Simulation

Today’s industrial market is driven by a continuous demand of innovations. In order to improve product quality and to shorten manufacturing time, many companies are substituting old technologies and machines by new ones. However, an effective implementation of a new technology presumes the consideration of all logistic aspects related to it. Because each technology and each machine has different technical and logistic parameters, the implementation in an already existing process chain may require new methods for the logistic planning and control. In this paper the impact of a new technology on the logistic behaviour of the process chain is presented.

The application of automated material flow systems increases the flexibility in automated manufacturing. But there is a weak spot in the development of the control software. This article describes an engineering system for the graphical interactive development of material flow control systems. This system supports the development of the material flow systems including the generation and simulation of the control software and the simulation of the flow of material. The approach for the development of material flow systems and the functionality of the system are introduced using a case study that represents a class of automated material flow systems.

This article gives an answer to the question whether the simulation of business processes, which usually is a one-time activity, is a tool that can be used for a permanent analysis of business procedures. It could then be used as an indicator for necessary organisational changes and for possible optimisation. Furthermore an intuitive user interface will be introduced, which allows to leave the adjustment of the model to the worker inexperienced with concerns of simulation.

In the face of constantly changing market conditions and the associated product and technology changes the available personnel structures must be considered in particular during the further development of manufacturing sys-tems. Experiences from operational practice show that personnel development measures are usually reactive and are often carried out in an improvised, ad-hoc manner. In order to counteract such reactive measures, the technology calendar, with which a timely and targeted personnel development planning can be initiated, is presented.

The process design and management in inter-organisational co-operations, like production networks for example, is rising steadily in importance. These complex socio-technical systems require a holistic approach in terms of an abstract descriptive model. A convenient modelling paradigm is being introduced in the discussion below with the Views Concept which orients on projections. Following from the purpose, the construction and content of the individual views are explained. A deeper analysis of the Views Concept is provided with the planning of a production system.

With emphasis simulation experts in research, consultancy and industry work on the vision of the Digital Factory. This catch phrase, which is especially promoted in the automotive sector, stands for a comprehensive, simulation model of real production systems and their logis-tics. One of the challenges faced by the developers in the realisation of this vision is the integration of big models. The article describes a concept, which supports the horizontal and vertical integration of simulation models.

In a highly competitive environment characterized by decreasing life cycles, lower profit margins and a stronger individualization of products enterprises are forced to adopt new strategies to stand the challenges of the market. The article describes the framework of an integrated complexity management including methods, models and information technology for the identification, the control, the reduction and the prevention of activities without any productivity in direct and indirect sectors of the supply chain.