Production rate maximization of flexible manufacturing systems with unreliable machines

A flow control method for the scheduling of manufacturing systems is presented in this paper. The studied system is prone to machine failures and with high throughput of materials. At the beginning of the production period, a quantity of parts to produce, which is specified by the higher level in decision hierarchy, is given. The aim of the short scheduling is to produce as rapidly as possible this desired quantity of parts: when desired quantity of parts is made before the end of production period, the production stops, if not, the system continues to produce until the end of production period. This paper includes control model, system analysis and control synthesis, as well as simulation results