Abstract:
Since the majority of small and medium automotive - parts enterprises in Thailand have currently encountered the inefficiency of manufacturing systems, which increases in production costs. This study aimed at providing guidelines to develop the pull production system for these enterprises. Using an interview as the main methodology, The production administrators in five large Thai automotive parts companies, which have effective the pull production system, have been interviewed. Subsequently, the information received from these production administrators has been analyzed, organized, and developed into the suitable guidelines for the pull production system development in the small and medium automotive parts enterprises. The results have suggested that in order to promote the pull production system in the small and medium enterprises, the company should operate as follows; 1) establish specific working sectors whose responsibilities are directly related to the pull production system, 2) train employees, 3) do 5S activity and visual control, 4) conduct cross-functional training, 5) bring Kanban into practice, and 6) set work standards. Once these steps have been fully applied and the production system of the company has been developed into the pull production system, the company should examine the performance of the system intermittently in order to maintain the standards and improve the quality of the production system.