Inspection of an unreliable flexible manufacturing system: with repairable parts and non-negligible inspection times

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of quality control and repair in an FMS which is described by an open queuing network. We consider two cases: first, all detected defective parts are directed to a special repair facility; second, a defective part is repaired within the machine group where it is detected. Using numerical analyses, we provide some managerial insights regarding the role, position, and distribution of the inspection effort in an FMS, and draw some inferences regarding the design of such FMS when both quality and quantity issues in the FMS are considered.