scholarly journals The impact of the collaborative workplace on the production system capacity: Simulation modelling vs. real-world application approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-442
Author(s):  
R. Ojstersek ◽  
A. Javernik ◽  
B. Buchmeister

In recent years, there have been more and more collaborative workplaces in different types of manufacturing systems. Although the introduction of collaborative workplaces can be cost-effective, there is still much uncertainty about how such workplaces affect the capacity of the rest of production system. The article presents the importance of introducing collaborative workplaces in manual assembly operations where the production capacities are already limited. With the simulation modelling method, the evaluation of the introduction impact of collaborative workplaces on manual assembly operations that represent bottlenecks in the production process is presented. The research presents two approaches to workplace performance evaluation, both simulation modelling and a real-world collaborative workplace example, as a basis of a detailed time study. The main findings are comparisons of simulation modelling results and a study of a real-world collaborative workplace, with graphically and numerically presented parameters describing the utilization of production capacities, their efficiency and financial justification. The research confirms the expediency of the collaborative workplaces use and emphasise the importance of further research in the field of their technological and sociological impacts.

Author(s):  
Emre Bilgin Sarı ◽  
Sabri Erdem

Seru production system is a flexible, cost-effective, workforce competence-oriented manufacturing management system that provides the opportunity to respond quickly to customer demand. As in parallel to technology and physical improvements, customer demands are also effective for development of production systems. The impact of change in demand has been seen on changeover from job shop to mass production, flexible, and lean manufacturing systems. Seru production system is more appropriate for targeting work both cost-effectively like mass production and maximum diversification like job shop production. This chapter clarifies the Seru production system and explain its use and benefits in the clothing industry. In the application, a shirt production is illustrated according to the principles of mass production, lean production, and Seru production. Thus, different types of production systems have been benchmarked. There will be potential study areas for proving the efficiency of Seru soon.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sławomir Kłos ◽  
Peter Trebuna

AbstractThis paper proposes the application of computer simulation methods in order to analyse the availability of resources, buffers and the impact of the allocation of workers on the throughput andwork-in-progressof a manufacturing system. The simulation model of the production system is based on an existing example of a manufacturing company in the automotive industry. The manufacturing system includes both machining and assembly operations. Simulation experiments were conductedvis-à-visthe availability of the different manufacturing resources, the various allocations of buffer capacities and the number of employees. The production system consists of three manufacturing cells –each cell including two CNC machines– and two assembly stations. The parts produced by the manufacturing cells are stored in buffers and transferred to the assembly stations. Workers are allocated to the manufacturing cells and assembly stations, but the number of workers may be less than number of workplaces and are thus termed ‘multi-workstations’. Using computer simulation methods, the impact of the availability of resources, the number of employees and of the allocation of buffer capacity on the throughput andwork-in-progressof the manufacturing system is analysed. The results of the research are used to improve the effectiveness of manufacturing systems using a decision support system and the proper control of resources. Literature analysis shows that the study of the impact of buffer capacities, availability of resources and the number of employees on assembly manufacturing system performance have not been carried out so far.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146808742110387
Author(s):  
Stylianos Doulgeris ◽  
Zisimos Toumasatos ◽  
Maria Vittoria Prati ◽  
Carlo Beatrice ◽  
Zissis Samaras

Vehicles’ powertrain electrification is one of the key measures adopted by manufacturers in order to develop low emissions vehicles and reduce the CO2 emissions from passenger cars. High complexity of electrified powertrains increases the demand of cost-effective tools that can be used during the design of such powertrain architectures. Objective of the study is the proposal of a series of real-world velocity profiles that can be used during virtual design. To that aim, using three state of the art plug-in hybrid vehicles, a combined experimental, and simulation approach is followed to derive generic real-world cycles that can be used for the evaluation of the overall energy efficiency of electrified powertrains. The vehicles were tested under standard real driving emissions routes, real-world routes with reversed order (compared to a standard real driving emissions route) of urban, rural, motorway, and routes with high slope variation. To enhance the experimental activities, additional virtual mission profiles simulated using vehicle simulation models. Outcome of the study consists of specific driving cycles, designed based on standard real-world route, and a methodology for real-world data analysis and evaluation, along with the results from the assessment of the impact of different operational parameters on the total electrified powertrain.


