Modeling and simulating the activities in an automobile repair shop using ARENA software – part 2

Abstract

Statistical data obtained from previous paper are collected and studied for the modeling, simulating and optimization of repair shop activities, for the time, capacity and management performance improvement. Based on the simulation’s results, there are made interpretations and proposals are obtained for the human resources rearrangement, to optimize the automobile repair shop’s overall efficiency, performance and capacity. After running the simulation, there are obtained improvements in the number of serviced vehicles covered by “Maintenance”, “Minor repairs”, “Major repairs, Bodywork and Dye-works” and “Bodywork and Dye-works” categories. Also, improvements are made in the duration for the interventions in “Minor repairs, Bodywork and Dye-works”, “Major repairs”, “Major repairs, Bodywork and Dye-works” and “Bodywork and Dye-works” categories, with problematic intervention duration in the initial simulation. The differences between the initial and the optimized simulation, regarding the length of the station’s queue shows the improvements to follow for a more balanced workload distribution and usage of resources. Such simulations can and do significantly improve the way a business performs in the market and serves its customers. Such tools as the Arena software provide insight into the process flow model and can serve as a theoretical testbed for any proposed improvements.