Transient performance evaluation of assembly systems with bernoulli machines

Assembly systems are widely used in large volume manufacturing processes, where the final product requires several components. However, investigations of assembly systems have been relatively limited. Moreover, among existing results on assembly systems, most are focused on steady state performance, while transient behavior of such systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we study the problem of performance evaluation of assembly systems during transients. Specifically, we assume all machines in the system follow the Bernoulli reliability model and the buffers are of finite capacities. Then, an effective and computationally efficient algorithm for transient performance evaluation in Bernoulli assembly systems is developed and formulas for estimating the real-time production rate, consumption rates, work-in-process, and probabilities of machine starvation and blockage, during transients, are derived. The accuracy of the algorithm is demonstrated using numerical experiments. Finally, the method is extended to complex assembly system structures.