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Optimization of buffer allocation in mixed production systems with multiple classes, variable batch sizes and worker fatigue considerations

Sixiao Gao, Yinsheng Liao, Zhiming Hu

Robotic Intelligence and Automation

ISSN: 2754-6969

Article publication date: 7 January 2025

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Abstract

Purpose

With rapid market customized demand and short development cycles, mixed production with multiple classes and variable batches has been popular, and its buffer allocation problem has become a new challenge. The mixed production cannot be analyzed based on the assumption of a stationary demand process which was typically used in previous studies. Furthermore, mixed production is still in human–machine cooperation mode where dynamic working efficiency because of workers’ fatigue causes uncertain processes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to solve the buffer allocation problem in mixed production systems with multiple classes, variable batch sizes and worker fatigue considerations.

Design/methodology/approach

A dynamic modeling method of mixed production with multiple classes and variable batches is improved, which uses nonstationary demand processes to model the dynamic nature of multiple classes and variable batches. Human working efficiency decreasing due to fatigue is modeled as the time-varying service rate to represent human–machine cooperation. Furthermore, a parallel evolutionary algorithm that combines global and local search strategies parallelly is developed to solve the buffer allocation problem in mixed production for the first time.

Findings

Numerical examples demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. The proposed algorithm achieves better solution quality than the state of art algorithms.

Originality/value

This study improves the dynamic modeling of mixed production to consider human factors and develops a hybrid algorithm to effectively solve the buffer allocation problem in dynamic mixed production.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Disclosure statement: The authors report no conflict of interest.

Citation

Gao, S., Liao, Y. and Hu, Z. (2025), "Optimization of buffer allocation in mixed production systems with multiple classes, variable batch sizes and worker fatigue considerations", Robotic Intelligence and Automation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/RIA-10-2024-0236

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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