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Discrete Event Simulation Homework 1 Report and Analysis

By

Shalini Lakshmi

Submitted
On
October 11, 2018

For the

INDE 4370: Discrete Event Simulation Course Overseen by Professor Khator

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Problem Statement

We are simulating a system that manufactures two types of electronic units. These two types of

units, Part A and Part B, are produced out side the bounds of the model. Part A’s interarrival is

exponentially distributed with a mean of 5 minutes. It then reaches the Part A Prep Area where it

is deburred and cleaned. This process follows a triangular distribution with parameters of 1,4,

and 8 minutes. Part B has an exponentially distributed interarrival rate with a mean of 30

minutes. Part B comes in batches of 4 parts. Part B then reaches the Part B Prep Area. The

processing time for this station follows a triangular distribution with parameters of 3,5, and 10

minutes. Both types of parts reach the Sealer Station where electronic components are inserted.

This process follows a normal distribution with a mean and standard deviation of 2.7 and 10

minutes. Next, 90% of the parts are shipped and 10% of the parts go to the Rework Station where

they are repaired. The Rework Station has processing times that follow an exponential

distribution with a mean of 20 minutes. Following Rework, 20% of the parts are Scrapped and

80% are Salvaged and Shipped. The statement tells us that the factory is open for 3 shifts daily.

We have assumed that the factory operates under 3 sets of 8 hour shifts daily without any

breaktimes. The statement also tells us to assume all transfer times take 1 minute. We have run

the simulation for 5 days and created an experiment with 20 replications. All data collected are in

minutes.

Procedures

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Model Entities, Source Modules, Servers, Sink Modules, and Time-paths were used to model this

problem. We first created two Model Entities corresponding to Part A and Part B. Next, we added

in a Server for the Part A Prep Station and Part B Prep Station. We added their corresponding

processing times. Following this, we added in the Sealer Server and added in the processing

times. We then added Time-paths with weighed selections to connect to the Shipped Sink

Module and Rework Server. We then added Time-paths with weighted selections to connect to

the Salvaged and Scrapped Sink Modules.

Program Difficulty

Creating the model in Simio was not difficult. Calculating the expected values by hand and

verifying the results was challenging.

Results

Statistics Part A Prep Part B Prep Sealer Rework

Utilization % 86.11 +/- 1.14 78.47 +/- 1.93 88.92 +/- 1.14 66.68 +/- 3.51
Number in 3.15 +/- .43 6.12 +/- .76 2.95 +/- .52 1.29 +/- .47
Queue
Time in Queue 15.72 +/- 2.01 46.13 +/- 4.84 8.87 +/- 1.47 38.09 +/- 11.53
(Min)

Cycle Times (Min) : Shipped Parts (47.43 +/- 3.44), Salvaged Parts (107.11 +/- 13.29), &

Scrapped Parts (104.52 +/- 11.06)

Note: Confidence Intervals and Simulated Values were Collected up to 2 Decimal Places.

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Analysis of Results

The Assignment required us to verify the number of each part created and the number of parts

going to Rework, Scrapped , Salvaged, and Shipped along with Utilization calculations. These

are listed below.

60 min parts parts

Number of Part A Created: =12 ∧12 ∗24 hours∗5 days=1440 parts
5 min hr hr
60 min parts parts
Number of Part B Created: ∗4 parts=8 ∧8 ∗24 hours∗5 days=960 parts
30 min hr hr
Number of Parts going to Sealer: 2400 parts (1440+960) since all parts go there
Number of Parts going to Rework: .1(2400 parts) = 240 parts
Number of Parts Shipped: .9(2400) = 2160 parts
Number of Parts Scrapped: .2(240) = 48 parts
Number of Parts Salvaged: .8(240) = 192 parts
time busy
Utilization =
total time
min
Utilization Part A Prep = ( 4.33 part )∗1440 parts =86.6 % since the Triangular Distribution
60 min∗24 hours∗5 days
mean = (1+4+8)/3 = 4.33 minutes
min
Utilization Part B Prep = (6 part )∗960 parts =8 0 . 0 %
since the Triangular
60 min∗24 hours∗5 days
Distribution mean = (3+5+10)/3 = 6 minutes
min
Utilization Sealer = ( 2.7 part )∗2400 parts =90.0 % since the Normal Distribution mean
60 min∗24 hours∗5 days
= 2.7 minutes
min
Utilization Rework = ( 20 part )∗240 parts =66.0 %
since the Exponential Distribution
60 min∗24 hours∗5 days
mean = = 20 minutes

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The expected and simulated utilizations are very close. The utilization is lowest for the Rework

Server and is the highest for the Sealer Server. The time in queue is highest for the Part B Prep

Server. The number is queue is also highest for this server.

Conclusion

Based on the results, we can conclude that the Rework Server is being the least utilized. This

model clearly modeled an electronic components operations process. It helped students practice

how to use the basic building blocks of Simio such as Source, Server, and Sink Modules. It was a

clear exercise that helped students practice calculating utilization. The model could have been

made more challenging to model if it required the use of State Assignments. Calculating the

number of times parts went into rework would also have made the model more challenging.

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Appendix

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