A heuristic algorithm for buffer allocation in unreliable production lines

This paper addresses the problem of calculating buffer allocation plans for production lines with unreliable stations. The objective is to minimize production lime-the time spent by an item in the line-subject to a minimum required throughput and a given amount of buffer slots. The paper describes a system that comprises three modules: A heuristic, a simulation and an exact algorithm. The heuristic algorithm generates solutions to the buffer allocation problem. The simulation algorithm calculates the performance characteristics of individual stations, and the exact algorithm calculates the throughput and the average production time of the production line. The paper describes the heuristic algorithm in detail and provides three sample sets of results calculated by the system. Based on these results, we measure the sub-optimality of the algorithm.