Simulation Methods for Changeable Manufacturing

Manufacturing enterprises are facing a competitive challenge. This paper proposes the use of a value chain based approach to support the modelling and simulation of manufacturing enterprise processes. The aim is to help experts to make relevant decisions on product design and/or product manufacturing process planning. This decision tool is based on the value chain modelling, by considering the product requirements. In order to evaluate several performance indicators, a simulation of various potential value chains adapted to market demand was conducted through a Value Chains Simulator (VCS). A discrete event simulator is used to perform the simulation of these scenarios and to evaluate the value as a global performance criterion (balancing cost, quality, delivery time, services, etc.). An Analytical Hierarchy Process module supports the analysis process. The value chain model is based on activities and uses the concepts of resource consumption, while integrating the benefiting entities view point. A case study in the microelectronic field is carried out to corroborate the validity of the proposed VCS.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00517232/document

VCS: value chains simulator, a tool for value analysis of manufacturing enterprise processes (a value-based decision support tool)

This paper presents the development of conceptual models that can be used in the creation of certain types of supply chain simulation projects. The supply chain considered is composed of four elements: suppliers, manufacturer, retailers, and the consumer market. The presented ideas can be used in supply chain simulation projects, which objective can be, for instance, to study the bullwhip effect or new collaboration practices. ARENA simulation models using the conceptual models presented are currently under development.

/pdf/a-conceptual-model-for-the-creation-of-supply-chain-2b5zakl5wf.pdf

A conceptual model for the creation of supply chain simulation models

The globalization of suppliers and personalization of customers require new manufacturing strategy for environmental issues, region’s special regulation and energy besides manufacturing factors from manufacturers. In this study, green factory is defined as a manufacturing floor that reduces waste elements such as extra work, energy, time and cost through quickly responding to external uncontrollable changes like a regulation, due date and supply. Therefore, the green factory should respond by establishing and implementing strategies for controlling their production volumes, changing their dispatch rules, adjusting their work schedules, increasing and decreasing the number of their machines and workers based on their own internal data and capacities, and other measures. To achieve such objective, manufacturing companies should realize a manufacturing intelligence that can visualize their shop-floor data, and detect and solve problems at the business planning level. In this study, an agile operations management (AOM) system that can quickly respond to field problems was developed for manufacturing intelligence. The AOM system refers to a system that collects internal data, monitors such data in real time, immediately detects problems, if any, and provides solutions to the detected issues within the shortest time.

/pdf/an-agile-operations-management-system-for-green-factory-2s84f0te58.pdf

An Agile Operations Management System for Green Factory

Manufacturing systems design is a complex task and is crucial to the future of a company. Computer simulation provides an efficient and visual method for system designers. The popularity of simulation is owing to its ability to model systems in a fast and cost‐effective way, its flexibility and its ability to model the time dynamic behavior of systems. This paper demonstrates the use of computer simulation as a tool for assisting managers and engineers in the design and analysis of a new manufacturing system by presenting a case study. The case study is a study of proposed instrument panel/crashpad production and assembly work‐cells in an automotive industry. The emphasis on the case study was to evaluate alternative designs, predict system performance, detect any potential problems, experiment with system parameters and determine the sensitivity of the system to these parameters. The case study results show that computer simulation can be a useful decision‐making support tool for the analysis of the syst...

Simulation‐aided design of production and assembly cells in an automotive company

The article presents an overview of simulation in manufacturing design and scheduling. A review of the modeling considerations in both application areas is provided. Finally, a number of example applications are presented to illustrate the concepts.

D. Pegden

Papers

Introduction to manufacturing simulation