The economic number of operators for the machine interference problem with heterogeneous machines and preemptive priority
by Gregory Gurevich; Baruch Keren; Yossi Hadad
International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management (IJLSM), Vol. 22, No. 3, 2015

Abstract: This paper proposes a model for a special case of the machine interference problem, where several heterogeneous machines that produce the same product randomly request a service provided by a group of operators. Each machine (or a group of identical machines) randomly requests several different service types that are provided by groups of operators, such that each request for a service can be fulfilled by a qualified operator that is assigned to perform only this specific service. Presuming the preemptive priority in service between the heterogeneous machines, the model allows computing of the economic number of operators in the context of different objective functions via the binomial probability function. The advantages of the proposed model are that it is much easier to apply when compared to the Markovian models, and that it does not need any restrictive assumptions about failure rate and service distribution, as those of the Markovian models. To demonstrate the applicability of the model, a theoretical analysis and a real case study are presented.

Online publication date: Thu, 08-Oct-2015

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management (IJLSM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com