Framework for simulation based scheduling of assembly lines

Planning and scheduling of assembly lines is a complex problem which is often very hard to solve with classical scheduling approaches. A promising way of dealing with problems of this domain is simulation based scheduling. We introduce the architecture of a framework which is designed to aid in the creation of solutions for assembly line workforce scheduling. The framework combines a meta model to describe production networks and facilities with a complete modular design. Through the combination and reuse of exchangeable modules the framework offers the opportunity to focus on the development of optimization. Besides necessary input and output components there is a generic KPI data structure which allows to manage and calculate new values without the need to adapt existing modules. Optimizer modules are considered to be implementations of solution. To prove our concept we implemented scheduling solutions from previous industry projects with our new framework.