Title: Aggregated models for decision-support in manufacturing systems management

Authors: Leif Pehrsson; Tehseen Aslam; Marcus Frantzén

Addresses: School of Engineering Science, University of Skövde, Box 408, 54150, Skövde, Sweden ' School of Engineering Science, University of Skövde, Box 408, 54150, Skövde, Sweden ' School of Engineering Science, University of Skövde, Box 408, 54150, Skövde, Sweden

Abstract: Many industrial challenges can be related to the setup of manufacturing plants and supply chains. While there are techniques available for discrete event simulation of production lines, the opportunities of applying such techniques on higher manufacturing network levels are not explored to the same extent. With established methods for optimisation of manufacturing lines showing proven potential in conceptual analysis and development of production lines, the application of such optimisation methods on higher level manufacturing networks is a subject for further exploration. In this paper, an extended aggregation technique for discrete event simulation of higher level manufacturing systems is discussed, proposed, tested, and verified with real-world problem statements as a proof of concept. The contribution of the new technique is to enable the application of DES models, with reasonable computational requirements, at higher level manufacturing networks. The proposed technique can be used to generate valuable decision information supporting conceptual systems development. [Submitted 5 March 2019; Accepted 25 October 2019]

Keywords: aggregation; discrete event simulation; DES; optimisation; decision-support; manufacturing systems management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2021.117926

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2021 Vol.16 No.3, pp.217 - 240

Received: 05 Mar 2019
Accepted: 25 Oct 2019
Published online: 04 Oct 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article