Determining the number of kanbans and lotsizes in a generic kanban system: A simulated annealing approach

A generic kanban system that is designed for non-repetitive manufacturing environments is described. The purpose of this paper is to determine the number of kanbans and lot sizes needed to achieve the best system performance. System objectives include minimizing the cycle time, minimizing operation cost, and minimizing capital loss. A multiattribute utility function is constructed and a modified simulated annealing algorithm is proposed to search the maximal utility value. To show this algorithm at work, the authors compared the results with those from the traditional algorithm. The utility values found by both algorithms are insignificantly different; however, the computational time required by the modified algorithm is much less. The modified algorithm is feasible to solve the present problem. Finally, a heuristic for generating good initial seed is developed to further improve the efficiency of the modified algorithm and an example is given to illustrate its benefits.