APPLICATION OF MODELING AND SIMULATION IN A MANUFACTURING SYSTEM

The aim ofthis project is to develop a simulation model of an air conditioners manufacturing system with a discrete event simulation tool. The model would be utilized as a decision support system for the investigation of improving the process by implementing several options like cost cutting and simplifying operation. This report discusses steps in the development of a simulation model for a manufacturing system using the DES tool, ARENA. A modeling procedure for the development of manufacturing simulation model is presented. The current manufacturing system model is developed to ascertain its limitations and problems to achievethe production target. The steps include data gathering, model building, verification and validation. Several experiments were conducted to recognize parameters useful in the interpretation of the simulation data like the warm up period, run length and number of repetition. The results show that the manufacturing system was improved by 40% by speeding up parts delivery to the system, whilst the waiting time andqueue at each station can be improved by proper line balancing. The findings demonstrates the ability if the approach to provide potential solution to the decision maker