https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8146-9772
![Sample our Engineering & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5933/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Engineering-Tech.jpg"})
Abstract
Energy efficiency is crucial in contemporary industry and controlling the resource power state by switching off/on commands is a promising measure. The control problem of deciding when to switch off/on the machines depending on the state of the system at a given time is not trivial due to the effect the control might have on the system production rate. Threshold-based policies using buffer occupancy information to control the machines can be effectively used to reduce energy consumption. Nevertheless, highly complex control policies are difficult to be applied and costly to be managed in practice. Buffer-based threshold policies to control multiple machines simultaneously in a serial production line for energy efficiency purposes are analysed in this work. The optimal control minimises the energy consumption while assuring a certain target production rate for the system. The effects of controlling different combinations of machines simultaneously with different number of thresholds have been investigated through numerical experiments with discrete event simulation. Insights regarding the trade-off between the complexity of the control and the performance gains are provided. The proposed policy works effectively and the effect of a proper selection of the controlled machines or thresholds is significant.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, N.F., upon reasonable request.
Disclosure statement
The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Nicla Frigerio
Nicla Frigerio is Assistant Professor of Manufacturing and Production Systems at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy), where she develops her teaching and research activities. She received the PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano. She is a member of AITeM – Italian Association of Manufacturing Technologies and of IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Her areas of expertise are in design and control of production systems and in sustainable manufacturing automation.
Barış Tan
Barış Tan is a Professor of Operations Management and Industrial Engineering at Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey. His areas of expertise are in design and control of production systems, supply chain management, and stochastic modelling. He received a BS degree in Electrical&Electronics Engineering from Bogazici University, and ME in Industrial and Systems Engineering, MSE in Manufacturing Systems, and PhD in Operations Research from the University of Florida.
Andrea Matta
Andrea Matta is Full Professor of Manufacturing and Production Systems at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Politecnico di Milano (Milan, Italy). He graduated in Industrial Engineering at Politecnico di Milano where he develops his teaching and research activities since 1998. He was Distinguished Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University from 2014 to 2016. He has been visiting professor at Ecole Centrale Paris (Paris, France), University of California (Berkeley, USA), and Tongji University (Shanghai, China). He was awarded with the Shanghai One Thousand Talent and Eastern Scholar in 2013. His research area includes analysis, design and management of manufacturing and health care systems. He is the Editor-In-Chief of Flexible Services and Manufacturing journal.