Production systems with interruptions, arbitrary topology and finite buffers

We consider a production system with finite buffers and arbitrary topology where service time is subject to interruptions in one of three ways, viz. machine breakdown, machine vacations or N‐policy. We develop a unified approximation (analytical) methodology to calculate the throughput of the system using queueing networks together with decomposition, isolation and expansion techniques. The methodology is rigorously tested covering a large experimental region. Orthogonal arrays are used to design the experiments in order to keep the number of experiments manageable. The results obtained using the approximation methodology are compared to the simulation results. The t‐tests carried out to investigate the differences between the two results show that they are statistically insignificant. Finally, we test the methodology by applying it to several arbitrary topology networks. The results show that the performance of the approximation methodology is consistent, robust and produces excellent results in a variety of experimental conditions.