The enhanced use of enterprise and simulation modellingtechniques to support factory changeability

  • Authors:

  • A. Rahimifard;R. Weston

  • Affiliations:

  • MSI Research Institute, Wolfson College of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK;MSI Research Institute, Wolfson College of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK

  • Venue:
  • International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

Bearing in mind that activity requirements of manufacturing enterprises (MEs) can usefully be described as a network of dependent processes, the current paper identifies complementary properties of state-of-the-art enterprise modelling and simulation modelling techniques. It is observed that, when these techniques are used in a coherent fashion, they have potential to create semantically rich models of process networks that can be computer-executed so as to replicate and/or predict organizational behaviours. The current paper describes an outline of how a particular choice of well-proved enterprise modelling and simulation modelling techniques can be used in an integrated fashion. Also described are interim research findings when using such an integrated modelling approach in a case study furniture making company. For key segments of business processes currently deployed by the case study company, the outcome has been new qualitative and quantitative understandings about (a) alternative ways of organizing multi-product flows through a constrained (in situ) set of human and technical resources and (b) potential performance enhancements that could be achieved in process segments by purchasing, commissioning and deploying alternative systems of human and technical resources. Research groundwork is now in place to support the case study company as in the future it makes (a) medium-to-long term investment decisions about new manufacturing control strategies and the purchase of new resource systems and (b) short-to-medium term production planning and control decisions.