Abstract
A mathematical model for a multi-stage, multi-facility and multi-product production-inventory system is presented to study the effect of machine unreliability on the economic production quantity and total system cost. The production system considered here has multiple spindle and batch blocking facilities. A search method has been used for optimizing the batch sizes. The basic criterion considered for optimizing the batch sizes is the minimization of the total system cost. An example is presented to explain the behaviour and application of the model.