The Effect of Station Breakdowns and Random Processing Times on the Capacity of Flow Lines with In-Process Storage

Abstract

Abstract In-process inventory banks are considered for a flow-line producing a single product. Models are developed which enable the increase in production capacity to be calculated if both sources of station production rate variability are present. An exact Markov model of a two station system gives complicated results. However, a simple method of combining the results of the previous work on random processing times and on breakdowns in a fixed-cycle system gives very good approximations to the results of the exact model. The approximate approach can be extended to three or more stations.