Machine interference—a comparison of two patrolling methods

Tables of efficiency for a set of machines regularly patrolled by one operator have been produced. The theoretical basis of the tables has been described elsewhere. The numerical results show that unidirectional patrolling produces a small but consistent advantage over bi-directional patrolling, both in the case of manual repairs and automatic repairs which may not always be successful. This has implications for the design and layout of the machines on the factory floor. In addition, the tables can be used to determine the optimum number of machines to allocate to an operator.