| This paper explores the relationship between imperfection and constraint location within simple serial processes, and how these affect process throughput. Constraint location is part of the physical structure of the production system, and is important because it has a direct effect on system performance. Our results cast doubt on the findings of prior studies that implicitly assumed perfect quality and concluded that a constraint position near the front of the line was preferable. Using simple deterministic models, we show that imperfection (yield loss) can cause the system constraint to appear in a different location than expected based on the nominal capacities of each process stage. |
Updated 02/23/2014