A Course In Manufacturing Systems With Simulation

The manufacturing sector plays a vital role in the national economy and the recent pressures of outsourcing and offshoring place a higher emphasis on excellence in manufacturing systems and manufacturing management to retain a competitive manufacturing sector in the United States. A course in manufacturing systems has been developed with the Factory Physics textbook and the Promodel simulation package. The Factory Physics textbook presents a broad introduction to production processes with particular emphasis on batch process analysis and the role of variability on process performance. The book provides both philosophical perspectives of production principles and also fundamental analytical solutions for process performance parameters. As such, it provides a quantitative basis for discussion of strategies such as MRP, JIT, and lean manufacturing. In addition to textbook analytical solutions, the Promodel simulation package has been used in the class for students to build virtual simulation models of the production processes and verify their solutions. The combination of Factory Physics with Promodel provides an ideal learning environment for students by combining the textbook analysis with the hands-on experience of building and simulating the production system in Promodel. Students both build their own simulation solutions to problems as well as experiment with models provided by the instructor. Preliminary assessment data shows that students respond favorably to the combined textbook and simulation approach.