Deadlock avoidance in manufacturing systems with flexible routing and mixed capacity

Deadlock avoidance is essential in the operation of flexible manufacturing systems. Many of these systems have redundant processing capabilities that support flexible part routing. This work characterizes deadlock avoidance for systems with flexible routing capabilities. Specifically, we address deadlock avoidance in systems where every stage of every part type possesses some processing alternatives, and one or more machines are equipped with multiple units of buffer capacity. Several necessary conditions for deadlock and deadlock avoidance are identified.