Optimized Buffer Allocation and Repair Strategies for Series Production Lines

Abstract

This paper proposes an efficient approach for solving the buffer allocation problem with limited number of repair resources. In this problem, the objective is to maximize the throughput of a series production line through solving the buffer allocation optimization problem and electing the best repair polices. This is done using a simulation model to estimate the throughput combined with a self-adjusting search heuristic approach. The total count of repairmen is constrained to be strictly less than or equal to the count of repairable machines. Therefore, a self-adjusting search algorithm that is based on a nonlinear threshold accepting criterion is employed to reach the best production line configurations in terms of the buffer-levels and repair policies. The effectiveness of the combined simulation-search solution mechanism is tested using three different scenarios with 8 different repair policies. The numerical results showed that not only the proposed approach can find a near optimal solution in a limited and acceptable time, but also the overall production system performance can be improved by selecting the best repair policy.