On the Dynamics in Decoupling Buffers in Mass Manufacturing Lines: A Stochastic Approach

Gilberto Pérez-Lechuga, Francisco Venegas-Martínez, Marco A. Montufar-Benítez and Jaime Mora-Vargas
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Gilberto Pérez-Lechuga: Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería-AAIA, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca de Soto 42184, Mexico
Marco A. Montufar-Benítez: Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería-AAIA, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca de Soto 42184, Mexico
Jaime Mora-Vargas: Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Av Lago de Guadalupe KM 3.5, Margarita Maza de Juárez, Cd López Mateos 52926, Mexico

Mathematics, 2022, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-21

Abstract: This paper analyzes the flow of the contents of interleaved buffers with continuously operating machines in a mass production line. Under this framework, the products to be manufactured advance from station to station to receive a physical–chemical transformation that adds value as they progress in the process. The existence of decoupling buffers between operations (between two consecutive workstations) is a common practice in order to alleviate the pressure that is ahead due to the lack of synchronization between consecutive operations, which causes leisure and/or bottlenecks in the system. In this proposal, we analyze the dynamics of a mass manufacturing line with intermediate decoupling buffers. To do that, we use a regenerative stochastic process approach to build a model where the products stored in each buffer are taken all at once by the consecutive machine. In a second approach, we use a homogeneous birth–death process with constant input–output and assume that the products are taken one by one by the consecutive machine. Finally, we use a non-homogeneous birth–death process to analyze the dynamics of a system whose inputs and outputs depend on time. These proposals are accompanied by numerical examples that illustrate its practical utility.

Keywords: stochastic manufacturing; flexible manufacturing systems; decoupling buffers; birth–death processes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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