Allocation of buffer capacity to minimize average work-in-process

This paper proposes an efficient heuristic algorithm to solve the problem of allocating the buffers in a production line for given total buffer capacity and the minimum required throughput. While the traditional research has focused on the problem of allocating the buffer capacity to maximize the throughput, the objective of minimizing the average Work-In-Process (WIP) is considered. Minimization of the WIP in the production line has drawn much attention in many practical applications, due to the growing efforts in reducing the production lead times for faster customer response. Two heuristics are proposed and compared to solve the problem. One is a very simple heuristic approach, and the other is a modified 'Non-SEVA' (Non-Standard Exchange Vector Algorithm) which was originally proposed by Seong et al. (International Journal of Production Research, 33, 1989-2005, 1995) for the throughput maximization problem. Through computational tests, the efficiency of the proposed approach is shown.