Browsing by Author "Huang, MG"

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Analytic approximations ford multiserver batch-service work-stations with multiple process recipes in semiconductor wafer fabrication
(2001-11-01)
Huang, MG
;
Chang, PL
;
Chou, YC
;
經營管理研究所
;
Institute of Business and Management
This study extends previous results for batch-service workstations to batch-service/batch-lot workstations with multiple process recipes, e.g., diffusion operations in semiconductor manufacturing. The model considered herein explicitly considers the existence of a manufacturing operation associated with multiple process recipes in the semiconductor factory. Consequently, the revised balance equations are submitted and an improved approximation is presented for this case. Based on a comparison with simulation results, this new approximation is shown to be superior to the previously developed analytical approaches. This new approximation is especially strong in cases where the number of process recipes grows, system traffic intensity is moderate, and arrival rate of each recipe is nearly the same.
Buffer allocation in flow-shop-type production systems with general arrival and service patterns
(2002-02-01)
Huang, MG
;
Chang, PL
;
Chou, YC
;
經營管理研究所
;
Institute of Business and Management
This study investigates the buffer allocation strategy of a flow-shop-type production system that possesses a given total amount of buffers and finite buffer capacity for each workstation as well as general interarrival and service times in order to optimize such system performances as minimizing work-in-process, cycle time and blocking probability, maximizing throughput, or their combinations. In theory, the buffer allocation problem is in itself a difficult NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, it is made even more difficult by the fact that the objective function is not obtainable in closed form for interrelating the integer decision variables (i.e., buffer sizes) and the performance measures of the system. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present an effective design methodology for buffer allocation in the production system. Our design methodology uses a dynamic programming process along with the embedded approximate analytic procedure for computing system performance measures under a certain allocation strategy. Numerical experiments show that our design methodology can quickly and quite precisely seek out the optimal or sub-optimal allocation strategy for most production system patterns. Scope and purpose Buffer allocation is an important, yet intriguingly difficult issue in physical layout and location planning for production systems with finite floor space. Adequate allocation and placement of available buffers among workstations could help to reduce work-in-process, alleviate production system's congestion and even blocking, and smooth products manufacturing flow. In view of the problem complexity, we focus on flow-shop-type production systems with general arrival and service patterns as well as finite buffer capacity. The flow-shop-type lines, which usually involve with product-based layout, play an important role in mass production type of manufacturing process organization such as transfer line, batch flow line, etc. The purpose of this paper is to present a design methodology with heuristic search and imbedded analytic algorithm of system performances for obtaining the optimal or sub-optimal buffer allocation strategy. Successful use of this design methodology would improve the production efficiency and effectiveness of flow-shop-type production systems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Fast algorithm for evaluating the similarity of manufacturing processes within a dynamic production environment
(2003-11-20)
Huang, MG
;
Chang, PL
;
Chou, YC
;
經營管理研究所
;
Institute of Business and Management
To achieve efficient and economical production, planners and/or designers of production systems frequently must evaluate manufacturing process similarities for various products that they intend to produce. Such work is particularly important in product-mix production, which is widely used in various production systems, including product-oriented repetitive manufacturing, cellular manufacturing, and process-oriented manufacturing. A new potential application for evaluating manufacturing process similarity is necessary in dealing with capacity exchange between rush orders and prescheduled orders. Traditionally, most evaluating methods assumed an essentially static environment, and merely compared the manufacturing routing, processing time and demand. Meanwhile, other more complex evaluating methods were simply impractical. This study suggests a relatively simple but practical method for evaluating the manufacturing process similarity within a dynamic bucketed production environment. The proposed algorithm considers load projection and workstation utilization in terms of a current production schedule. Finally, a real numerical instance is cited to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.