Optimization of Consumable Products & Reliability

Many industrial processes for discrete consumable products consist of a series (or set) of sequential process operations (or subsystems) which are de-coupled by means of in-process storage buffers. Each subsystem of such a process contains one or more parallel coupled or uncoupled operating lanes. We describe the use of a discrete-event simulation model for determining the availability of such a process. We likewise define and use a genetic algorithm to determine process designs and operating rules that have high availability. A 65-variable example, consisting of four operating subsystems with at most four lanes per subsystem, is used to illustrate the method. The results for this and similar realworld applications indicate that, by applying this methodology, it is possible to design buffered industrial processes having high availability.