本研究建立了一可分析及衡量複雜迴流工廠流程平衡之新指標。同時亦提出一標準化流程可用來設計迴流工廠之機台數組合。
不若以往傳統生產線平衡效率指標未考慮搬運時間之影響，本研究所提之生產線平衡率指標將流程間較大之搬運時間納入考量。該指標同時運用幾何平均數之觀念來衡量生產線平衡的程度。透過模擬真實之迴流工廠，考慮30種不同的生產線機台數組合後，所得結果顯示本研究所提之生產線平衡率指標相較於傳統之生產線平衡效率對於生產績效指標如生產週期時間，在製品存貨，產出率等，具有較好之解釋能力。值得一提的是，本研究所提之公式亦可簡化以運用在直線式生產線上。

本研究之貢獻如下：
1、 提供管理者在需求已知的情況下，規劃機台數量之決策依據。
2、 提供管理者一套較好之衡量生產線平衡之指標，該指標與生產線之生產績效指標具有高度相關。

　The research established a new index to analyze and measure the process balance for complex re-entrant factories. A formalized process for designing equipment configuration of re-entrant factories was also proposed.
Unlike traditional line balance efficiency which failed to consider the impact of transport times between processes, the proposed line balance rate takes into consideration of possible long transport time between processes. It also used the geometric mean to measure the goodness of the line balance. Simulation of some 30 line configurations using true factory data showed that the proposed line balance efficiency has better capability to explain the production performance such as cycle time, work-in-process level, and production rate compared to the traditional line balance efficiency. It is also noted that the same formula for line balance rate can also be reduced to measure the goodness of line balance for straight-through production lines.

Contributions of the research include:
1. Providing a decision-making process for managers to machine configurations with given production demands.
2. Providing a better index to measure the goodness of balance rate which closely related to the performance of the production lines.

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