Optimal design of a generalized conveyor-serviced production station: Fixed and removal item cases

This paper treats an approach to the optimal design of the conveyor system such that arrival/service times vary in a probabilistic manner. The single station model here considered is both cases of a single generalized conveyor-serviced production station (generalized CSPS) by Matsui, i.e. fixed item case (FIC) and removal item case (RIC). A methodology to design simultaneoulsy both cycle (mean-interarrival) time and buffers is proposed, and the two-step method and the Complex-type method for FIC and RIC, respectively, are given and discussed numerically. In addition, by use of the proposed methods the effectiveness of the look-ahead time is included.