Economic production quantity model with repair failure and limited capacity

We develop an economic production quantity (EPQ) model with random defective items and failure in repair. The existence of only one machine results with limited production capacity and shortages. The aim of this research is to derive the optimal cycle length, the optimal production quantity and the optimal back ordered quantity for each product so as to minimize the total expected cost (holding, shortage, production, setup, defective items and repair costs). The convexity of the model is derived and the objective function is proved convex. Two numerical examples illustrate the practical usage of the proposed method.     

Determining the optimal production policy for a system with imperfect production and shortage

The classic EPQ model assumes that items are produced of perfect quality and no shortage is permitted. In the real world situation, however, due to process deterioration or other factors, the occurrence of imperfect quality items is inevitable. This paper develops an extended economic production quantity (EPQ) model with imperfect production, shortage, and imperfect rework. We assume that the quality scan is conducted during the production. The scanned imperfect items are classified as the repairable and scrap. We consider that not all of the repairable items can be restored to meet the specified quality standard. Only some portion of defective items can be restored as normal items, the other results in defective, due to repair failure, can be sold at a discounted price to a secondary market. The renewal reward theorem is utilized to deal with the variable cycle length. The production quantity and the shortage level are determined in an optimal manner so as to minimize the average system cost. A numerical example is used to demonstrate its practical usage. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Joint determination of production run length and number of standbys in a deteriorating production process

Two economic manufacturing quantity models with unrepairable and repairable standby key modules are proposed in this study that determine the economic production run length and the economic number of standbys in a deteriorating production process, where the key module of the production unit deteriorates over time and incurs some portion of defective items. For the model with unrepairable standbys, the active key module, once deteriorating, is replaced by a standby and the module itself is disposed. For the model with repairable standbys, the deteriorating key module is replaced by a standby and the module is then sent to the service center for maintenance. When completing the maintenance, it then joins the standbys for later production use. By minimizing the annual cost, which takes into account setup cost, holding cost, costs due to standbys and defective items, the economic production run length and the economic number of standbys are obtained for each of the proposed models.     

A production–inventory model in an imperfect production process

The paper develops a model to determine the optimal product reliability and production rate that achieves the biggest total integrated profit for an imperfect manufacturing process. The basic assumption of the classical Economic Manufacturing Quantity (EMQ) model is that all manufacturing items are of perfect quality. The assumption is not true in practice. Most of the production system produces perfect and imperfect quality items. In some cases the imperfect quality (non conforming) items are reworked at a cost to restore its quality to the original one. Rework cost may be reduced by improvements in product reliability (i.e., decreasing in product reliability parameter). Lower value of product reliability parameter results in increase development cost of production and also smaller quantity of nonconforming products. The unit production cost is a function of product reliability parameter and production rate. As a result, higher development cost increases unit production cost. The problem of optimal planning work and rework processes belongs to the broad field of production–inventory model which deals with all kinds of reuse processes in supply chains. These processes aim to recover defective product items in such a way that they meet the quality level of ‘good item’. The benefits from imperfect quality items are: regaining the material and value added on defective items and improving the environment protection. In this point of view, a model is introduced here to guide a firm/industry in addressing variable product reliability factor, variable unit production cost and dynamic production rate for time-varying demand. The paper provides an optimal control formulation of the problem and develops necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality of the dynamic variables. In this purpose, the Euler–Lagrange method is used to obtain optimal solutions for product reliability parameter and dynamic production rate. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the proposed model.     

Optimal production inventory policy for defective items with fuzzy time period

In this paper, an optimal production inventory model with fuzzy time period and fuzzy inventory costs for defective items is formulated and solved under fuzzy space constraint. Here, the rate of production is assumed to be a function of time and considered as a control variable. Also the demand is linearly stock dependent. The defective rate is taken as random, the inventory holding cost and production cost are imprecise. The fuzzy parameters are converted to crisp ones using credibility measure theory. The different items have the different imprecise time periods and the minimization of cost for each item leads to a multi-objective optimization problem. The model is under the single management house and desired inventory level and product cost for each item are prescribed. The multi-objective problem is reduced to a single objective problem using Global Criteria Method (GCM) and solved with the help of Fuzzy Riemann Integral (FRI) method, Kuhn–Tucker condition and Generalised Reduced Gradient (GRG) technique. In optimum results including production functions and corresponding optimum costs for the different models are obtained and then are presented in tabular forms.     

