Evaluation and optimisation of integrated manufacturing system operations using Taguchʹs experiment design in computer simulation

The application of computer simulation have been proposed and implemented to solve the problems of variation in integrated manufacturing systems. However, a simulation model only acts as a tool in examining performance. It is essentially a trial and error methodology, and does not directly provide explanations for observed system behaviours. Therefore, in this paper the use of Taguchiʹs Experiment Design in simulation is studied to solve decision-making problems in integrated manufacturing systems. In particular, we use the case of a steel soaking-pit/rolling-mill plant to demonstrate how the approach works. The results reveal that this approach can take into account the evaluation and optimisation of operating conditions in complex systems simultaneously.