A Simulation Study on Specific Cases of Reentrant-Line Systems

Abstract

A reentrant line is a queueing network wherein work-in-progress materials (WIP) pass through one or more stations several times before eventually leaving the system. Determining the scheduling mechanism that optimizes system performance is a common concern in reentrant-line configurations. A study by Daway and Matias [1] proposed an inventory control policy, called the Bounded Inventory Level Policy (BILP), which attempts to strike a balance between the frequency of setups and the variability in the internal flow processes for the purpose of reducing the long-run average total holding cost per unit output. The mathematical analysis exhibited cases wherein BILP is superior to existing inventory control policies. A simulation study was conducted on specific cases of reentrant-line systems with the same objectives as those of the analytical study. 

Keywords:  Bounded Inventory Level Policy, Reentrant Lines, Scheduling Policies