Discrete Event Simulation Modelling for Dynamic Decision Making in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing (original) (raw)
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This paper presents challenges of using discrete event simulation when supporting decision in early stages of production system design, when significant changes are introduced. It was based on three real-time case studies performed at one manufacturing company during 2014-2016. Challenges in the cases were mapped to previous literature, pointing out discrepancies and highlighting three additional challenges, specifically related to issues in the early stages of the production system design process. The significant change introduced to the assembly system, and the early phases of evaluation put significant challenges to the use of discrete event simulation and the study points out further efforts needed to support manufacturing companies under change, with an established industrial structure and legacy systems to consider.
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In the manufacturing industry, Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is recognised as a tool utilised in the analysis and optimisation of production systems. The effectiveness of DES, however, depends mainly on the data available from the system which is to be simulated and the quality of this data. This thesis investigates the viability of DES when a production system is in its early design stages with limited data available, and no complete system of which to translate into a virtual model. A case study was conducted where a production system in its early design stages was modelled and analysed by applying DES. Following the case study, the results of the case were analysed and a consensus was formed whether DES was usable as a tool to assist the system developers in the development process. Despite a lack of highquality data, the case produced useful results for the system developers, and a clear trend of the performance and behaviour of the system was observed. Improvement suggestions were passed on to the system developers to assist the developers and as an extension save time and money. With the support of successful case results, substantial proof that DES is viable to use as a design tool in the early design of production systems were found. However, this is not without its challenges, as the majority of the required data and the behaviour of the system has to be estimated, limiting the accuracy of the results. Despite these challenges, DES is a viable approach, and can be utilised to influence design changes and parameter improvements of production systems in their early design stages.
Discrete event simulation is a widely established approach in research on supply chain structures. This paper describes how Discrete-Event simulation can be used in production optimization of an electro-mechanical equipment assembly lines where a lot of decisions concerning production are currently still taken only based on workers experience. Interview of those workers however often shows a lack of understanding of the parameters affecting production. In some cases, choices that are made can even be justified by untrue beliefs. It is quite common that notions such as bottlenecks and their impact on overall line capacity are ignored. For this reason, this work focused on how discrete-event simulation could be used to improve production in equipment manufacturing by providing a better understanding of the production environment. It can also be used in a straight forward way to test different scenarios for improvement or it can provide information for designing new production facilities. In the case study presented in this paper, different scheduling policies have been proposed and results have been compared according to predefined optimization targets.
Application of Discrete Event Simulation in Industrial Sectors: A Case Study
— Discrete Event Simulation (DES) has become a useful tool in the evaluation of changes that may bring positivity to manufacturing and process organizations for both goods and services provision. The main focus of any business entails the reduction of cost and lead time while increasing profits and this is why refining of production processes is essential. This paper reports the application of DES in two case studies. The case studies selected for the implementation of Discrete Event Simulation are a packaging company and a local mobile phone service provider using the software FlexSim. The implementation aims at showcasing the versatility and its ability to provide the relevant data to make more informed decision while optimizing the entire processes involved in production.