Question

Meritor is so pleased with the outcome from previous suggestions that the consultants are invited back for more work. The consultants now suggest a more complete robotic automation of the making of muffler assemblies and also a reduction in container size to four per container. Meritor implements these suggestions and the result is that the muffler assembly fabrication cell now averages approximately 30 assemblies per hour, and the catalytic converter assembly cell can now respond to an order for a batch of catalytic converters in one hour. The safety stock remains at 14 percent. How many kanban cards are needed? (Round up your answer to the next whole number.)

Answer 1

Solution:

Number of Kanbans is calculated as,

Number of Kanbans = (Average demand during lead time + Safety stock) / Size of container

Number of Kanbans = (dL + S) / C

where,

d = Hourly demand

L = Lead time

S = Safety stock

C = Container size

Putting the given values in the above formula, we get,

Number of Kanbans = [(30 x 1) + (0.14 x 30 x 1)] / 4

Number of Kanbans = 8.55 or 9 (Rounding up to the next whole number)

Number of Kanbans = 9