A Batch Sizing Heuristic for Processes with Quality Losses

摘要

This paper presents a model and heuristic for determining starting batch sizes for the production of a discrete quantity of a "made-to-order" product subject to quality losses at each stage of the process. This model of the single-period, multi-stage batch sizing problem assumes the yield at each operation is binomial. The starting batch sizes are determined such that an expected profit function is maximized. The proposed heuristic solution procedure utilizes an iterative marginal improvement search algorithm. Using numerical examples, the effectiveness of the model and heuristic procedure is evaluated by comparing the heuristic solutions to the optimal solutions achieved through explicit enumeration.