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Buffer sizing of a Heijunka Kanban system

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Abstract

Heijunka is a key-element of the Toyota production system which levels the release of production kanbans in order to achieve an even production flow over all possible types of products, thus, e.g. reducing the bullwhip effect. In this paper we analyze a kanban controlled and heijunka leveled production system where the arriving demands are controlled and limited by a kanban loop. The production system is modeled as a queueing network with synchronization stations. The aim is to determine the optimal number of production kanbans, and thus the buffer size that guarantees a given service level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Fördertechnik und Logistiksysteme, Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Gotthard-Franz-Strasse 8, 76128, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Judith Matzka & Kai Furmans

  2. Laboratoire G-SCOP (Grenoble-Sciences pour la Conception, l’Optimisation et la Production) 46, avenue Félix Viallet, 38031, GRENOBLE cedex 1, France

    Maria Di Mascolo

Authors
  1. Judith Matzka
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  2. Maria Di Mascolo
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  3. Kai Furmans
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Correspondence to Judith Matzka.

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Matzka, J., Di Mascolo, M. & Furmans, K. Buffer sizing of a Heijunka Kanban system. J Intell Manuf 23, 49–60 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-009-0317-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-009-0317-3

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