Simulation modeling for quality and productivity in steel cord manufacturing

Abstract

We describe the application of simulation modeling to estimate and improve quality and productivity performance of a steel cord manufacturing system. We describe the typical steel cord manufacturing plant, emphasize its distinguishing characteristics, identify various pro- duction settings and discuss applicability of simulation as a management decision support tool. Besides presenting the general structure of the developed simulation model, we focus on wire fractures, which can be an important source of system disruption.