Flow control of multi-level assembly systems

This paper addresses the flow control problem of multi-level assembly production systems in which a finished product is obtained from the initial components by successive assembly operations. The manufacturing process of the finished product can be represented as a tree-like graph. We assume that the production capacity of each machine is constant and that the demand is known over a finite horizon. Backlogging is not allowed. The flow control problem consists of adjusting the production of the machines in order to minimize the total cost incurred by holding components and finished products in inventories. Properties of optimal solutions are established. We then propose a simple analytical solution based on these properties.