The pull production system: Modelling and characteristics

A continuous time Markov model for pull production system is developed. The present analysis models the ‘pull’ mechanism accurately. The various allocation patterns of kanban capacity and mean production time over the system stations are studied. It is found that a certain ‘funnel’ pattern could improve the system performance in some cases. Since this finding contradicts the concepts that are found in some parts of the literature which favour a ‘bowl’ pattern, some possible interpretations are given. Overall, the results yield design guidelines that should be useful in manufacturing applications.