An EPQ model with inflation in an imperfect production system

In this paper, a production inventory model is considered for stochastic demand with the effect of inflation. Generally, every manufacturing system wants to produce perfect quality items. However, due to real-life problems (labor problems, machine breakdown, etc.), a certain percentage of products are of imperfect quality. The imperfect items are reworked at a cost. The lifetime of a defective item follows a Weibull distribution. Due to the production of imperfect quality items, a product shortage occurs. The profit function is derived by using both a general distribution of demand and the uniform rectangular distribution of demand. Computational experiments along with graphical illustrations are presented to discuss the optimality of the probability functions.     

A stochastic programming approach for multi-site aggregate production planning

Production planning problems play a vital role in the supply chain management area, by which decision makers can determine the production loading plan—consisting of the quantity of production and the workforce level at each production plant—to fulfil market demand. This paper addresses the production planning problem with additional constraints, such as production plant preference selection. To deal with the uncertain demand data, a stochastic programming approach is proposed to determine optimal medium-term production loading plans under an uncertain environment. A set of data from a multinational lingerie company in Hong Kong is used to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed model. An analysis of the probability distribution of economic demand assumptions is performed. The impact of unit shortage costs on the total cost is also analysed.     

An economic production quantity model with a positive resetup point under random demand

In this paper, an extended economic production quantity (EPQ) model is investigated, where demand follows a random process. This study is motivated by an industrial case for precision machine assembly in the machinery industry. Both a positive resetup point s and a fixed lot size Q are implemented in this production control policy. To cope with random demand, a resetup point, i.e., the lowest inventory level to start the production, is adapted to minimize stock shortage during the replenishment cycle. The considered cost includes setup cost, inventory carrying cost, and shortage cost, where shortage may occur at the production stage and/or at the end of one replenishment cycle. Under some mild conditions, the expected cost per unit time can be shown to be convex with respect to decision parameters s and Q. Further computational study has demonstrated that the proposed model outperforms the classical EPQ when demand is random. In particular, a positive resetup point contributes to a significant portion of this cost savings when compared with that in the classical lot sizing policy.     

Deterministic economic production quantity models with time-varying demand and cost

In today’s time-based competition, the unit cost of a high-tech product declines significantly over its short product life cycle. Consequently, in this paper, we relax the traditional economic production quantity model to allow for time-varying cost. We then prove that the optimal production schedule uniquely exists. In addition, we also show that the total cost is a convex function of the number of replenishments, which reduces the search for the optimal solution to finding a local minimum. Furthermore, we characterize the influences of both demand and cost over the length of production run time and the economic production quantity.     

Minimax production planning in failure-prone manufacturing systems

In this paper, we consider a minimax production planning model of a flexible manufacturing system with machines that are subject to random breakdown and repair. The objective is to choose the rate of production that minimizes the related minimax cost of production and inventory/shortage. The value function is shown to be the unique viscosity solution to the associated Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation. Under certain conditions, it is shown that the value function is continuously differentiable. A verification theorem is given to provide a sufficient condition for optimal control. Finally, two examples are solved explicitly.This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada under Grants OGP0036444 and A4169.     

Lot streaming for quality control in two-stage batch production

We consider a two-stage batch manufacturing process in which the first stage shifts out-of-control at iid exponential times after starting in control. To improve quality, a production batch at Stage 1 is subjected to lot streaming: it is divided into sublots that are processed at Stage 1 and then passed one-by-one to Stage 2 for simultaneous inspection and processing. In any sublot, Stage 1 produces good items before the shift and bad items after. The state of Stage 1 is known as soon as a bad item is encountered in Stage 2, at which time Stage 1 is re-set to the in-control state. We examine both cases of continuous first-stage and continuous second-stage production. For each case we examine both LIFO and FIFO inspection and processing policies at Stage 2. We use nonlinear programming to develop lot streaming policies which minimize the expected number of defective items for LIFO and FIFO policies. We also develop simple approximately optimal policies and compare the output performance of optimal, approximately optimal and equal-lot policies (when applicable) in a numerical example.     

An EPQ model with setup cost and process quality as functions of capital expenditure

This paper considers an economic production quantity (EPQ) model with imperfect production processes, in which the setup cost and process quality are functions of capital expenditure. The mathematical model is derived to investigate the effects of an imperfect production process on the optimal production cycle time when capital investment strategies in setup reduction and process quality improvement are adopted. An efficient procedure is developed to find the optimal production run length, setup cost and process quality. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the theoretical results. Some managerial implications are also included.     

Optimal production stopping and restarting times for an EOQ model with deteriorating items

A perishable single item production-inventory system is studied in this paper. The objective is to describe a general model in which the production rate, the product demand rate, and the item deterioration rate are all considered as functions of time, and to discuss the optimal production stopping and restarting times which minimise the total relevant cost per unit time. In the general model, demand shortage is allowed, where some of the demand is lost and the rest is backlogged. Popular models, such as the pure inventory system and the zero shortage system, are shown to be special cases of our model. The conditions for a feasible stationary point to be optimal are given. The simplest cases with constant rates of production, demand and deterioration are discussed and shown as illustrative examples.     

