Multi-Batch Production Scheduling for Distributed Serial Lines with Unreliable Machines and Finite Buffers

In the modern manufacturing environment, the production systems develop towards a flexible direction due to the market demands of multiple varieties and small batch-based customized products. To make better use of the existing resources and to improve production efficiency, distributed manufacturing mode begins to appear. This paper concentrates on a multi-type production scheduling problem for distributed serial lines. Specifically, unreliable machines and finite buffers are considered, which are more realistic in the practical production. The mathematical model for the production system with two Bernoulli machines is formulated first. Then, under the hypothetical model mentioned above, the main work of this article is to propose the exact and approximate analyses to calculate the performance indicators. Based on the analysis of the model, the genetic algorithm is applied to optimize the maximum completion time on the distributed serial lines for multi-batch-based production tasks. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the mathematical model and the proposed algorithm are verified through numerical experiments.