Abstract
When multi-products are produced in flow shop lines, the various network lines are designed which include a series main line, parallel sublines, merge sublines and branches sublines. In this paper we consider the two-stage series line with a branched subline and analyze the effects of the operation rate and the buffer storage capacity of the subline on the production rate. In this line, stage 1 produces the common semifinished products, but the main line and the subline produce the different products. Furthermore, we analyze the difference between the two buffer storage allocation methods.