Optimal pricing and production in an inventory model

This paper deals with the problem of simultaneously determining the optimal price policy and production rate over a given planning horizon. For nonlinear demand functions and convex inventory and shortage cost functions the optimal solution paths are derived by using optimal control theory. The treatment of linear nonsmooth cost functions requires the use of a generalized maximum principle. The solution method is a phase portrait analysis providing insight into the optimal pricing and production policies as well as the resulting inventory paths. Moreover, it is shown that in the case of nonsmooth piecewise linear cost functions the equilibrium is approached within finite time although the model is nonlinear in the control variables. Finally it is illustrated that exogenous fluctuations in the demand rate (seasonal demand pattern) amount to cyclical optimal solutions.     

线性需求合并短缺的变质性物品的生产——库存模型

本文发展了线性需求合并短缺的变质性物品的生产——库存模型，以系统平均总费用最小为目标，提供了有限计划期内的生产调整策略以便适应市场需求的变化．同时还提供了无短缺情形的相应模型，最后出示了一些数字例子     

Determining the optimal run time for EPQ model with scrap,rework, and stochastic breakdowns

This paper is concerned with determination of optimal run time for an economic production quantity (EPQ) model with scrap, rework, and stochastic machine breakdowns. In real life manufacturing systems, generation of defective items and random breakdown of production equipment are inevitable. In this study, a portion of the defective items is considered to be scrap, while the other is assumed to be repairable. Total production-inventory cost functions are derived respectively for both EPQ models with breakdown (no-resumption policy is adopted) and without breakdown taking place. These cost functions are integrated and the renewal reward theorem is used to cope with the variable cycle length. Theorems on conditional convexity of the integrated overall costs and bounds of the production run time are proposed and proved. We conclude that the optimal run time falls within the range of bounds and it can be pinpointed by the use of the bisection method based on the intermediate value theorem. Numerical example is provided to demonstrate its practical usages.     

带时变生产成本的易变质经济批量模型的最优策略分析

考虑了具有时变生产成本的易变质产品经济批量模型．有限计划期内,单位生产成本、生产率以及需求率假定为时间的连续函数,生产固定成本则具有遗忘效应现象．当不允许缺货时,建立了以总成本最小为目标的混合整数优化模型并证明了此问题最优解的相关性质．对于此问题的特殊情形,将成本函数中的离散型变量松弛为连续型变量,通过分析其最优解的存在性及唯一性,求解了此最优解,将其作为初始值设计了求取一般情形最优解的有效算法．最后通过算例验证了理论结果的有效性．     

Optimal replenishment policy for imperfect quality EMQ model with rework and backlogging

This paper derives the optimal replenishment policy for imperfect quality economic manufacturing quantity (EMQ) model with rework and backlogging. The classic EMQ model assumes that all items produced are of perfect quality. However, in real‐life manufacturing settings, generation of imperfect quality items is almost inevitable. In this study, a random defective rate is assumed. All items produced are inspected and the defective items are classified as scrap and repairable. A rework process is involved in each production run when regular manufacturing process ends, and a rate of failure in repair is also assumed. Unit disposal cost and unit repairing and holding costs are included in our mathematical modelling and analysis. The renewal reward theorem is employed in this study to cope with the variable cycle length. The optimal replenishment policy in terms of lot‐size and backlogging level that minimizes expected overall costs for the proposed imperfect quality EMQ model is derived. Special cases of the model are identified and discussed. Numerical example is provided to demonstrate its practical usage. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Raw materials and production control with random supply and demand,an outside market and production capacity

We study a capacitated periodic inventory review problem in which the optimal control of both raw materials and finished product inventories simultaneously involves optimal decisions on materials purchasing from suppliers, buying or selling of materials in spot market, and production quantity in each period. We found that the dynamic program model of the problem is decomposable, and there is an independent relationship between the decisions on materials purchasing/selling and finished product production. Optimal policies are characterized and extensions are discussed.     

Optimal production run length for products sold with warranty

This article studies the optimal production run length for a deteriorating production system in which the products are sold with free minimal repair warranty. The deterioration process of the system is characterized by a two-state continuous-time Markov chain. For products sold with free minimal repair warranty, we show that there exists a unique optimal production run length such that the expected total cost per item is minimized. Since there is no closed form expression for the optimal production run length, an approximate solution is derived. In addition, three special cases which provide bounds for searching the optimal production run length are investigated and some sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the effects of the model parameters on the optimal production run length. Finally, a numerical example is given to evaluate the performance of the optimal production run length.