Newsletter 1 / 2009

Simulation in practice

Johann HAY GmbH & Co. KG optimises new plant in advance using simulation

The planned new plant of Johann HAY GmbH & Co. KG is to manufacture large-scale rings, among other things for wind turbines. The high product variance makes considerable demands on the flexibility of the manufacturing plant. A particular challenge during the planning is the determination of a virtually optimal connection between the required close linking of individual manufacturing steps and the decoupling of plants, which is wise from a logistical viewpoint.

Furthermore, the simulation is intended to illustrate how the production orders are best assigned in order to ensure a high capacity utilisation of the plants and ultimately achieve excellent productivity. Crucial investment decisions, e.g. on the type and number of furnaces or material-handling cranes to be installed, are made on the basis of simulation outcomes.

nolte-Möbel bets on simulation for the analysis of manufacturing processes

At its location in Germersheim, nolte-Möbel GmbH & Co. KG manufactures high-quality wardrobe and bedroom systems.  As a result of the increasing number of product variants and growing complexity of the production processes, the manufacturing processes need to be adapted and the process structures partially redefined. This leads to changes at the planning level and process level, respectively. For the analysis and evaluation of the planning and process variants a simulation project was set up in the department of pre-fabrication. Here SimPlan was responsible for the training of personnel, the introduction of the simulation software and the ongoing realisation of the project objectives.

Siemens PTD-H simulates new production area supported by SimPlan AG

In the course of the increased demands on the planning processes in production and logistics, the company Siemens PTD-H decided to support its planning processes for the area of high-voltage insulator manufacture with simulation methods, in order to improve planning quality, assure the coordination of resources and safeguard process decisions in the run-up. For this purpose SimPlan selected PTD-H Plant Simulation as a simulation tool. SimPlan carried out the introduction of the software and training of personnel within the scope of ongoing training alongside the project, whereby SimPlan was in charge of project execution. The training ensured that the project was executed promptly, whilst at the same time the respective staff member at the Plant Simulation tool was trained on how to operate the tool and execute simulation projects.