Lead time control in multi-class multi-stage assembly systems with finite capacity

In this paper, we model multi-class multi-stage assembly systems with finite capacity as queueing networks. It is assumed that different classes (types) of products are produced by the production system and products’ orders for different classes are received according to independent Poisson processes. Each service station of the queueing network specifies a manufacturing or assembly operation, in that processing times for different types of products are independent and exponentially distributed random variables with service rates, which are controllable, and the queueing discipline is First Come First Served (FCFS). Different types of products may be different in their routing sequences of manufacturing and assembly operations. For modeling multi-class multi-stage assembly systems, we first consider every class separately and convert the queueing network of each class into an appropriate stochastic network. Then, by using the concept of continuous-time Markov processes, a system of differential equations is created to obtain the distribution function of manufacturing lead time for any type of product, which is actually the time between receiving the order and the delivery of finished product. Furthermore, we develop a multi-objective model with three conflicting objectives to optimally control the service rates, and use goal attainment method to solve a discrete-time approximation of the original multi-objective continuous-time problem. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.