An optimal production run length in deteriorating production processes

Abstract

This paper presents an EMQ model which determines an optimal production run length in a deteriorating production process. It is assumed that the process is subject to a random deterioration from an in-control state to an out-of-control state with an arbitrary distribution and, thus, produces some proportion of defective items. An optimal production run length and a minimum average cost are derived in three deteriorating processes: constant, linearly increasing, and exponentially increasing. Several different results from those of previous research are obtained and discussed. A numerical experiment is carried out to see the behavior of the proposed model depending on the cost and process parameters. Some interesting behaviors are observed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.