How Simulation Strengthened a Major Expansion Project
Early simulation can prevent costly bottlenecks
A company specialising in intralogistics solutions was supporting a major production site in expanding its production and internal logistics through automation. AFRY supported the detailed design work with advanced simulation and validation. As the system design neared completion, our model identified a potential bottleneck that could have severely limited the site's total capacity, and we found it in time to fix it before implementation.
Detailed Design and Validation
During the detailed design phase, the customer requested that a solution designer validate the proposed intralogistics concept. AFRY was contacted to simulate and verify that the solution could support full production, including handling peaks caused by external logistics, production planning, and batch production.
Additionally, the simulation model was utilised to assess production capacity during the ramp-up period. As more equipment and production lines would gradually be installed and commissioned, AFRY’s model helped assess how the intralogistics system would perform under evolving conditions, ensuring that temporary configurations could still meet demands.
AFRY's Approach
AFRY developed a detailed simulation model incorporating advanced control logic to mimic the behaviour of the proposed equipment. For example, AGV fleet management and routing logic were modelled in close collaboration with the AGV supplier. This high-fidelity simulation revealed a critical bottleneck in the design and enabled corrective actions before implementation, protecting overall site capacity.
Simulation identifies bottleneck
Results and impact
- A common and deep understanding of the system within the project team
- Changes to the manufacturing process
- Several changes to the system configuration, e.g resource capacities, number of resources and buffer sizes
- Changes to the scheduling of production and maintenance
- Higher throughput
- Less material losses
- Lower and more even energy consumption
Facts about the project
Industry: Manufacturing (intralogistics)
Scope: Production site expansion with automated logistics
Method: Digital twin and discrete-event simulation
Focus: AGV fleet management and material flow
Key finding: Critical bottleneck at a merge point
Action: Design and logic adjustments before implementation
Outcome: Preserved capacity and reduced AGV congestion
Validate your design before you build it
Eliminate bottlenecks before they cost you. Let's talk about how AFRY’s simulation specialists can help you achieve your goals.
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