SIMULATION OF A PRODUCTION LINE WITH AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE: A CASE STUDY

Currently, companies have increasingly needed to improve and develop their processes to flexible the production in order to reduce waiting times and increase productivity through smaller time intervals. To achieve these objectives, efficient and automated transport and handling material systems are required. Therefore, the AGV systems (Automated Guided Vehicle) are often used to optimize the flow of materials within the production systems. In this paper, the authors evaluate the usage of an AGV system in an industrial environment and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the project. Furthermore, the author uses the simulation software Promodel (R) 7.0 to develop a model, based on data collected from real production system, in order to analyze and optimize the use of AGVs. Throughout this paper, problems are identified as well as solution adopted by the authors and the results obtained from the simulations.