Improvement of Production Processes

with the Use of Simulation Models

Dagmara Górnicka(&) and Anna Burduk

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,

Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Systems,
Wroclaw University of Science And Technology,
Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
{dagmara.gornicka,anna.burduk}@pwr.edu.pl

Abstract. The paper presents results of the studies aimed at improving the
production process by performing a reorganization of workstations. The purpose
of this reorganization was to increase the rate of utilization of machines in the
production process. The studies were carried out with the use of an IT package
for modeling and simulation of production systems – ProModel. The paper
describes a plan of optimization of the layout of workstations, which consists in
grouping them into functional work centers and determining the best arrange-
ment of the workstations using the Schmigalla method of triangles. The
arrangement was assessed by comparing the simulation models prior to and after
the reorganization.

Keywords: Process improvement
Modeling and simulation of production

systems
Layout
Schmigalla method of triangles
Simulation packages

1 Introduction

Simulation models belong to the group of symbolic models based on mathematical

notation, in which the reality is represented with the use of symbols and mathematical
relations [8]. Modeling and simulation of manufacturing processes make it possible to
analyze them and trace the way they have been functioning, sometimes for many years,
in just a few minutes. This allows verifying the assumptions made and identifying the
irregularities that may occur during the operation, particularly the weaknesses of a
production system that is being designed or operated [2, 3, 6, 7].
Due to the fact that production systems are very complex and vary in individual
industries, as well as due to different applications for computer simulations of pro-
duction systems, there is no single, universal software that could be deemed to be the
best in the market. An appropriate package should be selected each time depending on
the purpose of modeling and the type of the system analyzed. Figure 1 shows the
percentage share of the use of computer modeling and simulation methods in the
selected areas of production system management. The most commonly used com-
mercial computer tools were assigned to each area.
A computer simulation of a production system consists in building a computer
model of the system to be analyzed, and then examining the influence of input

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018

Z. Wilimowska et al. (eds.), Information Systems Architecture and Technology:
Proceedings of 38th International Conference on Information Systems Architecture and Technology –
ISAT 2017, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 657, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-67223-6_25
266 D. Górnicka and A. Burduk

Fig. 1. Application of computer modeling and simulation methods in selected areas of

production system management and the commercial tools that are used in these areas [1, 5, 9]

parameters (signals) on the behavior of the model with the of simulation experiments.
Typically, many simulation experiments are carried out on the model for different sets
of the input parameter values. An analysis of the reports with simulation results allows
selecting the best (optimal) input parameters from the viewpoint of building a model of
a set of input parameters. In addition, the model can be improved and further simu-
lations may be carried out for different variants of the model.
Computer simulation and modeling methods are used when obtaining a solution by
analytical methods is too complicated, while direct experiments on the real system
consume too much time or cannot be carried out. Such a situation took place in P.P.H.
U. Packer company and the problem concerned a method for increasing the utilization
rate of machines. In this case, the improvement of the production process consisted,
among other things, in the reorganization of the layout of the workstations. It was
achieved using the Schmigalla method of triangles and the heuristic method for layout
planning [4].

2 The Profile the Company and an Assessment

of the Utilization Rate of Workstations

P.P.H.U. Packer company manufactures flap cardboard boxes and is located in the
Opole province. The company’s production program is built on the basis of orders from
customers. The products manufactured and the volumes of standard orders are shown
in Table 1.
In the case of traditional flap boxes made with the use of traditional methods, the
main stages of the production process include cutting and creasing (bending the edges
of the packaging) performed on the cutter-creasing machines, as well as gluing and
stitching of boxes. The process is different in the case of packaging made using
 Improvement of Production Processes with the Use of Simulation Models 267

Table 1. Standard orders executed in P.P.H.U. Packer

Item Product Order volume [pcs] Transport batch [pcs]
1. Flap box (traditional method) 10,000 20
2. Flap box (BoxMaker) 1000 20
3. Printed flap box 10,000 20
4. Die-cut box 1000 20

BoxMaker (a machine that allows making a ready-to-use packaging) which is used in

the same stages except for gluing. The process of manufacturing the die cut boxes
differs primarily in the method of cutting, in which special punching dies prepared
according to the customer’s order template are used instead of standard cutters. The
layout of the production floor is shown in Fig. 2, where the numbering corresponds to
the numbers of machines from Table 2.

Fig. 2. Layout of the production floor in P.P.H.U. Packer

The main problem of the company is the need to perform multiple transport
operations during the production process. This is due to the fact that the development
of the company and consequently the development of its machinery resources took
place in stages. The placement of further workstations in the production floor at dif-
ferent time intervals was dictated mainly by the free space in the floor rather than by
production organization and technology. Currently this fact causes that some work
centers are not sufficiently used due to a too long distance. This results in an uneven use
of the machinery resources, an extension of the production time and increased costs of
executing production orders.

