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International Society of Science and Applied Technologies |
| Evaluating Multi-Grade Manufacturing Systems Via Network Reliability Considering Partial Substitution | ||||
| Author |
Hsuan-Yu Chen
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| Co-Author(s) |
Yi-Kuei Lin
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| Abstract | Grading is widely used by manufacturers to improve resource utilization. However, handling multiple grades introduces significant challenges for production planning, as system capabilities vary across grades and fulfilling demand for a specific grade often incurs additional costs. Ensuring that all grade demands are satisfied within cost constraints is therefore a critical issue for manufacturing supervisors. Previous research has primarily focused on scenarios with either no substitution or full substitution among grades. This study extends the situations involving partial substitution among grades. To account for uncertainty in production capacity, which arises from varying numbers of operational machines at each workstation, the manufacturing system is modeled as a stochastic flow network (SFN). System performance is evaluated using network reliability, defined as the probability that the SFN can meet the demand for all grades while remaining within cost limits. Products are classified into grades based on function-affecting quality characteristics, and an efficient evaluation approach based on minimal capacity patterns is developed. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to examine different levels of downward substitution. The resulting network reliability provides a valuable reference for manufacturing managers in production planning and order management across multiple grades.
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| Keywords | product grading, partial substitution, stochastic flow network, network reliability | |||
| Article #: RQD2026-132 | ||||
Proceedings of 31st ISSAT International Conference on Reliability & Quality in Design |