Trends in Simulation and Planning of Manufacturing Companies

Increasing the efficiency of production planning is a very hot topic from the perspective of introducing lean production into manufacturing. Simulation study dealing with simulation application for production planning support is a fundament for enhancing production systems and reduction of bottleneck occurrences. The article describes the possibilities of using computer simulation during production scheduling. A developed simulation model is adapted for dynamic loading of production plans for a given time period. Based on the simulation output, it is possible to verify production process and conduct additional simulation experiments. Changes in simulation model inputs result in changes on simulation ( production) outputs, these can be easily compared with outputs of the original versions of production plans due to their archiving. The aim was to develop a simulation model which, after consequent adapting, will be used for creation of production plans in the future. The created model is ready for swift loading of incoming data and their consecutive evaluation through simulations with subsequent imaging diagram and output statistics. The developed simulation model can be fully controlled via a GUI (Graphical User Interface) which is fully opened for implementation of further optimization and scheduling algorithm with the aim of future enhancement of the simulation model. The simulation was created in collaboration with INNOV8 Ltd. via Plants Simulation software. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.