The effect of machine breakdowns and interstage storage on the performance of production line systems

Both machine breakdowns and interstage storage can significantly affect the efficiency of a production line. In this paper the authors use an exact analytic model to conduct a detailed study of how these two factors affect the throughput of a line. Based on the empirical results, a simple heuristic method is given to estimate the amount of storage space required to offset the negative effect of machine breakdowns. The results provide useful guidelines for designing or analysing production line systems.