Abstract
In this paper, we study the production time allocation issue for a multi-purpose manufacturing facility. This production facility can produce different types of make-to-order and make-to-stock products. Using a vacation queueing model, we develop a set of quantitative performance measures for a two-parameter time allocation policy. Based on the renewal cycle analysis, we derive an average cost expression and propose a search algorithm to find the optimal time allocation policy that minimizes the average cost. Some numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the search algorithm. The vacation model used in this paper is also a generalization of some previous vacation queueing models in the literature. The results obtained in this study are useful for production managers to design the operating policy in practice.