Optimization of buffer allocations in flow lines with limited supply

ABSTRACT

The supply of flow lines is often assumed to be unlimited or to follow certain distributions. However, this assumption may not always be realistic, as flow lines are usually an integral part of a supply chain where raw material is replenished based on some rule. We therefore include the limited supply into the optimization of buffer capacities in terms of an order policy.

To integrate this type of supply into an optimization model, we exploit the flexibility of a sample-based optimization approach. We develop an efficient rule-based local search algorithm that employs new individual lower bounds in order to determine the optimal buffer capacities of a flow line. In addition to the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, the numerical study demonstrates that the order policy has a significant impact on the optimal buffer allocation.

KEYWORDS:

• buffer allocation
• sampling
• bounds
• limited supply
• manufacturing systems design

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by the Julius-Paul-Stiegler-Gedächtnis-Stiftung.

Notes on contributors

Sophie Weiss

Sophie Weiss was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Mannheim in 2015. She received her Diploma in Business Mathematics from the University of Cologne in 2010. Her main research interest is in the analysis and optimization of manufacturing systems.

Andrea Matta

Andrea Matta is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano. He graduated in industrial engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in 1998. Since then he has developed his teaching and research activities at the same institution. He was a Distinguished Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University from 2014 to 2016. He has been Visiting Professor at the Ecole Centrale Paris (France), University of California at Berkeley, and Tongji University (China). He is responsible for the research area of Design and Management of Manufacturing Systems at MUSP (Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Systems). His research interests include analysis, design, and management of manufacturing and health care systems. He is Editor in Chief of Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal and is an editorial board member of OR Spectrum and IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. He received the Shanghai One Thousand Talent and Eastern Scholar award in 2013.

Raik Stolletz

Raik Stolletz studied mathematics, computer science, and business administration at the Technical University of Berlin. He received a Ph.D. from the Technical University of Clausthal in 2002 and the degree of Habilitation from the Leibnitz University of Hannover in 2009. In 2009–2010 he was an Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark. He currently is a full professor of production management at the Business School of the University of Mannheim. His research projects focus on quantitative decision support in the design and management of manufacturing and service systems. He has published articles in journals such as European Journal of Operational Research, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, OR Spectrum, and Production and Operations Management.