Performance analysis of re - entrant ̄ ow shop with single - job and batch machines using mean value analysis

We propose an approximate method based on the mean value analysis for estimating the average performance of re-entrant ̄ ow shop with single-job machines and batch machines. The main focus is on the steady-state averages of the cycle time and the throughput of the system. Characteristics of the re-entrant ̄ ow and inclusion of the batch machines complicate the exact analysis of the system. Thus, we propose an approximate analytic method for obtaining the mean waiting time at each bu€ er of the workstation and a heuristic method to improve the result of the analytic method. We compare the Authors: Y. Park, S. Kim and C.-H. Jun, Department of Industrial Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31 Hyoja-dong, Pohang, 790-784, South Korea, e-mail: sookim@ postech.ac.kr YOUNGSHIN PARK is a PhD candidate in Industrial Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea. She has received Bachelor and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology. Her current research activities focus on performance analysis of production systems. SOOYOUNG KIM is Associate Professor of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (`POSTECH’) in Korea. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, MS in Manufacturing Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and his PhD in IE from University of California at Berkeley, USA in 1988. From 1989 to 1993, he was Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA. His research interests are in production planning, scheduling and control, especially in semiconductor manufacturing processes. He has published in IIE Transactions, International J ournal of Production Research, European J ournal of OR, International J ournal of CIM , etc. CHI-HYUCK JUN is Associate Professor in Industrial Enginering at Pohang University of Science and Technology. He received a BS in Mineral and Petroleum Engineering from Seoul National University in 1977, MS in Industrial Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 1979, and PhD in Operations Research from University of California, Berkeley, in 1986. He is interested in performance analysis of communication systems and production systems. He has published in Probability in the Eng ineering and Informational Sciences, Microelectronics & Reliability, IEICE Transactions on Communications, etc. Production Planning & Control ISSN 0953± 7287 print/ISSN 1366± 5871 online # 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals results of the proposed approach with a simulation study using some numerical examples.