Flow line design is one of the major tasks in production management. The decision to install a set of machines and buffers is often highly irreversible. It determines both cost and revenue to a large extent. In order to assess the economic impact of any possible flow line design, production rates and inventory levels have to be estimated. These performance measures depend on the allocation of buffers whenever the flow of material is occasionally disrupted, for example due to machine failures or quality problems. The book describes analytical methods that can be used to evaluate flow lines much faster than with simulation techniques. Based on these fast analytical techniques, it is possible to determine a flow line design that maximizes the net present value of the flow line investment. The flow of material through the line may be non-linear, for example due to assembly operations or quality inspections.

1. Introduction.- 2. Issues, Goals, and Methods of Flow Line Analysis.- 2.1 Variability and the Performance of Flow Lines.- 2.2 Non-Linearities in the Flow of Material.- 2.3 Economic Design Problems in Flow Line Analysis.- 2.4 Methods of Performance Analysis.- 2.5 Two-Machine Decomposition of Flow Lines.- 2.6 Review of the Literature.- 3. Assembly/Disassembly Systems with Random Processing Times.- 3.1 Discrete and Continuous Time Models.- 3.2 Exact Solution of a Two-Machine Subsystem.- 3.3 Decomposition Equations for Assembly/Disassembly Systems.- 3.4 Two Algorithms to Determine Performance Measures.- 3.5 Numerical Results.- 3.6 Optimal Design of Assembly/Disassembly Systems.- 4. Flow Lines with Rework Loops and Identical Processing Times.- 4.1 Discrete-Material Flow Line Model with Identical Deterministic Processing Times.- 4.2 Decomposition Equations for Loops and Identical Processing Times.- 4.3 The Algorithm to Determine Performance Measures.- 4.4 Numerical Results: Algorithm and Flow Line Behavior.- 4.5 Optimal Design of Systems with Loops and Identical Processing Times.- 5. Flow Lines with Rework Loops and Machine-Specific Pro cessing Times.- 5.1 Continuous-Material Flow Line Model with Machine-Specific Processing Times.- 5.2 Decomposition Equations for Loops and Different Processing Times.- 5.3 The Algorithm to Determine Performance Measures.- 5.4 Numerical Results: Algorithm and Flow Line Behavior.- 5.5 Optimal Design of Systems with Loops and Different Processing Times.- 6. Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research.- A. Derivation for the Discrete Material Flow Line.- B. Derivation for the Continuous Material Flow Line.- Glossary of Notation.