Simulation Tests of FCFS and SPT Sequencing in Kanban Systems

One of the basic tenets of scheduling theory is that the SPT sequencing rule maximizes average production rates and minimizes average in-process inventories. This paper shows that on single-card kanban-controlled lines FCFS often has greater average production rates than SPT. Further, the performance of SPT declines relative to FCFS for larger queue capacities and less frequent material handling. Results for the single-card system are also compared to those of Berkley and Kiran [1]. In that article it was shown that for two-card systems with periodic material handling, SPT has larger average inventories than FCFS. This paper shows that these surprising results can be attributed to Berkley and Kiran's material-handling mechanism.     

An Investigation of Scheduling Policies in a Dual-Constrained Manufacturing Cell*

In previous group scheduling studies, labor has essentially been ignored by assuming that enough labor is assigned to each machine in the cell. In reality, however, management usually does not have the resources to employ a laborer at each machine in the cell (i.e., machines need to share labor). Both labor scheduling and group scheduling heuristics need to be administered to manage the cell effectively. This study develops and examines scheduling procedures for a dual-constrained (i.e., machine and labor) manufacturing cell. Eleven decision rules are developed and tested under 16 different experimental conditions. The experimental factors used are interarrival time distribution, cell load, setup-to-run-time ratio, and transfer-to-run-time ratio. Results show that interarrival time distribution and cell load have the greatest impact on the performance of the cell. This suggests that effective production planning aimed at reducing job arrival variation and leveling the cell load can substantially improve cell performance. Among the experimental factors, setup and transfer-to-run-time ratio factors had the strongest influence on the rankings of the decision rules. These rankings were fairly robust across all experimental conditions and performance measures. The results also indicated that the inclusion of labor as a contraint in the cell had a significant impact on the performance of several group scheduling heuristics. Finally, it was shown that the best performing decision rules consider both transfer time and subfamily setup times.     

Optimal and Heuristic Models for Lot Splitting in a Flow Shop

This paper investigates optimal lot-splitting policies in a multiprocess flow shop environment with the objective of minimizing either mean flow time or makespan. Using a quadratic programming approach to the mean flow time problem, we determine the optimal way of splitting a job into smaller sublots under various setup times to run time ratios, number of machines in the flow shop, and number of allowed sublots. Our results come from a deterministic flow shop environment, but also provide insights into the repetitive lots scheme using equal lot splits for job shop scheduling in a stochastic environment. We indicate those conditions in which managers should implement the repetitive lots scheme and where other lot-splitting schemes should work better.     

COMPLEX MULTIECHELON INVENTORY SYSTEM MANAGEMENT USING A DYNAMIC SIMULATION MODEL

A dynamic modeling approach to management of multiechelon, multi-indenture inventory systems with repair is addressed. The structure of the model follows that of the U.S. Air Force Reparable Asset Management System. The model is used as a vehicle to discuss the structure of typical multiechelon systems and to illustrate the advantages of a dynamic modeling approach to such systems.     

Prediction Error of Small Area Predictors Shrinking Both Means and Variances

The article considers a new approach for small area estimation based on a joint modelling of mean and variances. Model parameters are estimated via expectation–maximization algorithm. The conditional mean squared error is used to evaluate the prediction error. Analytical expressions are obtained for the conditional mean squared error and its estimator. Our approximations are second‐order correct, an unwritten standardization in the small area literature. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed method outperforms the existing methods in terms of prediction errors and their estimated values.     

曲轴无飞边精密成形模具系统开发

为了解决曲轴模锻材料利用率低和能耗高的问题，基于有限元数值模拟技术，研究了热锻曲轴的无飞边精密成 形工艺及模具系统。由于曲轴的几何结构单元主要为单缸曲轴，故首先给出了单缸曲轴的热锻工序，包括板式楔横轧、 多向锻造和精锻。利用DEFORM 3D软件对曲轴的无飞边锻造过程进行全程数值模拟，结果表明：楔横轧工序中工件两 端易突起，多向锻造中连杆颈圆角容易折叠，精锻中主轴颈圆角处容易折叠；楔横轧工序最大载荷为250 kN，多向锻造X 向最大载荷为450 kN，精锻最大载荷为5 450 kN。最后将该技术推广到两缸曲轴和多缸曲轴，同样得到了良好的无飞边 结果。     

等离子弧焊接电弧的温度场和流场研究现状

等离子体电弧温度场和流场的研究对其在工业生产中的应用具有重要的意义。文章分析了等离子弧温度场以 及流场检测和计算的研究现状。在等离子弧温度场的检测中，现今光谱诊断法最为方便，所测得的结果较其他检测方法 而言精确度更高；在等离子弧流场的检测中，运用粒子成像测速技术的方法可以检测得到流场分布。在等离子弧温度场 和流场的计算中，数理解析法计算繁琐，需要大量时间。数值模拟的方法更为经济、有效。     

Simultaneous inferences for ordered exponential location parameters under unbalanced data and heteroscedasticity of scale parameters

A test procedure for testing homogeneity of location parameters against simple ordered alternative is proposed for k(k ≥ 2) members of two parameter exponential distribution under unbalanced data and heteroscedasticity of the scale parameters. The relevant one-sided and two-sided simultaneous confidence intervals (SCIs) for all k(k ? 1)/2 ordered pairwise differences of location parameters are also proposed. Simulation-based study revealed that the proposed procedure is better than the recently proposed procedure in terms of power, coverage probability, and average volume of SCIs. The implementation of proposed procedure is demonstrated through real life data.