Real time simulation moves from sales aid to production scheduling tool

Isoma CAD and IT manager Bryan Gibbons says that “a major dairy company” is in the process of developing the idea now. “We developed the software from an off the shelf package to provide a sales tool so we could show customers our machines and conveyors running,” he says. “They would be able to see throughput and we would be able to prove that aspects like conveyor lengths are right.” The software takes into account every aspect of production, including failures and efficiencies, to produce meaningful real-time data. The data is then used to prove machinery speeds, personnel levels, shift patterns, best layouts, conveyor lengths etc, with ‘what if’ functionality for optimisation. “But once we presented it, they were so impressed they’re now looking at using it as a production tool for operations. For example, they can look at a 16 hour shift on a filling line and develop a feasible schedule for running, say, 50,000 bottles,” says Gibbons. “It’s difficult to see how long it would take to run if there are different labels and it’s filling different products, but our simulation software takes account of changeover times, MTBFs, MTTRs etc so it’s all accurate.”