The effects of unbalancing operation time variability on the performance of unreliable lines
Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management
ISSN: 1741-038X
Article publication date: 8 March 2013
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of unpaced unreliable production lines that are deliberately unbalanced in terms of their coefficients of variation (CVs).
Design/methodology/approach
A series of simulation experiments were carried out for five and eight station lines with mean buffer space set at one, two, four and six units. CVs were allocated in 12 different configurations for each of these lines.
Findings
The results show that the best unbalanced CV patterns in terms of throughput rates or idle times as compared to a balanced line counterpart are those where the steadiest stations are concentrated near the centre of the line. On the other hand, either concentrating the steadier operators towards the centre or close to the end of the line gives best average buffer level results.
Practical implications
The results provide guidelines for production line managers when designing unpaced unbalanced lines depending on their performance aims.
Originality/value
The investigation of the effects of unbalancing CVs in unreliable lines has not previously been studied and can provide insights into how best to place workstations with differing variability along the line.
Keywords
Citation
Shaaban, S., McNamara, T. and Hudson, S. (2013), "The effects of unbalancing operation time variability on the performance of unreliable lines", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 428-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410381311318918
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited