Simulation of production line improvement in modular home manufacturing

Abstract

The production of modular homes is highly variable, where the production time for a single home can vary significantly. Because there is a large amount of variation and customization in the home models built, operation time on the production line varies greatly, and considerable effort is needed for production line flow balancing. Simulation not only allows the manufacturer to identify areas of potential improvement on the line, but also helps to measure the likely success of proposed changes before investment in or implementation of these changes. In this paper, a case study is presented which uses simulation to evaluate the current-state performance of a wall panel production line, and to validate several proposed changes in terms of whether or not they will be effective and should be implemented.