9713974 Ayhan The focus of this research is on the real time control of job sojourn time in assembly-type queueing networks. The purpose of this control is to ensure that complete jobs are produced in a timely and predictable manner. The real time control strategy will be executed based on the observation of the state of the queueing network. These observations will give complete information about the location and the time in location of all jobs currently in the network. The research will involve the following tasks. Assembly type queueing networks will be represented as Single Input Free Choice Nets which can be characterized by a set of stochastic difference equations. These difference equation will capture the dynamics of assembly type queueing networks and will serve as the mathematical model underlying real time control. The control procedure will be formulated as an optimization problem and efficient solution procedures will be developed. Finally, the performance of this new control strategy will be tested against the existing WIP (Work in Process) limiting control strategies. If successful, this research will lead to improvements in the performance of assembly operations. The research real time control strategy will decrease the resource contention which will result in an increase in throughput and decrease in job sojourn time. A major contribution anticipated from this research is the development of analytical models of complicated assembly operations. Since these models will be the main tool in the formulation of real time control paradigm, they will lead to the development of the fundamental science base required to establish real time control in assembly-type queueing networks.
