Abstract
This work deals with the well-known buffer allocation problem in short reliable production lines. The objective is to find the optimal buffer allocation (OBA) that minimizes the average work-in-process (WIP) inventory, subject to a minimum required throughput. The study leads to some insights concerning the evolution of the throughput and WIP as a function of the ordered buffer allocations. In the case of balanced lines, it is observed that the so-called self-similarity phenomenon prevails. It is also pointed out that the choice of the throughput level is critical for finding the OBA that minimizes the average WIP. Also a heuristic algorithm is proposed to find the OBA, which reduces the search space by over 50% compared to enumeration.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 185-197 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | International Journal of Production Economics |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 21 2001 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Economics and Econometrics
- Management Science and Operations Research
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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Cite this
Papadopoulos, H. T., & Vidalis, M. I. (2001). Minimizing WIP inventory in reliable production lines. International Journal of Production Economics, 70(2), 185-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-5273(00)00056-6