Fifty years of the bowl phenomenon

Tom Mcnamara, Sabry Shaaban and Sarah Hudson
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Tom Mcnamara: ESC [Rennes] - ESC Rennes School of Business
Sabry Shaaban: Groupe Sup de Co La Rochelle
Sarah Hudson: ESC [Rennes] - ESC Rennes School of Business

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Abstract: This article provides an overview and update of the extant literature on the bowl phenomenon, fifty years after the seminal work of Hillier and Boling. It provides insights into the conditions under which unbalancing a production line with faster stations toward the center of the line in a ‘bowl shape' is effective. It further points to its relevance in modern-day production systems where outsourcing, flexibility needs and disassembly lines are proliferating, and suggests where research into the bowl phenomenon can usefully contribute to manufacturing needs in the future.

Keywords: Bowl phenomenon; Unbalanced lines; Mean processing time; Coefficient of variation; Reliable lines; Unreliable lines; Buffer allocation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 2016, 41, pp.1-7. ⟨10.1016/j.jmsy.2016.07.003⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02010636

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmsy.2016.07.003

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