Exploring Alternatives in an Automotive Industry Job Shop Using Simulation

The bastion of simulation application has long been the manufacturing industry. In particular, the major corporations within the automotive industry, which is highly complex, multiply tiered, and a significant component of the manufacturing economic sector in both North America and Europe, have repeatedly, aggressively, and profitably applied simulation to the investigation and improvement of production systems. However, many of the smaller companies supplying components to motor vehicle manufacturers have had greater difficulty accessing and applying simulation technology.This difficulty, in the experience of the first author, is typically due to high initial costs, political inertia among managers, or both. In this case study, the authors examine the introduction and use of discrete process simulation into an automotive component supplier for the examination of various plausible scenarios whose effects production engineers and their management wished to anticipate