Analysis of closed-loop production lines with Bernoulli reliability machines: Theory and application

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this article, an iteration approach is introduced to study closed-loop production lines with a constant number of carriers. A Bernoulli machine reliability model is assumed. The closed-loop system is decomposed into multiple small loop lines and further down to two-machine loops, in which the distributions of carriers are derived. Then an iteration procedure is presented to estimate the interactions between the small loops to modify the carrier distributions. Upon convergence, the system production rate can be estimated using these distributions. The convergence of the procedure is proved analytically, and the accuracy of estimation is justified numerically. It is shown that the method has good accuracy and computational efficiency. In addition, a case study at an automotive assembly plant is introduced to illustrate the applicability of the method.