Premium
OPTIMAL BUFFER ALLOCATION IN ASYNCHRONOUS CYCLIC MIXED‐MODEL ASSEMBLY LINES
Author(s) -
FUXMAN LEONORA
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
production and operations management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.279
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1937-5956
pISSN - 1059-1478
DOI - 10.1111/j.1937-5956.1998.tb00458.x
Subject(s) - buffer (optical fiber) , computer science , asynchronous communication , throughput , line (geometry) , workstation , optimal allocation , mathematical optimization , circular buffer , distributed computing , computer network , mathematics , telecommunications , operating system , geometry , wireless
This paper considers a problem of optimal buffer allocation in cyclic asynchronous mixedmodel assembly lines with deterministic processing times. An analytical model is used to provide new insights into properties of optimal buffer allocation, that is, a buffer configuration that guarantees the highest possible throughput rate on the assembly line with a minimum number of buffers. Optimal buffer configuration is characterized, and an efficient algorithm to find such a configuration is developed. The approach proposed in this paper also provides insights on how to allocate a given number of buffers to workstations on the assembly line to maximize the throughput rate.