2.1 Assessment of the Utilization Rate of the Workstations

In order to assess the utilization rate of the workstations, it was proposed to group them
into work centers first (Table 3).
268 D. Górnicka and A. Burduk

Table 2. List of machines

No. Machine No. Machine
1 Cutting-creasing machine 1 11 Crucible 3
2 Slotter 12 Roller press
3 Cutter 1 13 Guillotine
4 Cutter 2 14 Stitching machine 1
5 Cutting-creasing machine 2 15 Stitching machine 2
6 Cutting-creasing machine 3 16 Stitching machine 3
7 Screen printing unit 17 Sticking workstation 1
8 Laminating machine 18 Sticking workstation 2
9 Crucible 1 19 BoxMaker
10 Crucible 2 20 Band saw

Table 3. Grouping the machines into functional work centers

Work centre Work centre name Machine Operations performed
no. no.
1 Sticking work centre 17, 18 Sticking, gluing of parcels
2 Stitching work centre 14, 15 and Stitching of parcels
16
3 Die cutting work centre 9, 10 and 11 Die cutting with the use of a punching
die
4 Screen printing work 7 Printing, drying
centre
5 Creasing work centre 1, 5, 6, 2 Cutting, creasing
6 Cutting work centre 3, 4 Cutting, cutting out
7 BoxMaker work centre 19 Ready-made packaging
8 Laminating machine 8 Laminating
9 Cutting centre 13, 20 Cutting, cutting off, cutting through
10 Roller press 12 Rolling

Then a simulation model of the production system reflecting the present state was
built to assess the current utilization rate of the machines. The model of the present
state includes process and organizational data such as volumes of production orders, a
typical production schedule, manufacturing technologies of individual products, cycle
times and transport times. The ProModel package for modeling and simulation of
production systems was used to build the simulation model. Thanks to this tool it was
possible to take into account the actual dimensions of the production floor, machines,
the distance between the workstations, the length of the transport routes, as well as the
transport times.
Due to the fact that four machines are not used for executing standard orders, they
were omitted in the model. These machines are not the subject of the improvement and
their layout does not affect the results of the study in any way. A graphical repre-
sentation of the process modeled in the computer program is shown in Fig. 3.
 Improvement of Production Processes with the Use of Simulation Models 269

Fig. 3. Screenshot of the simulation model of the production process – present state

As a result of the simulation of the process subject to the studies described in this
paper, data concerning the percentage degree of the current utilization of machines and
equipment in the company were obtained. These results are shown in Fig. 4.

Rate of the utilization of the machines [%] - before the

Rate of the utilization of the

improvement
100
machines [%]

77.08
80
57.37
60 44.13
35
40 18.63 24.04
20 0 0 0 1.45 0 0 0 0 0 2.74
0
10
11
14
15
16
17
18
19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9

Machine No.

Fig. 4. The utilization rate of the machines, which was obtained from the model of the present
state

The first clearly noticeable issue is a huge disproportion between the utilization
rates of the machines. As many as eight machines are not used despite the fact that they
are in good working order. This is caused by the ill-judged layout of the workstations,
which was described earlier in the paper. Attention should be paid to the fact that these
machines are in good working order and can perform their tasks to relieve the strongly
worn out machines such as cutting-creasing machine 1. The fact that they are not used
270 D. Górnicka and A. Burduk

is results only from a poor spatial organization. Such disproportions between the
utilization rates of the machines that perform the same functions lead to a faster wear of
the machines in use, the need to perform maintenance and inspection activities on the
machines not in use, as well as an unnecessary occupation of space. All these aspects
generate losses in the company – not only financial ones, but also losses in terms of
performance and logistics.

3 The Concept of the Reorganization of Workstations and Its

Assessment

When planning the reorganization in the layout of workstations with the use of the
Schmigalla method of triangles, a material flow matrix should be created to determine
relationships between the workstations [4]. The flow of materials is constructed by
writing down the individual workstations (here: work centers) and summarizing the
batches that are transported between them, and then presenting this in a form of matrix.
A matrix created in such a way is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Matrix of the material flow between work centers

Work centre Transport from
no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Transport to 1 X 50 500 50
2 600 X 500
3 X
4 X 500
5 X
6 500 X
7 X

In accordance with the matrix, the centers 1 and 2, i.e. gluing and stitching, are the
pair of work centers with the highest flow intensity, while the flow for the orders in
question is 600 transitions. According to the Schmigalla method of triangles, this is just
the first pair placed in the vertices of the central triangle of the network [4]. Then, there
should be placed the work centre with the highest intensity of relations with the work
centers already placed in the adjacent vertices of the triangle. In order to determine, in
which of the free vertices the next centre should be placed, calculations should be
performed according to the formula :

W ¼ Ip x M ð1Þ

where:
W – value of potential vertex
Ip – intensity of relations
M – modular distance
 Improvement of Production Processes with the Use of Simulation Models 271

