INTRODUCTION

This case is concerned with the topic Simulation. Simulation is one of the most widely used
techniques in OR. It is used in all types of business decision making which covers all the
functional areas. Due to its flexibility, power and intuitive approach its popularity is growing
rapidly, with the increase in availability of computer power. Simulation is performed frequently
for risk analysis, project management, resource planning etc. Simulation is widely used for
systems which involves continuous decision making for a long time.


Facts of the Case
1. Carl Schilling is the foreman of a large manufacturing firm which manufactures castings
through planer machines.
2. Carl is called by the management to give solution for the problem they are facing. The
planer department is a problem. They cannot match the output with the workload. Work
pieces were stuck up for want of free planner. This had disrupted the production schedule
of next in line processes which increased the WIP costs and idle time costs which resulted
into loss of production.
3. This meeting with the management helped Carl to sort out the major problems which he
could see. He wanted a new planner so that bottlenecks could be eased. At one point of
time there is a possibility that there would be overload and bottlenecks may occur and on
the other hand the machines remain idle. Therefore Carl wanted to have uniform flow of
work.

Given Information
1. Company has 2 planers for cutting flat smooth surfaces in castings.
2. The planers are used for 2 purposes:
a. To make top surface of platen for large hydraulic lifts.
b. To form mating surface of final drive housing for a large piece of earth moving
equipment.
3. For each platen, the time required by a planer has an Erlang distribution with a mean of 25
minutes and shape parameter (k) as 4.
4. For each housing the time required has an exponential distribution of minimum time of 10
minutes.
5. The castings of both types arrive at one time.
6. Casting for platens arrive randomly with mean rate of 2 per hour.
7. Casting for housing have a uniform inter arrival time distributed in the time range of 20 to
40 minutes.

8. Estimated costs are:
a. Platen casting cost = $200
b. Housing casting cost = $100
9. All castings reserved on the FCFS basis.

To evaluate/find/ recommend
1. Acquire additional planer whose total incremental cost is $30 per hour.
2. Eliminate variability in inter arrival times of platen castings with castings arriving at
uniform manner of one every 30 minutes. Incremental cost = $40 per hour.
3. Eliminate variability in inter arrival times of housing castings with castings arriving at
uniform manner of one every 30 minutes. Incremental cost = $20 per hour.
4. To evaluate and recommend best solution.
Assumptions
Here I have assumed that the manufacturing plant starts its operations at 8.00 AM and ends at
4.00 PM. The complete day schedule is broken in 4 shifts of 2 hours each; and I am considering
the first shift from: 8.00 AM to 10.00 AM.


Solution
I have found random numbers with the help of Excel function = rand ().
0.036565 0.577524 0.134957

0.196681

0.37766 0.072979 0.738164 0.970452
0.906679 0.031117 0.900105

0.34588

0.063045 0.730949 0.424865 0.968318
0.410758 0.1858 0.603859

0.299077

0.230593 0.439609 0.852662 0.467995
0.924451 0.049473 0.74776

0.384825

0.940334 0.502012 0.104424 0.112969
0.81635 0.912798 0.726556

0.223119

0.203605 0.422946 0.545549 0.249414
0.652705 0.394476 0.425072

0.860625

0.266983 0.190098 0.13344 0.661867
0.912681 0.27931 0.142925

0.520028

0.710219 0.636441 0.994633 0.283438
0.811872 0.437846 0.680516

0.253787

0.401874 0.850901 0.213857 0.319417
0.310951 0.502438 0.506483

0.919053

0.737724 0.881088 0.134331 0.319457
0.641241 0.494982 0.65232

0.318413

0.535483 0.774716 0.926091 0.136143
0.365752 0.123663 0.859742

0.090454

0.552591 0.283842 0.966688 0.533574
0.635943 0.653698 0.77838

0.971323

0.87239 0.673583 0.067826 0.131651
0.549869 0.920046 0.863478

0.641856

0.230467 0.722991 0.433447 0.44346
0.059011 0.723111 0.051832

0.936701

0.707969 0.414765 0.808125 0.328691
0.632692 0.719341 0.146475

0.129747

0.648618 0.743958 0.103819 0.717484
0.322418 0.188165 0.986606

0.188835

0.304988 0.502098 0.70133 0.225029
0.272626 0.663722 0.368716

0.03893

0.677635 0.803266 0.0119 0.558584
0.081336 0.304927 0.670339

0.226528

0.535707 0.083458 0.219536 0.236758
0.987777 0.401712 0.640559

0.236826

0.241866 0.646005 0.520602 0.274338
0.789439 0.457464 0.208447

0.780454

0.76212 0.785218 0.338563 0.238356
0.982489 0.998846 0.549891

0.435701

0.949806 0.930977 0.060719 0.730098
0.497482 0.353671 0.752714

0.942466

0.303123 0.803921 0.004307 0.886129
0.674263 0.028828 0.792313

0.86749

0.718649 0.052687 0.511348 0.233355
0.137101 0.81789 0.016397

0.845208

0.858521 0.676812 0.717391 0.651294
0.520885 0.726432 0.306489

0.579749

0.51196 0.316809 0.543013 0.525877

Now as there are two machines which do the required job, I have assigned one machine for
Platen casting and the other machine for Housing casting.

