(596-2720-1-PB)AN INTEGRATED UTILISATION, SCHEDULING AND LOT-SIZING ALGORITHM FOR PULL PRODUCTION

摘要

We present an algorithm that continuously reduces the batch sizes of products on Non-constraining resource in a production network through the utilization of the idle time on such resource. This leads to reduction in the holding cost and increase in the frequency of batch release of the production system. This would also lead to reduction in customer facing supply lead time. Such technique could be valuable in typical pull production systems like lean manufacturing, theory of constraints or Constant-Work-in-Process CONWIP processes. An example is used to demonstrate a real life application of the algorithm, and it was found to work better for system cost minimization than a previous algorithm that uses the production run length as the criterion for batch reduction.