A simulation study integrated with analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in an automotive manufacturing system

Abstract

A variety of circumstances, such as developing a new product, changing the design of an existing product, changing the production volume, or changing the product mix, can drive the need for a manufacturing system redesign. Simulation technology has been widely used for evaluating manufacturing system design alternatives. Various performance measures including throughput, utilization of resources, lead-time, and work in process are obtained from simulation studies. However, the dimensions of performance measures are different, and it requires that the trade-offs between them should be considered. In addition, personal preferences in the selection of performance measures vary from person to person. Thus, the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) system is required to complement the simulation technology. This paper presents a case study that integrates a simulation study with analytic hierarchy process (AHP), applied to the design of a transmission case line in a Korean automotive factory. The simulation model is developed with QUEST®. Four performance measures (criteria) and seven design alternatives are considered utilizing AHP.

Keywords

analytic hierarchy process automotive manufacturing system design simulation transmission

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Moon

Cho

Kim

Sunwoo

Jung

. A case study of the body shop design in an automotive factory using 3D simulation. International Journal of Production Research 2006; 44: 4121–4135.

Lai

Hwang

. Fuzzy Multiple Objective Decision Making Methods and Applications. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1994.

Saaty

. The Analytic Hierarchy Process. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Raharjo

Xie

Brombacher

. On modeling dynamic priorities in the analytic hierarchy process using compositional data analysis. European Journal of Operational Research 2009; 194: 834–846.

Ülgen

Gunal

Grajo

Shore

. The role of simulation in design and operation of body and paint shops in vehicle assembly plants. In Proceedings of the European Simulation Symposium, Society of Computer Simulation International, 1994; pp. 124–128.

Jayaraman

Agarwal

. Simulating an engine plant. Manufacturing Engineering 1996; 117: 60–68.

Jayaraman

Gunal

. Applications of discrete event simulation in the design of automotive powertrain manufacturing systems. In: Proceedings of the 1997 Winter Simulation Conference, 1997; pp. 758–764.

Choi

Kumar

Houshyar

. A simulation study of an automotive foundry plant manufacturing engine blocks. In: Proceedings of the 2002 Winter Simulation Conference, 2002; pp. 1035–1040.

Moon

Sung

Cho

. A case study on the verification of the initial layout of engine block machining line using simulation. Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation 2003; 12: 41–53.

10.

Moon

Shin

. A simulation study of the crankshaft line in an automotive factory”. In: Preprints of 12th International Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing (INCOM 2006), 2006, Vol. II; pp. 347–352.

11.

Williams

Bailiff

. Simulation applied to improve transmission hub machining processes. In Proceedings of the 2nd Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering Applications and Practice, 1997, Vol. II, pp. 983–988.

12.

Dunbar

III Liu

Williams

. Simulation of alternatives for transmission plant assembly line. In: Proceedings of the 2009 Summer Computer Simulation Conference, 2009; pp. 17–23.

13.

Kaplan

Norton

. The balanced scorecard – measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review January–February 1992; 70–79.

14.

Ghalayini

Noble

. The changing basis of performance measurement. International Journal of Operation and Production Management 1996; 16: 63–80.

15.

. Integrated analytic hierarchy process and its applications – a literature review. European Journal of Operational Research 2008; 186: 211–228.

16.

Yang

Kuo

. A hierarchical AHP/DEA methodology for the facilities layout design problem. European Journal of Operational Research 2003; 147: 128–136.

17.

Moon

Baek

Shin

. A case study for the design of transmission case line in an automotive factory. In Proceedings of Spring SIM 2007; pp. 24–29.

18.

Donald

. A tutorial on ergonomic and process modelling using QUEST and IGRIP. In: Proceedings of the 1998 Winter Simulation Conference, 1998; pp. 297–302.

19.

Wang

Chin

Poon

. A data envelopment analysis method with assurance region for weight generation in the analytic hierarchy process. Decision Support Systems 2008; 45: 913–921.

20.

Abdi

. Fuzzy multi-criteria decision model for evaluating reconfigurable machines. International Journal of Production Economics 2009; 117: 1–15.