Paper Info
Title
Performance of merging lines with uneven buffer capacity allocation: the effects of unreliability under different inventory-related costs
Abstract
This simulation study investigates whether machine efficiency, mean time to failure (MTTF) and mean time to repair (MTTR) significantly affect the performance of uneven buffer capacity allocation patterns for merging lines. Also studied is the trade-off between increasing throughput via bigger buffers and their associated inventory-related costs, since previous studies have shown that higher overall buffer capacity and higher average inventory content result in higher throughput. Results suggest that an ascending buffer allocation pattern (concentrating buffer capacity towards the end of the line) produces higher throughput in shorter, more unreliable lines; whereas the balanced pattern shows better performance in longer, more reliable lines. Increasing average buffer capacity per station and/or having higher average buffer content was found to be more cost-effective in lines with lower machine inefficiency, shorter MTTF and MTTR, and longer lines. Results differed between reliable and unreliable lines since reliable lines were particularly penalised by buffer capacity investiment/maintenance costs due to a relatively low increase in throughput resulting from the addition of extra buffer capacity.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.1007/s10100-019-00670-9
Central European Journal of Operations Research
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Unreliable machines, Unbalanced lines, Average buffer level, Throughput, Inventory costs, Simulation
Journal
29
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
4
1435-246X
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Sabry Shaaban1185.42
Romero-Silva, Rodrigo200.34