Analysis of electronics assembly operations: Longbow Hellfire missile power supply

This paper describes the use of discrete event simulation and design of experiments to analyze and improve electronics assembly operations. A study was performed to determine if proposed changes to electronics assembly operations could achieve higher production throughput. This work supported the U.S. Army´s Longbow HELLFIRE Missile program. The design of experiment used a modified orthogonal array containing both two and three-level factors. The authors describe the use of factor level average analysis to analyze experimental data. The Army used study results to assess risks in the program while the manufacturer gained information needed to improve the efficiency of its operations