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Characteristic Curves and Cycle Time Control of Re-Entrant Lines

The characteristic curve (CC) of a production system is a function describing the behavior of cycle time (CT) versus throughput (TP). In systems with unlimited buffers, this function typically has a knee-type shape. Operating the system below the knee is not efficient, since TP can be increased without an appreciable increase in CT. Operating above the knee is also counterproductive—CT becomes extremely large without a significant increase of TP. Thus, the desirable operating point is at the knee. In order to operate the system at or close to the knee, some knowledge of its CC is necessary. In this paper, an analytical/empirical method for calculating CCs of single-product re-entrant lines is developed using the so-called bottleneck workcenter model of systems at hand. Based on this method, open- and closed-loop raw material release policies, which ensure operating at the desired point of CC, are provided. The development is carried out in terms of the First Buffer First Served (FBFS) and Last Buffer First Served (LBFS) dispatch policies, although CCs for other dispatch policies can be investigated in a similar manner. In addition, it is shown by simulations that the method developed can be used for evaluating CC of a model of a scaled-down wafer fab, which includes multiple workcenters and batching, as long as the severity of the bottleneck workcenter is sufficiently high.