Estimating Performance Measures in Repetitive Manufacturing Environments via Stochastic Cyclic Scheduling

Abstract

In this paper we review the cyclic scheduling paradigm for repetitive manufacturing environments. System performance is measured by system throughput and job flow time. For a given cyclic job sequence and operation precedence structure, we are interested in the steady-state behavior of these measures when processing times are stochastic. We present an iterative approximation scheme based on Clark’s method to estimate the two-moment behavior of these performance measures. Computational tests demonstrate that the approach is a useful alternative to simulation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Uday S. Rao

Uday Rao received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, India, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Cornell University. Dr Rao has taught courses in quantative methods, statistics, industrial systems analysis, inventory theory, production planning and control, total quality management and manufacturing strategy. He has been a visiting assistant professor at the Faculty of Commerce, University of British Columbia and at the School of OR&IE, Cornell University, before joining the operations management faculty at Carnegie Mellon University. His current research interests include scheduling for repetitive manufacturing environments and multi-item, multi-echelon stochastic inventory systems. Dr Rao is a member of IIE and INFORMS.

Peter L. Jackson

Professor Jackson received his undergraduate degree in Economics with Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario; his M.Sc. in Statistics from Stanford University; and his Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford University. He is responsible for the Master of Engineering Program within the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. Professor Jackson teaches courses in manufacturing system design, managerial accounting, economic analysis of engineering systems, manufacturing logistics, and optimization. He is the recipient of the student-voted I.I.E. award for Excellence in Teaching (1986, 1987, 1990) and the Dean’s Prize for Innovation in Teaching (1986 and 1991). Professor Jackson has served as a consultant to the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company, General Foods, and the Quaker Oats Company. He has been an associate editor of Operations Research. He conducts research in production planning and scheduling, inventory management, and graphical modelling systems for manufacturing logistics.