A DEDS model for a serial pull system and an analysis of material movements

Most of the literature on just-in-time (JIT) production lines has focused on modelling the system into Markov-chains. However, in practice, demands for products are known for short planning horizon. Further, there is scarcity in the literature describing the dynamics and timing of material movements in JIT systems. This paper models a serial line into a discrete event dynamic system by a Max algebra approach incorporating the timing of material movements. It uses perturbation analysis to study the impact of parameter variation on the system performance and compares the performances of push and pull systems using simulation analysis. The simulation results show that the pull system dominates the push system in lead time, in-process inventories and stability of the production process.