| Article ID: | iaor19951645 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 33 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Start Page Number: | 877 |
| End Page Number: | 892 |
| Publication Date: | Apr 1995 |
| Journal: | International Journal of Production Research |
| Authors: | Tetzlaff U.A.W. |
| Keywords: | performance |
The design of tool management systems for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is analysed. An algorithm is given, which allows performance evaluation of an FMS with its tool management system. The procedure applies queueing network theory in order to estimate important performance parameters. Of particular interest is the tool blocking time, which is defined as the time a machine is idle while it waits for the required tools.