A stepwise implementation of the virtual factory in manufacturing industry
Paper in proceeding, 2018

A big challenge for manufacturers today is to create a flexible and efficient production system. One way of managing this challenge is to establish a virtual factory, a virtual model of the production unit. Working smarter by using the advantages that digitalization implies enables production of personalized products at increasing speed. This paper explores how to implement such a concept by stepwise increasing the maturity of the virtual factory. Evaluated at a large-scale Swedish manufacturer, local needs and enabling technologies benchmarked at industry leaders have been identified and strategically mapped to their corresponding maturity step. This paper shows that the implementation of a virtual factory relies on standardized work procedures, ensuring its use as a decision aid throughout the company. Implementing a virtual factory in this manner will facilitate user-driven development and more accurate decision making, generating support for efficient production systems.

Decision making

Decision support systems

Author

Amanda Dalstam

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems

Marcus Engberg

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems

Daniel Nåfors

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems

Björn Johansson

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems

Anneli Sundblom

SKF Group

Proceedings - Winter Simulation Conference

08917736 (ISSN)

Vol. 2018-December 3229-3240 8632234

2018 Winter Simulation Conference, WSC 2018
Gothenburg, Sweden,

Subject Categories

Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics

Other Mechanical Engineering

Environmental Management

DOI

10.1109/WSC.2018.8632234

More information

Latest update

11/27/2023