USING FLOW RATIO ANALYSIS AND DISCRETE-EVENT SIMULATION TO DESIGN A MEDIUM VOLUME PRODUCTION FACILITY

This paper presents the analysis used to support the design and instal lation of a new production line for an electromechanical device known as a line replaceable unit (LRU). Due to the complexity of the LRU, ex tensive inspection and test requirements, and the high costs associate d with facilities, labor and rework, management had a great interest i n exploring a variety of contingencies and operating policies prior to factory implementation. At the outset, estimates of system parameters and required resource levels were obtained with a new technique known as Row ratio analysis. These were used to define a number of alternat e scenarios, and to initialize the simulation model which provided the foundation for the full scale study. The results point up the value o f the flow ratio technique, and demonstrate the critical role that sim ulation can play in the planning stages of a project.