The modular distance is an integer that determines how many modules (graphically:
dashes) are located between the already placed workstation and a potential vertex. After
the calculations have been performed, the vertex with the highest value should be
selected and the element should be placed in it. If the intensities of relations for a
number of work centers are the same, the intensity of the relations between the sub-
sequent work centers that have already been placed should be taken into account first,
and then the intensity of those that have not been placed yet. If they are also the same,
then the work centre being placed can be selected freely. By repeating those steps until
all the objects have been placed, we obtain a triangle network showing how the spatial
arrangement of the objects should be designed. In this case, the layout of the work
centers in the Schmigalla triangle network is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. Layout of the work centers in the triangle network

The layout of the production floor planned in such a way will allow using all the
machines available in the company, which will be discussed in more detail further in
this paper. Thus, in addition to grouping the machines into functional work centers, the
changes include the arrangement of all the machines in accordance with the flow taken
into account in the Schmigalla method of triangles.

3.1 Improvement – Computer Simulation Model

After the new layout had been developed, the second simulation model was built. The
only change within the company was a change in the layout of workstations, which
enabled the use of the remaining machines. Graphical representation of the process
after the changes is shown in Fig. 6.
The utilization rate of the machines was changed as a result of placing the machines
closer to the warehouse, which is shown in Fig. 7.
The fundamental change is that out of the eight machines that have not been used,
as many as seven machines are now in use. One of them is still not used, which results
from the fact that the company’s production capacity is much bigger than that currently
used. This can be understood in two ways: either the machine is redundant or the
company can afford to execute larger orders.
272 D. Górnicka and A. Burduk

Fig. 6. Screenshot from the simulation model – after the reorganization

Rate of the ulizaon of the machines [%] - aer the

Rate of the ulizaon of the

improvement
100 86.26
machines [%]

72.7
80 61.03 64.18 64.89
60
40 22.55
17.87
20 0 1.91 1.63 1.85
9.02 7.43 7.32
2.42 3.33
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
10
11
14
15
16
17
18
19
Machine No.

Fig. 7. The utilization rate of the machines after the improvement

3.2 Results of the Reorganization

As a result of the reorganization of the production system, the utilization rate of the
machines has changed. This change for each machine was presented in Table 5.
In some cases the utilization rate of the machines increased, but in the case of the
workstations intensively used before the reorganization, it decreased. This is caused by
the distribution of work to other machines that perform the same function but were not
available before. So the most important change in this improvement project is that the
machines, which have not been used earlier in the production process, work simulta-
neously with other machines after the reorganization. Only in the case of the second
cutter the result was still 0%, which indicates that the remaining two cutters are
sufficient to execute the sample order adopted for the needs of the studies.
 Improvement of Production Processes with the Use of Simulation Models 273

Table 5. Change in the rate of the utilization of the machines for execution of orders
Machine name, number Utilization rate [%] Utilization rate [%] Change
(number in the drawing) before the after the reorganization [percentage
reorganization points]
Crucible 2 (10) 0 1.63 1.63
Crucible 3 (11) 0 1.85 1.85
Sticking workstation 1 35 2.42 −32.58
(17)
Sticking workstation 2 0 17.87 17.87
(18)
Crucible 1 (9) 1.45 1.91 0.46
BoxMaker (19) 2.74 3.33 0.59
Screen printing unit (7) 57.37 64.89 7.52
Stitching machine 3 (16) 24.04 7.32 −16.72
Cutting-creasing machine 0 64.18 64.18
3 (6)
Cutting-creasing machine 18.63 72.7 54.07
2 (5)
Cutter 2 (4) 0 0 0
Cutter 1 (3) 44.13 22.55 −21.58
Cutting-creasing machine 77.08 61.03 −16.05
1 (1)
Stitching machine 2 (15) 0 7.43 7.43
Stitching machine 1 (14) 0 9.02 9.02
Slotter 2 0 86.26 86.26

4 Conclusions

The purpose of the studies described in the paper was to improve the utilization rate of
the machines and equipment available in the company in question. This goal was
achieved and the total change (for all the machines) is almost 164 percentage points of
the increase in their utilization. In addition, the load on the machines was distributed
more evenly among different workstations performing the same function in the man-
ufacturing process. It should also be noted that the change modeled under the study
requires from the company only a reorganization of its existing resources without a
need to purchase new equipment. Of course, this is also an investment associated with
costs, but it is not possible to analyze the financial side of the project within this paper.
It should also be taken into account that certain volumes of orders were assumed for the
needs of this study in accordance with the opinion of the Production Engineer from the
company in question. These are only standard orders that constitute the majority of the
production, but not whole production. Therefore, the analysis indicates that there are
still machine resources that allow executing the remaining orders, since the utilization
rate has not increased to more than 90% in the case of any of the machines.
274 D. Górnicka and A. Burduk

Of course, it is important to consider the limitations resulting from computer

methods for simulation of production processes. One of them is the limitation imposed
by the tool used, which requires making simplifications specific to a given program.

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