Use of simulation to evaluate the benefits of timely defect information

The research described is concerned with establishing innovative methods for quality control for manually intensive production lines. Our industrial partner is a European leader in the manufacturing of caravans. A systematic approach to tackling manufacturing defects requires information about the frequency and cause of defects as well as the cost of ignoring, repairing and eliminating them. Unfortunately, this information is very difficult to acquire for the type of production line we are tackling. In the absence of the information necessary to plan a conventional quality improvement strategy, we are using computer simulation in the attempt to understand how changes to designs and manufacturing practices will affect quality