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Abstract
This paper presents an overlapping decomposition method to approximate the throughput of production systems with rework loops. The idea is to decompose the system into overlapped serial production lines, with the overlapping machines modified to accommodate the interactions with machines and buffers in other lines. The convergence of the iterative procedure and the uniqueness of the solution are proved analytically. The accuracy of the estimate is justified numerically and illustrated by a case study at an automotive assembly plant.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Professor Semyon M. Meerkov of the University of Michigan, Dr. Jeffrey M. Alden and Dr. Dennis E. Blumenfeld from the General Motors Research & Development Center and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.