Simulation-based layout planning of a production plant
05 Dec 2004-Vol. 2, pp 1079-1084
TL;DR: This paper presents a study that uses simulation to improve shop floor performance by means of two layout types and certain operational parameters and computerized relative allocation of facilities technique.
Abstract: This paper presents a study that uses simulation to improve shop floor performance by means of two layout types and certain operational parameters. In this study, an overview of the plant layout problem is covered for the particular company. The original motivation for redesigning the entire shop floor was the need to realize improvements in material flow and output level. First, the performance of the existing system was evaluated by using ARENA. Second, manufacturing cells were formed and group technology layout was developed by means of rank order clustering (ROC) method and computerized relative allocation of facilities technique (CRAFT). Finally, the performance of the new system was evaluated and compared with that of the current system.
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04 Dec 2005
TL;DR: This paper proposes guidelines on which approach to pursue according to the layout study objectives and the characteristics of the system under consideration, with respect to the general assumptions and the types of applications that advocates from each paradigm have used to support their claim.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that simulation is an integral part of any effective facilities planning or layout study. Traditional approaches claim that layout optimization produces strategic results and therefore should precede simulation analysis, which focuses on operational issues. On the other hand, more recent studies suggest that running simulation models prior to conducting layout optimization produces more realistic layouts. In this paper, we contrast these two paradigms, with respect to the general assumptions and the types of applications that advocates from each paradigm have used to support their claim. In addition, we propose guidelines on which approach to pursue according to the layout study objectives and the characteristics of the system under consideration.
52 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The plant layout design concept is performed first to create the physical layouts then the simulation model used to test the capability of plant to meet various demand forecast scena, using ProModel package as a tool.
Abstract: This study is about the application of a Simulation Model to assist decision making on expanding capacity and plant layout design and planning. The plant layout design concept is performed first to create the physical layouts then the simulation model used to test the capability of plant to meet various demand forecast scena. The study employed ProModel package as a tool, using the model to compare the performances in term of % utilization, characteristics of WIP and ability to meet due date. The verification and validation stages were perform before running the scenarios. The model runs daily production and then the capacity constraint resources defined by % utilization. The expanding capacity policy can be extra shift-working hours or increasing the number of machines. After expanding capacity solutions are found, the physical layout is selected based on the criterion of space available for WIP and easy flow of material.
23 citations
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors have discussed methods of layout design taking into consideration the specific issues and limitations of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by considering the 13 factors suggested by Apple.
Abstract: Facilities layout is a systematic and functional arrangement of different departments, machines, equipments and services in a manufacturing establishment. It is vitally important to have a well developed plant layout for all the available resources in an optimum manner and get the maximum out of the capacity of the facilities. The problem is of particular importance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) because of major constraints that include cost and space. Selection of right method is a very important step in layout design. In this paper methods of layout design are discussed taking into consideration the specific issues and limitations of SMEs. An enterprise is considered as an SME based on the annual sales turnover or number of full-time employees of a unit which is a small number, not exceeding 50. The majority of workers are invariably semi-skilled and required to work on more than one machine. Most of SME faces the problem of unsafe movement of operator from one machine to another. It is desired to arrange the machines in such a way that single operator can easily and safely move to number of machines (2). Improving the layout to get better utilization of machine and operator need lean thinking. Redesigning an existing layout calls for a critical consideration of several key factors including the 13 factors suggested by Apple (3). The common thing about the all available methods of plant layout development is that they develop number of alternate layouts. The selection of best among these layouts is based on certain evaluation methods. Each plant layout design technique has its own and different evaluation method. Each evaluation method is based on single performance measure. It is therefore very necessary to decide and fix the performance measure has to be improved for designing a new plant layout. The objective of the layout design has to be very clear as it helps in deciding the best method to implement for improved layout design. Further, one must evaluate the proposed layout and compare it with existing layout, based on the chosen performance criterion. In SME's the nature of plant dynamic i.e. there is frequent change in the demand and scheduling is very complicated. Measuring the performance becomes very difficult by direct mathematical calculations. Use of simulation tools for measuring the performance is suggested by some investigators (4). It is seen that for designing a new layout it is very important to know the problems faced by the SMEs, the available techniques of layout design, use of simulation in layout design and evaluation methods. These are discussed next.
17 citations
Cites methods from "Simulation-based layout planning of..."
...In a typical example of the job shop layout, it is shown that the revision has yielded a reduction of 52% in the total distance traveled by the product as compared to the earlier layout when replaced with the cell type layout generated by CRAFT [17]....
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...It is more beneficial to first form cells and then design a layout using CRAFT....
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...CRAFT is based on improvement algorithm....
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...CRAFT is a suboptimal, heuristic procedure which produces a layout that cannot be easily improved upon further....
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...The CRAFT can also be used in cell layout to solve the problem associated with the total material traveled....
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27 Apr 2017
TL;DR: This paper shows how the existing models of the Double Row Facility Layout Problem can be extended in various directions in order to handle more aspects that are important in real-world applications such as vertical distances between the departments and restricting the size of the layout area.
