Customer Service vs Trim Waste in Corrugated Box Manufacture

Abstract

Many approaches to the problem of arranging customer orders for cutting or corrugation have focused on the minimization of trim waste. This views the corrugator more or less in isolation. When downstream machines or customer due-dates exist, however, customer service may suffer from the desire to keep scrap at a low level. Thus, if slightly higher levels of waste were accepted, the production scheduler might be able to improve performance regarding due dates. We developed a simulation model, for Domtar Packaging Ltd, of a corrugated cardboard box factory, which included the corrugation process and four finishing machines. Customer orders were generated via empirical and theoretical probability distributions, then sent through the model according to one of several scheduling rules. This allowed the relationship between various levels of trim waste and customer service to be viewed. Results of the simulation experiments, as well as a discussion of the model itself, are given. Comments and conclusions regarding both our model and corrugator algorithms in general are presented in the light of the role of the human scheduler in plants of this type.