Virtual expansion helps Mowbray make real gains
9 Jul 2010
Doncaster, UK – Robotic and automation centre, CenFRA Ltd claims to have saved thousands of pounds for Vale of Mowbray by carrying out in-depth analysis on a planned expansion project using bespoke discrete event simulation. The technology produces virtual replicas of factory floor space and allows food and drink manufacturers to examine how the proposed integration of automation systems will work in reality.
The pork pie manufacturer had identified a need for new equipment and a site extension to keep up with demand but was unsure how these changes would be integrated with existing production. It, therefore, approached CenFRA to carry out an assessment of its current factory processes and look into its proposed plans to ascertain if the Yorkshire company was making the most out of its investment.
CenFRA created an interactive 3D computer model of the proposed factory layout, which included technical details on the existing production equipment to evaluate and quantify, at very little cost, the benefits and implications of integrating new equipment on a ’virtual scale’ without creating any disruption to current manufacturing operations or the need for complex spread sheets and speculative guesswork.
From the various ’what if’ scenarios carried out, which included level of throughput, number of operators required and machine capabilities, CenFRA said its team determined that the intended plan would only handle a year’s increase in production and advised that an alternative approach should be adopted.
Vale of Mowbray presented new plans for CenFRA to evaluate, and using the same event simulation methods as well as additional analysis which included set-up, maintenance and break times, CenFRA was able to confirm that the revised plan would indeed be capable of handling a substantial increase in capacity for the foreseeable future.
The discrete event simulation technology offered the Vale of Mowbray an alternative course of action which resulted in a faster financial payback by preventing investment in unsuitable equipment, said CenFRA.
