Approximate bounds for the buffer allocation problem using mathematical programming representation

Optimization via simulation consists in applying iteratively two detached models until an optimality condition is reached: a simulation model for predicting the system performance and an optimization model for finding out the optimal solution. Mathematical programming representation has been recently used to describe the behavior of discrete event systems as well as their formal properties. This paper uses this new general concept of simulation–optimization for developing an algorithm to find approximate bounds for the buffer space allocation problem in serial production lines. Numerical results demonstrate that the approximated bounds are quite strong and drastically reduce the computational time to solve the buffer allocation problem at optimality.