Multi-Level Optimization with Aggregated Discrete-Event Models

Removing bottlenecks that restrain the overall performance of a factory can give companies a competitive edge. Although in principle, it is possible to connect multiple detailed discrete-event simulation models to form a complete factory model, it could be too computationally expensive, especially if the connected models are used for simulation-based optimizations. Observing that computational speed of running a simulation model can be significantly reduced by aggregating multiple line-level models into an aggregated factory level, this paper investigates, with some loss of detail, if the identified bottleneck information from an aggregated factory model, in terms of which parameters to improve, would be useful and accurate enough when compared to the bottleneck information obtained with some detailed connected line-level models. The results from a real-world, multi-level industrial application study have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach, showing that the aggregation method can represent the underlying detailed line-level model for bottleneck analysis.