Platen Casting: - Arrivals:-
The arrivals for platen casting at the planer machine are random (given)
Hence the formula for calculating these random arrivals

()

Where ln = log, Rn = random number.

Here, lambda () = 2 per hour (given); and
All the values are given in minutes, hence I have multiply the equation with 60 as in 1hr = 60
minutes.
Hence, using the above formula I got following values








Platen Casting: - Service:-
The service rate for platen casting has Erlang distribution with mean () = 25 and k = 4...
(Given)
Hence we can say that, = 1/25 = 0.04 and k = 4.
Now the formula for finding service time for platen castings is
t =

As the constant parameter k = 4, we shall take 4 random numbers for ln (Rn) value.



Serial random Time time Arrival
number number (in minutes) (round off) (clock time)

8.00 am
1 0.0366 43.09 43 8.43 am
2 0.4108 11.59 12 8.55 am
3 0.3110 15.21 15 9.10 am
4 0.3658 13.10 13 9.23 am
5 0.0590 36.87 37 10.00 am
Hence, using the above formula I got following values




Housing Casting: - Arrivals:-
The inter arrival time is uniformly distributed time between 20 to 40 minutes (given)
Now the formula to find the arrivals of housing castings, we use the following formula
t = a + (b a) Rn, where, a = 20 min (least time taken) and b 40 min (max time taken).
Hence, (b-a) = 20.
Random Time Round off Time
Number (min) (min) (clock)

8.00 am
0.0813 21.62 22 8.22 am
0.0311 20.62 21 8.43 am
0.0495 20.99 21 9.04 am
0.0288 20.57 20 9.24 am
0.0518 21.03 21 9.45 am

Housing Casting: - Service:-
And the service rate is exponentially distributed with a mean of 10 minutes (given)
The formula for finding the service rate of housing castings is
t = 10 +
()

, where = 1/10 = 0.1

(Rn)
service Rounded
random numbers(Rn1*Rn2*Rn3*Rn4) time(min) off(min)
0.6327 0.3224 0.2726 0.9878 0.0553 7.85 8
0.7894 0.9825 0.4975 0.6743 0.2602 3.54 4
0.5775 0.1858 0.9128 0.3945 0.0394 8.77 9
0.2793 0.4378 0.5024 0.4950 0.0304 9.48 9
0.1237 0.6537 0.9200 0.7231 0.0538 7.93 10
0.7193 0.1882 0.6637 0.3049 0.0274 9.76 10
0.4017 0.4575 0.9988 0.3537 0.0645 7.44 7
0.1350 0.9001 0.6039 0.7478 0.0549 7.87 8
0.7266 0.4251 0.1429 0.6805 0.0300 9.51 10
0.5065 0.6523 0.8597 0.7784 0.2210 4.09 4
0.1465 0.9866 0.3687 0.6703 0.0358 9.03 9
0.6406 0.2084 0.5499 0.7527 0.0552 7.86 8
0.2231 0.8606 0.5200 0.2538 0.0254 10.32 10
0.9191 0.3184 0.9713 0.6419 0.1824 4.62 5
0.2265 0.2368 0.7805 0.4357 0.0124 11.91 12
Random Time Round off
Number (minutes) (minutes)
0.9425 10.25 10
0.8675 10.61 11
0.8452 10.73 11
0.5797 12.37 12
0.3777 14.23 14
0.0630 22.00 22
0.2306 16.37 16
0.9403 10.27 10
0.2036 16.91 17

The current situation at the plant where Carl Schilling works is: -

PARTICULARS ARRIVAL SERVICE ARRIVAL SERVICE ARRIVAL SERVICE WAITING IDLE IDLE

TIME TIME TIME @ TIME @ TIME @ TIME @ TIME TIME @ TIME @

PLANER
1
PLANER
1
PLANER
2
PLANER
2

PLANER 1
PLANER
2
Housing 8.22 am 10 8.22 am 8.32 am

22

Platen 8.43 am 8

8.43 am 8.51 am

43
Housing 8.43 am 11 8.43 am 8.54 am

11

Platen 8.55 am 4

8.55 am 8.59 am

4
Housing 9.04 am 11 9.04 am 9.15 am

10

Platen 9.10 am 9

9.10 am 9.19 am

11
Platen 9.23 am 9

9.23 am 9.32 am

4
Housing 9.24 am 12 9.24 am 9.36 am

9

Housing 9.45 am 14 9.45 am 9.59 am

9

Platen
10.00
am 10

10.00
am
10.10
am

28

TOTAL 0 61 90

Thus, the present condition of the work done is:-
1. Idle time on Planer Machine 1 is 61 minutes = 1 hour and 1 minute.
2. Idle time on Planer Machine 2 is 90 minutes = 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Now for the convenience, I have used the following abbreviations: -















