Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to stay competitive and that often starts with reducing inefficiencies on the production floor. Excess work-in-process (WIP), delivery delays, and underutilized resources can negatively impact performance and increase production costs.
At the same time, manufacturers need to plan for the future to avoid stagnation and operational fragility. When is the right time to upgrade equipment? What new technology best suits their needs? And how can manufacturers be confident they’re making the right CAPEX decisions?
These questions can be all addressed by the outputs of a discrete-event simulation (DES) model.
The caveat here is that these insights are only accessible once the right inputs of the system are defined. And a common challenge that comes with building a simulation model is improving the simulation data collection process so that we can achieve those predictive insights, not only accurately, but in a timely fashion.
These three approaches will drive your team to stay on top of this data challenge:
     1. Leverage existing data and digitize your factory by using MES, PLCs, and machine-generated data to reduce time spent on capturing manual observations.
     2. Streamline data preparation. Using AI-assisted tools and workflows for data cleaning, integration, and statistical analysis to prepare simulation inputs.
     3. Generate insights through simulation. When process critical data is unavailable or incomplete, use engineering assumptions and equipment specifications to establish a baseline model. Through iterative simulation experiments (using Autodesk Flexsim's Experimenter tool), manufacturers can generate performance estimates, evaluate different operating scenarios, and identify where more detailed data collection may be needed
The road to smarter manufacturing decisions starts with understanding your data. But that doesn't mean every dataset needs to be complete or every process needs to be measured before simulation can begin. By combining existing manufacturing data, modern data preparation tools, and the analytical capabilities of Autodesk FlexSim, manufacturers can take a more practical approach to simulation development.
Not sure whether your facility has the data needed to get started? IMAGINiT can help you assess your current data landscape, identify critical gaps, and explore how simulation can support your operational goals.
