Simulation as an essential tool for advanced manufacturing technology problems

Simulation modelling has become one of the most popular techniques employed to analyse complex manufacturing systems. Within the manufacturing life cy cle, simulation can be applied at both the justification phase and the desi gn phase of manufacturing technology programmes. However, it is at the oper ational phase that simulation can potentially provide the greatest insights . In this paper, a simulation study is described in which the engine manufa cturing facilities of a large company were modelled. The models developed w ere used by the company to gain valuable knowledge of the operational chara cteristics of their plant. The simulation results that were obtained from t his study gave important insights into the behaviour of the real system and also provided invaluable knowledge to the company as to the perceived bene fits of change within the current production facilities. The initial models were developed to produce an accurate emulation of the existing system, an d the later models were used to experiment with different scenarios. By alt ering machines, shifts, labour, routing and jigs, changes were made in a se ries of models, so that the effects on output, work-in-progress, lead-time, machine and labour utilisation could be studied. By using simulation, to e xplore alternative scenarios, the best course of action was demonstrated to the manufacturer. One of the prime benefits to the company, arising from t his approach is that it allowed changes to be made at the lowest cost and w ith the least disruption to the existing production operations. (C) 2000 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.