Generic kanban systems for dynamic environments

Kanbans have shown successful results in lowering inventory and shortening lead time in repetitive production systems. Unfortunately, such systems are not applicable to production environments with dynamic characteristics. Here a modified kanban system, the generic kanban system, is proposed for such dynamic environments. The generic kanban system behaves similarly to the push system except that it is more flexible with respect to system performance and more robust as to the location of the bottleneck. The simulation results that the generic kanban system is dominant over the dedicated kanban system and the CONWIP system. The adaptability of such a system to dynamic environments is justified.