Management of wood products manufacturing using simulation/animation

Managers of hardwood processing facilities need timely information on which to base important decisions such as when to add costly equipment or how to improve profitability subject to time-varying demands. The overall purpose of this paper is to introduce a method that can effectively provide such timely information. A simulation/animation modeling procedure is described for hardwood products manufacturing systems. Object-oriented simulation modeling techniques are used to assist in identifying and solving problems. Animation is used to reduce the time for model development and for communication purposes such as illustrating “how” and “why” a given solution can be effective. The application and utility of the simulation/animation method is illustrated using a furniture roughmill system characteristic of the eastern region of the United States. The wood household furniture, cabinet, and millwork industries employ over 385,000 people, have a total annual payroll exceeding $6.6 billion, and generate over $15 billion annually in value added manufacturing (6). However, this industry faces serious economic and technical problems that are limiting its profitability and growth. The increasing cost of high quality hardwood timber resources along with laborintensive manufacturing methods have pushed manufacturing costs close to unprofitable levels. Furthermore, competitive pressures from foreign companies are threatening these industries. If the industry is to survive and grow under such pressures, it must be able to recognize and solve some fundamental manufacturing problems. To address some of these problems, research has focused on developing better processing equipment technology. Innovative technologies such as computer vision, robotics, and computer-integrated manufacturing, which have been successfully employed in other manufacturing industries, have been proposed for modernizing furniture manufacturing facilities (811). Although modem equipment is very important to a wood products manufacturing plant of the future, improving equipment technology alone is not enough to address all of the industry’s problems. A more complete solution to the problems of the wood furniture, cabinet, and millwork industries involves determining a combination of technology and management that is best for the overall manufacturing system. Studying only one component of such a broad system in isolation from other components may not produce the best overall results. Computer simulation is an effective operations research tool for analyzing whole manufacturing systems. Using computer simulation, alternate processing technologies, management techniques, and control strategies can be thoroughly studied before their costly introduction into a real manufacturing system. Several systems simulation models have been developed to assist in designing, evaluating, and managing hardwood lumber and furniture manufacturing systems. Some of the models have proven very successful in addressing specific questions within given forest The authors are, respectively, Assistant Professor and Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Wood Science and Forest Products, VPI&SU, Blacksburg, VA 24061; and Project Leader, Primary Hardwood Processing and Products, Southeastern Forest Expt. Sta., Brooks Forest Prod. Center, VPI&SU, Blacksburg, VA 24061. This research was sponsored by the USDA Forest Serv. through Coop. Res. Agreement No. 29-474 with the Virginia Agri. Expt. Sta. This paper was received for publication in February 1991. ©Forest Products Research Society 1992. Forest Prod. J. 42(2):45-52. FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL Vol. 42, No. 2 45 Figure 1. — Floor plan of a typical crosscut-first roughmill layout with the 19 station locations. products operations (3, 14). Others provide for the modeling of a variety of operations within a specific industry segment (1,2). Although these systems simulation models have proven very useful, developing and utilizing such models requires a substantial amount of time and experience that the hardwood lumber and furniture industry cannot easily afford. Therefore, much work remains to make the models more “user-friendly” for the industry. One study that is currently underway employs some of the latest computing techniques such as expert systems, object-oriented programming, and animation to make simulation a more usable method for softwood sawmill personnel (4). A similar approach is taken in this paper to develop a decision support tool that can be used by managers of hardwood processing systems.