The buffer allocation problem in production lines: Formulations, solution methods, and instances

Published 2018 in IISE Transactions

ABSTRACT

Abstract Flow production lines with finite buffer capacities are used in practice for mass production, e.g., in the automotive and food industries. The decision regarding the allocation of buffer capacities to mitigate throughput losses from stochastic processing times and unreliable stations is known as the Buffer Allocation Problem (BAP). This article classifies and reviews the literature on the BAP with respect to different versions of the optimization problem. It considers the detailed characteristics of the flow lines, the objective function, and the constraints. Moreover, a new classification scheme for solution methods is presented that differentiates between explicit solutions, integrated optimization methods, and iterative optimization methods. The characteristics of test instances derived from realistic cases and test instances used in multiple references are discussed. The review reveals gaps in the literature regarding the considered optimization problems and solution methods, especially with a view on realistic lines. In addition, a library, FlowLineLib, of realistic and already used test instances is provided.

PUBLICATION RECORD

Publication year
2018
Venue
IISE Transactions
Publication date
2018-05-30
Fields of study
Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering
Identifiers
DOI 10.1080/24725854.2018.1442031
External record
Open on Semantic Scholar
Source metadata
Semantic Scholar

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CONCEPTS

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