Operations, analytics & technology for apparel and textile manufacturing
Optimisation, queuing, scheduling and decision models applied to real production and supply networks.
5 published articles across 5 sub-categories
Most line balancing is done by eye and a stopwatch. Here is the mixed-integer formulation that does it properly, with the constraints that keep the answer feasible on a real floor.
The textbook EOQ answer is right about 40 per cent of the time. Here is how to decide between continuous and periodic review, and how to size safety stock so the service level you promise is the one you get.
Why a line running at 95 per cent utilisation has queues eight times longer than one at 80 per cent, and how to use that relationship to decide where buffer space is worth the floor area.
A two-machine flow shop has an exact optimal sequence you can compute by hand in minutes. Three machines does not. Here is the rule, the extension, and the dispatching heuristics for everything else.
A structured way to compare a large irreversible investment against a smaller staged one, including how to price the option to wait and how to test whether your answer survives your assumptions.