of the material-handling frequencies used. The advantage of this procedure is that the tradeoff between inventory-holding and material-handling costs can be left up to the station supervisors.