Real time operational decision support allowed GE to answer questions such as, “Do I need an additional operator in the next eight hours?”, quickly, simply, and accurately, by running what-if scenarios and optimizing results.ĪnyLogic software gave GE the tools to make the right probabilistic and multi-scenario informed decision, which resulted in clear visibility of day-to-day operations, increased production throughput, and decreased manufacturing costs.
GE’s full plant simulation modeled manufacturing flow, and it was used for capacity planning (identify, evaluate, and prioritize projects), quantitatively analyzing bottlenecks, and evaluating improvement options. He found information failures causing interruptions.
It allowed GE to solve problems in any area, combine models, input multiple data sources, and run models anywhere for complete collaboration and real time decision making. The long term impacts could be evaluated with increased accuracy compared to using traditional computational, mathematical methods.įull plant simulation development processĪnyLogic modeling and simulation software was chosen for its agent-based and multimethod modeling capabilities. GE chose simulation modeling because it offered a dramatic return on investment, and simulation enabled the visualization of their system over time. The GE Global Research Center sought out a powerful and flexible tool to analyze, not just the specific process, but the manufacturing system as a whole.
With over 27,000 variables tracked daily, GE was equipped with a lot of data, but they lacked the means to answer questions, analyze the data properly, or test and evaluate options. GE’s exciting opportunity brought on many new challenges, such as increasing production throughput and yield under evolving processes and uncertainties, and reducing manufacturing costs in order to gain market share. Expanding the facility doubled production, added 100 new jobs, and brought the total factory workforce to 450 when at full capacity (, 2014). The new Durathon battery products, which are half the size of conventional lead acid batteries, but last ten times longer, are the result of GE’s $100 million initial investment in battery technology developed at GE’s Global Research Center (, 2014). These results highlight the opportunity for decision makers to minimize the delivery cost and GHG emissions by optimizing the transportation systems for BSC.In 2012, GE opened a new battery manufacturing plant in conjunction with the launch of an innovative energy storage business. Cost analysis showed that highest cumulative transportation cost is associated with truck while train has the lowest cumulative transportation costs. The PowerPerformance and Infrastructure agents are implemented to show visuals and live values obtained from the simulation runs. that the final application will be able to run on multiple devices and operating systems. Results showed that the highest GHG emissions were associated with train transportation mode while it was lowest with truck. AnyLogic is a multimethod simulation software (discrete event, agent-based and system dynamics. We then developed a dynamic simulation model using AnyLogic software to predict the delivery cost and greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this goal, we used the data of three EFB suppliers in Malaysia as a case study. If you need to run a simulation and observe system behavior under certain conditions, as well as improve system performance, for example, by making decisions about system parameters and/or structure, you can use the optimization capability of AnyLogic. This paper aims to examine the delivery cost and GHG emissions of different transportation modes (train and truck) of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) biomass supply chain. The main barriers in the sustainable development of BSC are transportation cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that represent substantial proportion of the total cost of the BSC.
It is important to develop sustainable biomass supply chain (BSC) by enhancing energy security, decreasing air pollution, and reduction of total cost.
The future of sustainable energy supply and production is moving toward the use of renewable sources like biomass.