Abstract: We investigate the so called Double Row Facility Layout Problem (DRFLP). Given a set of departments with given lengths and pairwise transport weights between them, the aim is to assign the departments to two rows such that the weighted sum of the distances between them is minimized and such that the departments do not overlap. The DRFLP is known to be rather challenging. Even with the best approach known in literature, which is based on an enumeration over all row assignments of the departments and where only the center-to-center distances are measured, the largest instance solved to optimality contains only 16 departments. In this paper we show how the existing models can be extended in various directions in order to handle more aspects that are important in real-world applications such as vertical distances between the departments and restricting the size of the layout area. We also show how the structure of real-world instances, which often contain several departments of the same type, can be exploited in mathematical optimization. This allows us to solve a realistic instance with 21 departments in reasonable time. Furthermore, we propose a new approach which combines optimization and simulation. Here simulation allows the evaluation of the optimized solutions with respect to several performance indicators which play an important role for a smooth production apart from the weighted transport distances. If problems are detected, this information is included in the mathematical models by extending these.
11 citations
TL;DR: The results can provide managers and other stakeholders with a methodology that adequately considers production and logistics constraints when seeking an optimized facility layout design.
Abstract: Optimizing production systems is urgent and indispensable if companies are to cope with global competition and a move from mass production to mass customization. The urgency of this need is more obvious in old production plants with a history of modifications, expansions, and adaptations in their production facilities. It is common to find complex, intricate and inefficient systems of material and product flows as a result of poor production facility layout. Several approaches can be used to support the design of optimal facility layouts. However, there is a lack of a suitable generic methodology for designing such layouts. Additionally, there has been little focus on the data and resources required, or on how simulation and optimization can support the design of optimal facilities. To overcome these deficiencies, this paper studies the integration of simulation and optimization for the design and improvement of facility layouts taking into account production and logistics constraints. The paper includes a generic perspective and a detailed implementation. The proposed methodology is evaluated in two case studies and by drawing on the principles and tools of the functional resonance analysis method. This method analyzes the implementation order and variability of a group of processes that can lead to unwanted outcomes. The results can provide managers and other stakeholders with a methodology that adequately considers production and logistics constraints when seeking an optimized facility layout design.
10 citations
Cites methods from "Simulation-based layout planning of..."
...Several authors have used simulation to design facility layouts [19]–[21]....
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References
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TL;DR: In this paper, a new approach using a rank order clustering algorithm is described which is particularly relevant to the problem of machine-component group formation, and a relaxation and regrouping procedure is developed whereby the basic rank-order clustering method may be extended to the case where there are bottleneck machines.
Abstract: Existing cluster analysis methods are reviewed and a new approach using a rank order clustering algorithm is described which is particularly relevant to the problem of machine-component group formation. A relaxation and regrouping procedure is developed whereby the basic rank order clustering method may be extended to the case where there are bottleneck machines.
799 citations
"Simulation-based layout planning of..." refers methods in this paper
...Manufacturing cells was constructed using Rank Order Clustering (ROC), a cell formation technique developed by King (1980). 3....
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...Manufacturing cells was constructed using Rank Order Clustering (ROC), a cell formation technique developed by King (1980)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a simulation model of an actual job shop was used to compare group technology with traditional job shop manufacturing, and the results showed that traditional job shops had superior performance in queue related variables (average queue length, average waiting time, work-in-process inventory).
Abstract: A simulation model of an actual job shop was used to compare group technology with traditional job shop manufacturing. The experiment compared shops which had four different layouts, designed to emphasize different features of traditional job shops and group technology shops, and four distributions of demand for end items. The group technology shops exhibited superior performance in terms of average move time and average set-up time. The traditional job shops had superior performance in queue related variables (average queue length, average waiting time, work-in-process inventory, etc.). This was caused by group technology's dedication of machines. The effects of the queue related variables outweighed the effects of average move time and average set-up time: the average flow time was shorter in the traditional job shop than in the group technology shops.
132 citations
TL;DR: Based on a review of both existing cell design approaches and socio-technical systems (STS) theory literature, the authors proposes a comprehensive model of cell system design that considers both technical and social dimensions.
114 citations
TL;DR: A comprehensive review of studies and literature that focus on the comparative and relative performance of Functional Layout (FL) and Cellular Manufacturing (CM) systems is provided in this paper, which identifies gaps in the comparative performance literature on cellular and functional manufacturing systems.
64 citations
"Simulation-based layout planning of..." refers background or result in this paper
...This study can be considered as a contribution to the studies in literature summarized by Agarwal and Sarkis (1998) in the sense that the properties of manufacturing cells that were constructed in this study are different from those of a typical manufacturing cell indicated in literature (e.g. Gaither, Fraizer, and Wei (1990))....
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...This study can be considered as a contribution to the studies in literature summarized by Agarwal and Sarkis (1998) in the sense that the properties of manufacturing cells that were constructed in this study are different from those of a typical manufacturing cell indicated in literature (e....
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...Flynn and Jacobs (1986), Gupta and Leelaket (1993), Morris and Tersine (1994), and Shafer and Meredith (1993))....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of a dual resource (labor and equipment) constrained shop on the relative performance of cell layouts vis-a-vis process layouts, and three operator scheduling rules were tested in the cellular layout.
49 citations