Challenges for Optimal Efficiency in Pull Production Within Complex Production Systems: A Literature Review
Abstract
One of the most relevant paradigms shifts that has happened in manufacturing in the last decades is the concept of pull production. This principle of operational excellence developed by Toyota in the 1950s has brought significant improvements in global productivity and delivery times. Several techniques have been developed to materialise pull production however, the enormity of challenges becomes evident as factors such as product variety, demand variability, and the need for batch and series size reduction escalate. The main difficulty is to achieve tight deadlines while maintaining productivity and machine utilization at high levels in complex production environments. Approaches such as Kanban, CONWIP, POLCA, or COBACABANA confront adaptation issues in complex production units with a wide range of articles, routes, and batch sizes. This study’s literature review seeks to uncover the vulnerabilities of existing pull production techniques in dealing with complex environments. By carrying out a thorough examination and analysis of Kanban, CONWIP, POLCA and COBACABANA, the vulnerabilities of these pull production approaches will be revealed.