The Application of Discrete-Event Simulation in Production : A case study in Volvo CE

Sammanfattning:

The fierce competition among the manufacturers all over the world as a result of globalisation and the dynamic atmosphere of the market has brought a new era to the production world. Shorter lead times, faster takt-times, variety of demand and products by customers, optimized inventory level, new rules and regulations legislated by governments and organizations plus efficiency of the supply chain are examples of challenges which urge companies to seek for any feasible tool which help can help to overcome the upcoming complex problems.

Recent advancements in the IT world have caused emergence of contemporary methods and tools for companies to use when confronting intricate situations to be able to handle such incidents and stay competitive in the market. Today, more companies realize the significance of change in their production system. Discrete-event simulation is one of the virtual tools used more and more recently in different areas. It is undoubtedly one of the most functional tools which could be used for different purposes in such as:

• System learning
• System prediction
• Scenario planning

The application scope of discrete-event simulation is both in micro and macro levels as it can be used in a partial study of a specific process in a manufacturing company for optimization or in a higher level, to help a company to analyze its strategic plans by simulating them ahead of time.

In the current study it has been tried to investigate the application and implementation of discrete-event simulation in production. For reaching that goal, the project has been divided into two main parts; first of all a discrete event simulation has been conducted regarding a real-world potential problem. Later, by gaining the experience from the first part plus doing research around discrete simulation, it has been tried to develop a framework for industrial companies to ease the use of discrete-event simulation project process in a standardized manner.

A future prospective of the current project could be the implementation of the results and provided framework on further real-world cases and explore more innovative uses of discrete-event tool in industry. Obviously, discrete-event could be a great decision-making or analysis tool for production development if being used in the proper context.