A SIMPLE RELEASE POLICY FOR NETWORKS OF QUEUES WITH CONTROLLABLE INPUTS

In a recent paper, L. M. Wein (1992) addressed the problem of scheduli ng a network of queues. Given a multistation, multiclass queueing netw ork, the problem involves deciding when to release a job to the networ k as well as how to sequence jobs at each machine in the network to me et a desired throughput level. By approximating this problem by a cont rol problem involving Brownian motion, Wein derived effective heuristi cs, which easily outperformed traditional work release and sequencing rules. However, Wein's work release rules are complex and his sequenci ng rules are dynamic. In this paper, we test the performance of a simp ler work release policy based on CONWIP (constant work-in-process) in conjunction with static sequencing rules. The results of our simulatio n study indicate that this simple work release rule can be effective.