For Proposal No. 1
I have assumed that machine 3 would be used alternatively for housing as well as planer
castings. Incremental cost = $ 30 per hour (given)
P AL-TE
SE-
TE
AL-TE
(M 1)
SE-TE
(M 1)
AL-TE
(M 2)
SE-TE
(M 2)
AL-TE
(M 3)
SE-TE
(M 3)
WTG-
TE
IDL-
TE
(M
1)
IDL-
TE
(M2)
IDL-
TE
(M3)
HC
8.22
am 10
8.22
am
8.32
am 22
PC
8.43
am 8
8.43
am
8.51
am 43
HC
8.43
am 11
8.43
am
8.54
am 11
PC
8.55
am 4
8.55
am
8.59
am 4
HC
9.04
am 11
9.04
am
9.15
am 10
PC
9.10
am 9
9.10
am
9.19
am 11
PC
9.23
am 9
9.23
am
9.32
am 83
HC
9.24
am 12
9.24
am
9.36
am 9
HC
9.45
am 14
9.45
am
9.59
am 13
PC
10.00
am 10
10.00
am
10.10
am 41
TOTAL 0 52 99 96
P = PARTICULARS
P C = PLATEN CASTING
H C = HOUSING CASTING
AL-TE = ARRIVAL TIME
SE-TE = SERVICE TIME
AL-TE (M 1) = ARRIVAL TIME AT PLANER MACHINE 1
SE-TE (M 1) = SERVICE TIME AT PLANER MACHINE 1
AL-TE (M 2) = ARRIVAL TIME AT PLANER MACHINE 2
SE-TE (M 2) = SERVICE TIME AT PLANER MACHINE 2
AL-TE (M 3) = ARRIVAL TIME AT PLANER MACHINE 3
SE-TE (M 3) = SERVICE TIME AT PLANER MACHINE 3
WTG-TE = WATING TIME FOR PLANER MACHINES
IDL-TE (M 1) = IDLE TIME FOR PLANER MACHINE 1
IDL-TE (M2) = IDLE TIME FOR PLANER MACHINE 2
IDL-TE (M3) = IDLE TIME FOR PLANER MACHINE 3
As seen earlier, there was a lot of waiting time on machines 1 and 2, the introduction of
additional machine will further increase the idle time as well as additional cost of $ 60 per 1 hour
36 minutes of idle time on machine 3.


For Proposal No. 2
If platens arrive at uniform rate of one every 30 minutes (given)
Then the service rate also should be uniform (assumed)
Hence, the service rate would be 1 every 15 minutes (assumed)
Incremental cost = $ 40 per hour (given)


PARTICULARS ARRIVAL SERVICE ARRIVAL SERVICE ARRIVAL SERVICE WAITING IDLE IDLE

TIME TIME TIME @ TIME @ TIME @ TIME @ TIME TIME @ TIME @

PLANER 1 PLANER 1
PLANER
2
PLANER
2

PLANER
1
PLANER
2
PLATEN 8.00 AM 15 8.00 AM 8.15 AM

0

HOUSING 8.22 AM 10

8.22 AM 8.32 AM

22
PLATEN 8.30 AM 15 8.30 AM 8.45 AM

15

HOUSING 8.43 AM 11

8.43 AM 8.54 AM

11
PLATEN 9.00 AM 15 9.00 AM 9.15 AM

15

HOUSING 9.04 AM 11

9.04 AM 9.15 AM

10
HOUSING 9.24 AM 12

9.24 AM 9.36 AM

9
PLATEN 9.30 AM 15 9.30 AM 9.45 AM

15

HOUSING 9.45 AM 14

9.45 AM 9.59 AM

9
PLATEN 10.00 AM 15 10.00 AM 10.15 AM

15


TOTAL 0 60 61

Hence from the above table we can see that a uniform arrival of platen castings, reduces the idle
time by 30 minutes. And the incremental cost remains at $ 40.


For Proposal No. 3
If housings arrive at a uniform rate of one every 30 minutes (given)
Then the service rate also should be uniform (assumed)
Hence, the service rate for housing castings would one every 45 minutes (assumed)







Hence, In this case, the waiting time is 45 minutes for housing castings, which makes the
whole process to stretch.
The idle time for planer number 2 is 90 minutes which is 1 and hours whose cost comes as
$ 40.

Conclusion
Hence from the above calculations, I want to conclude that Proposal Number 2 can be
accepted.







PARTICULARS ARRIVAL SERVICE ARRIVAL SERVICE ARRIVAL SERVICE WAITING IDLE IDLE

TIME TIME TIME @ TIME @ TIME @ TIME @ TIME TIME @ TIME @

PLANER
1
PLANER
1
PLANER
2
PLANER
2

PLANER
1
PLANER
2
Housing 8.00 am 45 8.00 am 8.45 am

0

Platen 8.43 am 8

8.43 am 8.51 am

43
Housing 8.30 am 45 8.30 am 9.15 am

15

Platen 8.55 am 4

8.55 am 8.59 am

4
Housing 9.00 am 45 9.00 am 9.45 am

15

Platen 9.10 am 9

9.10 am 9.19 am

11
Platen 9.23 am 9

9.23 am 9.32 am

4
Housing 9.30 am 45 9.30 am
10.15
am

15

Platen
10. 00
am 10

10.00
am
10.10
am

28

TOTAL 45 0 90