Simulation-based optimization using simulated annealing for optimal equipment selection within print production environments

Xerox has invented, tested, and implemented a novel class of operations-research-based productivity improvement offerings that has been described in Rai et al. (2009) and was a finalist in the 2008 Franz Edelman competition. The software toolkit that enables the optimization of print shops is data-driven and simulation based. It enables quick modeling of complex print production environments under the cellular production framework. The software toolkit automates several steps of the modeling process by taking declarative inputs from the end-user and then automatically generating complex simulation models that are used to determine improved design and operating points. This paper describes the addition of another layer of automation consisting of simulation-based optimization using simulated-annealing that enables automated search of a large number of design alternatives in the presence of operational constraints to determine a cost-optimal solution. The results of the application of this approach to a real-world problem are also described.