An Analysis of the Efficiency of a Parallel-Serial Manufacturing System Using Simulation

The efficiency of discrete manufacturing systems and the level of work-in-progress are most important topics, especially for producers of automotive parts. In the present paper, an analysis of the throughput and average product lifespan of a parallel, serial manufacturing system, with varied buffer allocations and operating times, is presented. A model of the manufacturing system has been prepared using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation Software. This study was conducted using theoretical data sets and various statistical distributions of processing times. The main goal of the research was to analyse the impact of buffer allocation on the behaviour of a general, parallel manufacturing system. The methodology for preparing simulation experiments is here proposed.