This paper treats the problem of setting the inventory level and optimizing the buffer allocation of closed-loop flow lines operating under the constant-work-in-process (CONWIP) protocol. We solve a very large but simple linear program that models an entire simulation run of a closed-loop flow...

This paper treats the problem of setting the inventory level and optimizing the buffer allocation of closed-loop flow lines operating under the constant-work-in-process (CONWIP) protocol. We solve a very large but simple linear program that models an entire simulation run of a closed-loop flow...

A new alternative in the analysis of manufacturing systems with finite buffers is presented. We propose and study a new approach in order to build tractable phase-type distributions, which are required by state-of-the-art analytical models. Called "probability masses fitting" (PMF), the approach...