Simulation Model for Job Scheduling in a SME

Authors

  • P.M.Kinge, U.C. Jha

Abstract

Many SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) in the Indian industries are still carrying out the job scheduling and other planning activities manually which otherwise could be carried out utilizing various tools such as simulation software, advanced excel sheets with macros written concretely to the requisites of a particular industry. These tools are easy to afford and results in improvement in terms of productivity, production, and cost. Job scheduling becomes critical in those job-shop industries which process the perpetual order jobs and simultaneously the in-between order jobs. Preparing the schedule manually for processing of the components on various workstations is a tedious and time-consuming job. There are various tools and techniques for developing the job schedule automatically. The current research study utilizes Arena Simulation Software to develop a simulation model for producing the time between arrivals (TBAs) and the finishing time of each part on the particular process. The objective is to abbreviate the processing time by providing alternative processing time as an input to the simulation model, which results in maximum utilization of the workstations along with the timely delivery of the parts. The simulation model is tested with data amassed from the radiator paint shop industry located in Pune industrial area. The study demonstrates the efficacious utilization of simulation tool to model the problems of SMEs. The study results in improved productivity and production, which ultimately leads to reduction in cost.

Published

2020-10-16

Issue

Section

Articles