Author(s):  
Rafaela Heloisa Carvalho Machado ◽  
André Luis Helleno ◽  
Maria Célia de Oliveira ◽  
Mário Sérgio Corrêa dos Santos ◽  
Renan Meireles da Costa Dias

Objective: The aim of this article is to analyze the influence of the variability of the standard time in the simulation of the assembly operations of manufacturing systems. Background: Discrete event simulation (DES) has been used to provide efficient analysis during the design of a process or scenario. However, the modeling activities of new configurations face the problem of data availability and reliability when it comes to seeking standard times that are effective in representing the actual process under analysis, especially when the process cannot be monitored. Method: The methods-time measurement (MTM) is used as a source of standard times for simulation. Assembly activities were performed at a Learning Factory facility, which provided the necessary structure for simulating real production processes. Simulation performances using different variability of standard times were analyzed to define the impact of data characteristics. Results: The MTM standard time presented an error of approximately 5%. The definition of the data variability of standard times and the statistical distribution impacts were shown in the simulation results, with errors above 6% being observed, interfering with the model reliability. Conclusion: Based on the study, to increase the adherence of a simulation to represent a real process, it is recommended to use triangular distributions with central values greater than those established via the MTM for the representation of the standard times of new assembly processes or scenarios using DES. Application: The study contributions can be applied in assembly line design, providing a reliable model representing real processes and scenarios.


Author(s):  
João Pedro Andrade Caixeta ◽  
André Luís De Araújo

The use of Augmented Reality (AR) systems in construction processes can represent an essential transformation in the communication between design and production. However, supposing that design-production translations can be obtained from several manufacturing methods (such as robotic, manual, modular, non-modular, and others), there are not enough studies that explored the potential uses of AR as an assistant for assembly operations. To tackle this problem, this ongoing research proposes to investigate the potentials of a low-cost and marker-based AR system to conduct different manual assembly processes. With the observational focus on aspects of precision and feasibility, we used scientific reductions based on modeling, simulation, and prototyping to provide inferences about the proposed tool's behavior in the real world.


Author(s):  
Dazhong Wu ◽  
David W. Rosen ◽  
Dirk Schaefer

Cloud-based manufacturing (CBM) has recently been proposed as an emerging manufacturing paradigm that may potentially change the way manufacturing services are provided and accessed. In the context of CBM, companies may opt to crowdsource part of their manufacturing tasks that are beyond their existing in-house manufacturing capacity to third-party CBM service providers by renting their manufacturing equipment instead of purchasing additional machines. To plan manufacturing scalability for CBM systems, it is crucial to identify potential manufacturing bottlenecks where the entire manufacturing system capacity is limited. Because of the complexity of manufacturing resource sharing behaviors, it is challenging to model and analyze the material flow of CBM systems in which sequential, concurrent, conflicting, cyclic, and mutually exclusive manufacturing processes typically occur. To address and further study this issue, we develop a stochastic Petri nets (SPNs) model to formally represent a CBM system, model and analyze the uncertainties in the complex material flow of the CBM system, evaluate manufacturing performance, and plan manufacturing scalability. We validate this approach by means of a delivery drone example that is used to demonstrate how manufacturers can indeed achieve rapid and cost-effective manufacturing scalability in practice by combining in-house manufacturing and crowdsourcing in a CBM setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangping Yang ◽  
Jiaqi Han ◽  
Jinlan He ◽  
Baofeng Duan ◽  
Qiheng Gou ◽  
...  

BackgroundAddition of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) or docetaxel and cisplatin plus fluorouracil (TPF) to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) significantly improved survival in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, an economic evaluation of these regimens remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to compare the cost-effectiveness of GP versus TPF regimen in the treatment of locoregionally advanced NPC in China.Materials and methodsA comprehensive Markov model was developed to evaluate the health and economic outcomes of GP versus TPF regimen for patients with locoregionally advanced NPC. Baseline and clinical outcome were derived from 158 patients with newly diagnosed stage III-IVA NPC between 2010 and 2015. We evaluated the quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system. One-way sensitive analysis explored the impact of uncertainty in key model parameters on results, and probabilistic uncertainty was assessed through a Monte Carlo probabilistic sensitivity analysis.ResultsGP regimen provided an additional 0.42 QALYs with incremental cost of $3,821.99, resulting in an ICER of $9,099.98 per QALY versus TPF regimen at the real-world setting. One-way sensitivity analysis found that the results were most sensitive to the cost and proportion of receiving subsequent treatment in two groups. The probability that GP regimen being cost-effective compared with TPF regimen was 86.9% at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) of $31,008.16 per QALY.ConclusionUsing real-world data, GP regimen was demonstrated a cost-effective alternative to TFP regimen for patients with locoregionally advanced NPC in China. It provides valuable evidence for clinicians when making treatment decisions to improve the cost-effectiveness of treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-252
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Gola ◽  
Zbigniew Pastuszak ◽  
Marcin Relich ◽  
Łukasz Sobaszek ◽  
Eryk Szwarc

