Cost Minimization for Unstable Concurrent Products in Multi-stage Production Line Using Queueing Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: The paper copes with the queueing theory for evaluating a muti-stage production line process with concurrent goods. The intention of this article is to evaluate the efficiency of products assembly in the production line. Design/Methodology/Approach: To elevate the efficiency of the assembly line it is required to control the performance of individual stations. The arrival process of concurrent products is piled up before flowing to each station. All experiments are based on queueing network analysis. Findings: The performance analysis for unstable concurrent sub-items in the production line is discussed. The proposed analysis is based on the improvement of the total sub-production time by lessening the queue time in each station. Practical implications: The collected data are number of workers, incoming and outgoing sub-products, throughput rate, and individual station processing time. The front loading place unpacks product items into concurrent sub-items by an operator and automatically sorts them by RFID tag or bar code identifiers. Experiments of the work based on simulation are compared and validated with results from real approximation. Originality/Value: It is an alternative improvement to increase the efficiency of the operation in each station with minimum costs.

A Comprehensive Review: Analysing the Pros and Cons of Assembly Line Balancing Methods

“…The queuing concept method allows to analyse the performance of the production line under different line balancing scenarios, such as the number of workstations, the assignment of tasks to workstations and the sequencing of tasks [72][73][74]. The queuing concept method can be used to analyse various key performance indicators, such as average wait time, average queue length, and workstation occupancy [75,76]. By analysing these measures, the queuing concept method can be used to identify the optimal line balancing configuration.…”

“…The advantages and disadvantages of queuing concept methods can be listed below, which are extracted from established research journals [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76].…”