SimPlan simulates high-bay warehouse for REHAU
REHAU AG + Co is an international leader as a premium brand for polymer-based solutions in the construction, automotive and industrial sectors. At its Feuchtwangen site, REHAU invested 25 million euros in a new high-bay warehouse with optimised material flow. Following a construction period of 13 months, full-scale operations commenced.
Initial situation: New 12-aisle high-bay warehouse with electric overhead conveyor
The new material flow system connects a 12-aisle high-bay warehouse with the injection moulding, painting and assembly areas. In-house transport is carried out via electric overhead conveyor trolleys that run on a rail system beneath the hall ceiling.
Objective: To ensure the reliable control of the warehouse, trolleys and load carriers
The control system for this highly dynamic and complex intralogistics system had to take into account not only the entire warehouse management process, but also the management and scheduling of the electric monorail trolleys and load carriers.
Solution: Simulation model developed in parallel with the planning of the material flow concept
SimPlan developed a simulation model in parallel with the planning of the material flow concept. The aim was to validate the system and to test and optimise the control strategies on the virtual model before implementation.
Results: Control strategies tested prior to implementation
Thanks to the parallel simulation, REHAU was able to test the control strategies for the new high-bay warehouse virtually before they were put into practice in real-world operations, thereby validating the concept before the start of series production.
Simulation supports a major investment from planning through to the start of series production
The case study demonstrates how simulation can be used in parallel with detailed planning to test control strategies for a complex intralogistics system at an early stage, in the context of an investment worth millions.
