Please wait a minute...
Frontiers of Engineering Management

ISSN 2095-7513

ISSN 2096-0255(Online)

CN 10-1205/N

Postal Subscription Code 80-905

Front. Eng    2017, Vol. 4 Issue (3) : 295-303    https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FEM-2017047
REVIEW ARTICLE
Hierarchical modeling of stochastic manufacturing and service systems
Zhe George ZHANG1(), Xiaoling YIN2
1. Department of Decision Sciences, Western Washington University Bellingham, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA; Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
2. School of Management, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
 Download: PDF(254 KB)   HTML
 Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks
Abstract

This paper presents a review of methodologies for analyzing stochastic manufacturing and service systems. On the basis of the scale and level of details of operations, we can study stochastic systems using micro-, meso-, and macro-scopic models. Such a classification unifies stochastic modeling theory. For each model type, we highlight the advantages and disadvantages and the applicable situations. Micro-scopic models are based on quasi-birth-and-death process because of the phase-type distributed service times and/or Markov arrival processes. Such models are appropriate for modeling the detailed operations of a manufacturing system with relatively small number of servers (production facilities). By contrast, meso-scopic and macro-scopic models are based on the functional central limit theorem (FCLT) and functional strong law of large numbers (FSLLN), respectively, under heavy-traffic regimes. These high-level models are appropriate for modeling large-scale service systems with many servers, such as call centers or large service networks. This review will help practitioners select the appropriate level of modeling to enhance their understanding of the dynamic behavior of manufacturing or service systems. Enhanced understanding will ensure that optimal policies can be designed to improve system performance. Researchers in operation analytics and optimization of manufacturing and logistics also benefit from such a review.

Keywords stochastic modeling      QBD process      PH distribution      heavy traffic limits      diffusion process     
Corresponding Author(s): Zhe George ZHANG   
Just Accepted Date: 04 September 2017   Online First Date: 29 September 2017    Issue Date: 30 October 2017
 Cite this article:   
Zhe George ZHANG,Xiaoling YIN. Hierarchical modeling of stochastic manufacturing and service systems[J]. Front. Eng, 2017, 4(3): 295-303.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fem/EN/10.15302/J-FEM-2017047
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fem/EN/Y2017/V4/I3/295
Fig.1  State transition diagram of an M/PH/c queue
Fig.2  A manufacturing system with three production facilities modeled as an M/PH/3 queue
1 Buzacott J A, Shanthikumar J G (1993). Stochastic Models of Manufacturing Systems. New York: Prentice Hall
2 Chen H, Mandelbaum A (1994). Stochastic modeling and analysis of manufacturing systems. In: Yao D D, ed. Operations Research. Berlin: Springer
3 Chen H, Yao D (2001). Fundamentals of Queueing Networks, Performance, Asymptotics, and Optimization. New York: Springer
4 Gautam N (2012). Analysis of Queues. New York: CRC Press
5 Halfin S, Whitt W (1981). Heavy-traffic limits for queues with many exponential servers. Operations Research, 29(3): 567–588
https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.29.3.567
6 He Q (2014). Fundamentals of Matrix-Analytic Methods. New York: Springer
7 Jia Y, Zhang Z G, Tang L (2017). Modeling hot rolling process in steel industry by M/PH/c queues. Working paper. Simon Fraser University, WP0170056
8 Koole G, Mandelbaum A (2002). Queueing models of call centers: An introduction. Annals of Operations Research, 113(1–4): 41–59
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020949626017
9 Latouche G, Ramaswami V (1999). Introduction to Matrix Geometric Methods in Stochastic Modeling. Philadelphia: SIAM
10 Neuts M F (1981). Matrix-Geometric Solutions in Stochastic. New York: Dover Publications
11 Whitt W (2002). Stochastic Process Limits. New York: Springer
12 Whitt W (2004). Efficiency-driven heavy-traffic approximations for many-server queues with abandonments. Management Science, 50(10): 1449–1461
https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1040.0279
13 Whitt W (2005). Two fluid approximations for multi-server queues with abandonments. Operations Research Letters, 33(4): 363– 372
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orl.2004.09.002
14 Whitt W (2006). Fluid models for multiserver queues with abandonments. Operations Research, 54(1): 37–54
https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.1050.0227
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed