Benefits of modeling and simulation in implementing a shared component build strategy

Abstract

AbstractThe push for significantly more affordable Department of Defense programs in a limited budget environment has created a need to better understand the cost impacts of manufacturing decisions made during the early phases of system development. To reduce costs, Department of Defense programs are investigating the benefits of implementing a shared component build strategy. To implement this strategy, program managers need tools that will evaluate how their decision will affect the cost of the systems they are developing. This paper reports on the implementation of a shared component build strategy on two major missile system programs. A simulation model was developed to illustrate the impact of a shared build on the manufacturing system that would construct a component. The simulation models the production line of a common component for two major missile programs. The combination of the simulation and the corresponding user interface demonstrates the ease of experimenting with various manufacturing system architectures and highlights the benefits achieved by utilizing modeling and simulation. The results from this simulation showed that selecting an alternative manufacturing system architecture could result in a $3.04 million cost avoidance. These results support the theory that modeling and simulation is an invaluable decision‐making tool that can support evaluation of a shared production build strategy. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 6: 63–75, 2003