Resource supportability simulation model for a man-machine production system

A man-machine production system (MMPS) comprising numerous operations to be processed in a definite technological sequence, is considered. The duratio n of each operation is random and the corresponding probability density fun ction is pregiven. Certain operations entering the MMPS require extremely c ostly and rare resources which have to be prepared and delivered from outsi de and can be at the system's disposal within a short time span. Other oper ations require non-constrained and constrained resources which are availabl e every time period. Since the system is not fully automatic, control actio ns, including both the resource delivering and the resource reallocation, a re introduced by decision makers. The problem is to predetermine the moments of delivering rare resources fro m outside (a deterministic schedule) and to reallocate constrained availabl e resources among operations ready to start processing (a random schedule t o be determined in the course of the manufacturing process) in order to min imize the system's non-operational average expenses. The problem is solved via simulation, in combination with a cyclic coordinate descent method and a knapsack reallocation algorithm. The developed model has been applied on a real man-machine industrial plant . (C) 2000 IMACS. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.