Scalability is a key feature of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS). It enables fast and cost-effective adaptation of their structure to sudden changes in product demand. In principle, it allows to adjust a system's production capacity to match the existing orders. However, scalability can also act as a "safety buffer" to ensure a required minimum level of productivity, even when there is a decline in the reliability of the machines that are part of the machine tool subsystem of a manufacturing system. In this article, we analysed selected functional structures of an RMS under design to see whether they could be expanded should the reliability of machine tools decrease making it impossible to achieve a defined level of productivity. We also investigated the impact of the expansion of the system on its reliability. To identify bottlenecks in the manufacturing process, we ran computer simulations in which the course of the manufacturing process was modelled and simulated for 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-stage RMS structures using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software.


Author(s):  
Jia Feng Zhang ◽  
Olfa Mosbahi ◽  
Mohamed Khalgui ◽  
Atef Gharbi

Reconfigurable systems have received much attention from academia and industry because they are efficient, agile, and reasonably priced, and they are the trend of all future systems. The chapter focuses on dynamic automatic reconfigurations of Control Systems to be classically modeled by Petri nets. Several modeling and verification methods for such systems are shown and compared before the introduction of the research work on feasible dynamic reconfigurations and the implementation of manufacturing systems based on Petri nets. Three different reconfiguration scenarios can be applied at run-time to such systems: Addition/Removal of places, Addition/Removal/Update of transitions, or finally, the simple modification of the initial marking. Three formal modules are defined accordingly, which allow the reconfigurations of the system’s Petri nets model: the first module to dynamically change places of the model, the second to dynamically reconfigure transitions within a given subset of places, and the third to modify the initial markings of places. To check the correct behavior of this architecture according to user requirements, the model checker SESA is applied for the verification of CTL-based properties of the proposed modules and also of the system. The contribution is applied to a real-world Benchmark Production System.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanxin Hou ◽  
Shaowen Qin ◽  
Campbell Henry Thompson

Abstract Background: Hospital congestion is a common problem for the healthcare sector. Numerous studies explored reasons for crowding within some parts of the hospital. However, to deal with more general, hospital-wide problems, examining the hospital as a connected whole is necessary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate de-congestion interventions through a whole hospital simulation model and offer objective reasoning to support hospital management decisions.Method: This study tested a congestion prevention method that estimates the current day’s hospital congestion risk level R at a set time every morning, and activates minimum intervention when R is above certain threshold R(C), using a virtual hospital created by simulation modelling. The color-coding system was adopted to demonstrate the impact and the extent of effectiveness of this method in preventing hospital congestions.Results: The results indicated that adding 8 flex beds to the medical department resulted in more reductions (70.93%) of red-days comparing with the surgical ward (37.15%). Red days reduction per affected patient when discharging two medical patients was 0.1 which was higher than when discharging two surgical (0.04) or two long-stay patients (0.07). Also, the efficiency of red days reduction per affected patient is always greater if removing 2 patients than if discharging more patients. Conclusions: The expected outcome based on theoretical prediction of this method was confirmed, that is, applying a less disruptive intervention is often enough, and more cost effective, to reduce the risk level of hospital congestion. Making a small number of extra beds available was a superior solution compared to discharging approaches to reduce crowding in hospitals. In addition, the virtual implementation approach enabled testing of the method at a more detailed level, thereby revealed some interesting findings difficult to achieve theoretically, such as discharging extra two medical inpatients, rather than surgical inpatients, a day earlier on days when R>R(C), would bring more benefits in terms of congestion reduction for the hospital.


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