A Bernoulli Model of Multi-Product Manufacturing Systems

Abstract

Modeling and analysis of multiple products manufacturing systems are of significant importance. In this paper, a Bernoulli model of multi-product manufacturing system with unreliable machines and finite buffers is introduced. In such a model, each machine is capable of processing multiple product types, and each buffer is shared for all types of products. All machines process the parts following the same sequence of different product types. By aggregating different product types into a single one, closed formulas have been derived to evaluate the production rate of the line with one or two machines, and recursive procedures are used to analyze longer lines. Numerical studies indicate that such a method has a high precision in performance evaluation. In addition, system-theoretic properties, such as asymptotic property, monotonicity and reversibility, have been investigated.