A study on the effect of the extent and location of protective capacity inflow systems

This research investigated in depth the effect of the level and the locatio n of protective capacity relative to the location of the constraint through a simulation experiment. A production line with four stages is simulated. Location of the constraint, level of protective capacity, processing time v ariation and system down time are included as experimental factors. ANOVA i s used for the analysis of the results, followed by Tukey's means test. The results show that protective capacity has a significant effect on shop per formance, however with diminishing returns. The location of the constraint resource also plays a significant role in shop performance. The results als o indicate that the extent of benefits derived from protective capacity or constraint location depends on the level of variability and system downtime . (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.