How simulation is transforming factory design

Smart Designer is based on the FlexSim discrete event simulation platform that provides us with long-term visibility. Thanks to this software, which is modeled and integrated with Elettric80 customized logic processes, we can compare different automated solutions for a consumer goods manufacturing plant, verify their functionality, and optimize processes. “The added value,” explains Chiara Amore, System Analyst Manager at E80 Inc., “comes from our company’s accumulated experience, which compliments the development process to identify the best possible solution for our customers. This includes customized feasibility studies, experience in different sectors, the sharing of advanced hardware-software know-how, the consistency and reliability of the service for our offers.”How and why did the Smart Designer project originate?

“The simulation project with a collaboration between E80’s R&D department and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Today, it is a standard product and plays an integral part in the company including a dedicated team, which I joined in mid-2015. The first step was to implement E80 Group logic in this new architecture to bring accuracy to the model”.

What exactly is discrete event simulation?

“Simulation can be understood as a conceptual map that allows you to reproduce the behavior of a complex system in order to be able to analyze it. The discrete events represent the processes under consideration as a chain of events that occur over time. To understand the behavior of a system, you need to construct a model of layout and operation with defined rules governing it. Applied to the world of E80 Group, simulation enables us to verify the functionalities of a system, identify potential criticalities over long periods of time and validate appropriate control logic”.

What added value does this software offer?

“The decision to customize the software to suit the modus operandi of E80 Group was necessitated by the growth of our company and by the development of integrated factories where many variables are in play. Complex systems demand a certain amount of study and that is why it has become increasingly strategic to test all functionalities on the basis of accurate feasibility studies. Simulation is an important tool and supports our System Engineers’ layout design activities. We use it whenever a customer requests it and whenever we think it useful to identify the best possible solution. Its added value lies in the comparison of different project scenarios and in the ability to analyze the functionality of an entire system, not only in the short term but over the long term too. We can observe dynamically how the warehouse will work or how flows function for months at a time, and we can introduce different variables one at a time. Analyzing all these aspects in a static study would be simply impossible.”

What steps must be taken with the customer?

“Whatever the nature of the project, whether it is a greenfield or brownfield development, the first step is to ask the customer for historical data in order to understand their way of operating and get an overview of how the factory will function. With this information, our Systems Analysts, can analyze the system data and working together with our System Engineers, can develop and define the functional solution we will propose. These activities are always carried out in close collaboration with the customer’s team, who know best their company’s business needs - for all intents and purposes, it is a joint venture. Simulation is the final step in the design process and is used to validate the proposed solution”.

Why do we make a difference?

“It’s due to our attitude: we are always customer-oriented. We invent new solutions, we customize, we respond to market needs and we even anticipate them as well. The feasibility study and simulation services that E80 Group offers its customers are designed for this sole purpose. Today, we have software that others in our industry do not: tailor-made and able to accurately satisfy our customers’ requests. Thanks to this proactive attitude and our specific competences, we have been able to develop a strategic tool for developing, validating and implementing personalized proposals for customers that we know we can deliver and guarantee overtime. In addition, for E80 Group, simulation results also represent a commitment that is inclusive in the contract, so our clients can be assured of our determination to achieve them”.

How simulation is transforming factory design from E80 Group on Vimeo.

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