THE KANBAN SYSTEM FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAINT

Abstract

This paper presents a case study for the project and implementation of a kanban system in a paint factory. The paint factory uses a continuous production system, which brings two main problems for the kanban system. The first is that of the number of kanbans in the system (that is, the determination of the amount of each batch to be manufactured). The formula which has been consecrated by Toyota requires that the manufacture time of each batch is known, In addition, in the case in question, the entire batch is finished in a single period. The second problem is that of altering the size of the batch during the manufacture. In discrete production systems (car parts, for example), as the intention is to avoid the accumulation of stock, it is usual to interrupt the production of an item as soon as all the empty boxes are filled again. In this case, if, at the beginning of the manufacture of an item there are kanbans still in stock, this decision is difficult if one wishes to avoid the lack of excess stock in the system. This study presents a proposal to deal with these problems.