Two allocation methods for buffer storage in split automatic transfer lines

When similar products are mix-produced through manufacturing operations where some of the processes are in common and some are different, split automatic transfer lines are installed. In these lines, a split interference caused by a split of the in-process job flow occurs, and line productivity decreases more than series lines. So buffer storages need to be allocated between successive stages. In this paper we study the behaviour of split lines using a Markov model, and compare two allocation methods for the buffer: one is the allocation of local buffers and the other is the allocation of a common buffer.