DYNAMIC SCHEDULING IN MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS USING BROWNIAN APPROXIMATIONS

Recently, Brownian networks have emerged as an effective stochastic mo del to approximate multiclass queueing networks with dynamic schedulin g capability, under conditions of balanced heavy loading. This paper i s a tutorial introduction to dynamic scheduling in manufacturing syste ms using Brownian networks. The article starts with motivational examp les. It then provides a review of relevant weak convergence concepts, followed by a description of the limiting behaviour of queueing system s under heavy traffic. The Brownian approximation procedure is discuss ed in detail and generic case studies are provided to illustrate the p rocedure and demonstrate its effectiveness. This paper places emphasis only on the results and aspires to provide the reader with an up-to-d ate understanding of dynamic scheduling based on Brownian approximatio ns.