Title :
Generic case studies for manufacturing simulation applications
Author :
McLean, Charles ; Shao, Guodong
Author_Institution :
Manuf. Simulation & Modeling Group, Nat. Inst. of Stand. & Technol., Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Abstract :
Manufacturing managers typically commission simulation case studies to support their decision-making processes. These studies are used to evaluate alternative solutions to manufacturing problems in areas such as plant layout, scheduling, capacity planning, capital equipment acquisition, inventory management, and supply chain planning. Procedures for performing case studies vary from organization to organization, and situation to situation. It is possible that two different simulation analysts faced with the same manufacturing problem would perform their case studies differently, obtain different results, and reach different conclusions. The authors contend that standardization of the case study methodology and development of generic case studies would increase the likelihood that the simulation process will be deterministic, i.e., produce repeatable results. We present background on case studies and makes recommendations concerning the advancement of manufacturing simulation case study methods and practices.
Keywords :
capacity planning (manufacturing); decision making; decision support systems; digital simulation; industrial plants; inventory management; manufacturing industries; production control; standardisation; supply chain management; capacity planning; capital equipment acquisition; decision making; inventory management; manufacturing problems; manufacturing simulation; plant layout; scheduling; standardization; supply chain planning; Analytical models; Capacity planning; Decision making; Inventory management; Job shop scheduling; Manufacturing processes; Performance analysis; Standardization; Supply chains; Virtual manufacturing;
Conference_Titel :
Simulation Conference, 2003. Proceedings of the 2003 Winter
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8131-9
DOI :
10.1109/WSC.2003.1261553