Simulation and Manufacturing
Manufacturing represents one of the most important applications of Simulation. This technique represents a valuable tool used by engineers when evaluating the effect of capital investment in equipments and physical facilities like factory plants, warehouses, and distribution centers. Simulation can be used to predict the performance of an existing or planned system and to compare alternative solutions for a particular design problem.
Another important goal of manufacturing-simulations is to quantify system performance. Common measures of system performance include the following:
- Throughput under average and peak loads;
- System cycle time (how long it take to produce one part);
- Utilization of resource, labor, and machines;
- Bottlenecks and choke points;
- Queuing at work locations;
- Queuing and delays caused by material-handling devices and systems;
- WIP storages needs;
- Staffing requirements;
- Effectiveness of scheduling systems;
- Effectiveness of control systems.
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Famous quotes containing the word simulation:
“Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey’s fits and starts, rehearses life’s own fragmentation. More even than the novel, it embraces the contingency of things.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)