Data-Driven Analysis of Downtime Impacts in Parallel Production Systems

Accurate evaluation of the impacts of machine downtime incidents, especially those that cause the most production loss, is of great importance for deciding where to allocate limited resources in multistage manufacturing systems. In this paper, we focus on quantitative analysis of the impacts of downtime events in terms of production loss based on available production information. A complex station concept is introduced to represent a single station or a parallel structure in a production line. The dynamics of complex stations are studied. The real-time analysis of the impact of a downtime event in a parallel production line and in a serial production line is demonstrated to be consistent. Apart from the analytic study, a computational procedure using real-time production information is developed. A case study is conducted to demonstrate its potential on real-time production control and resource/budget allocation in a multistage manufacturing system.