Even
if you think you know the problem, wouldn't it be nice
to know the
problem and perhaps even the right solution prior to
making any permanent changes affecting productivity?
That’s what factory floor simulation is for. Making
changes to the factory floor in the virtual world before
implementing it in reality makes so much sense. So,
why isn’t everyone taking advantage of this technology? Decor
Cabinet Company, a Manitoba manufacturer of semi-custom
kitchen and bath cabinetry, found out first-hand just how
slick this technology can be.
In
anticipation of growth in their business and implementation
of some new equipment, Decor approached the Industrial
Technology Centre for assistance with a factory simulation
project. ITC assisted Decor in choosing the right
application for the job, collecting data for the model,
and validating the model. The model helped Decor’s
management and factory floor workers together see and understand
their jobs, the upstream and downstream processes, and
the effect of certain actions.
“This project gave us a better understanding of
the capacity of our panel processing area, and provided
valuable information to help us increase the throughput
of the area,” said Garry Bergman, Process Engineer.
The simulation effectively highlighted such things as downtime,
bottlenecks, and capacity. Being able to simulate
two weeks of production, within moments, allowed Decor
to test various scenarios with very little time invested. By
changing the process flow in the model, the company could
take advantage of the excess capacity in some work areas. Adding
new equipment to the model allowed the company to see relief
in the bottleneck areas.
Seeing
the ROI, Decor plans to adopt factory simulation technology
for ongoing use and continue to expand the simulation
model to include more areas of the plant. “We
believed that factory simulation would help us refine our
processes and increase our throughput, but we weren’t
sure where to begin. ITC helped us learn about the
technology and how to use it.”
If you are interested in learning more about factory simulation,
contact the Industrial Technology Centre. |
