Title: A metaheuristic method for optimising inspection strategies in serial multistage processes

Authors: Ali Azadeh, Mohamad Sadegh Sangari

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Research Institute of Energy Management and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 11365-4563, Tehran, Iran. ' Department of Industrial Engineering, Research Institute of Energy Management and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 11365-4563, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Efficient quality control is a major issue for most companies. As they establish inspection systems to achieve quality and invest large amounts in these systems, inspection management problems and implementation of an efficient inspection strategy become much important. For a serial multistage process, every inspection strategy includes three decision parameters: the allocation of inspection stations, the acceptance limits and the extent of inspection. In this paper, a new solution algorithm is developed using a metaheuristic method, i.e., simulated annealing, to find the optimal inspection strategy for a serial multistage process. The total inspection cost is considered as the objective function which should be minimised. The practicality of the proposed solution algorithm is illustrated through a numerical example and the results are investigated.

Keywords: serial multistage processes; optimal inspection strategy; simulated annealing; total inspection cost; metaheuristics; quality control; optimisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2010.035117

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2010 Vol.6 No.3, pp.289 - 303

Published online: 05 Sep 2010 *

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