Approximating feeder line reliability statistics with partial data collection in assembly systems

Due to the difficulty and high cost of data collection, many feeder lines in assembly systems lack full collection of data. However, reliability statistics of feeder lines are important in throughput analysis and continuous improvement of manufacturing systems. In this paper, a simple approximation approach is presented to estimate the reliability statistics of feeder lines from the associated assembly station’s collected blocking and starving information. It is shown that the approach is helpful for accurate throughput estimation and sensitivity analysis. We also show how feeder line speed can be used to improve the approximation. q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.