Abstract:
Symbiotic simulation is inspired by symbiosis in biology and is defined as a
close association between a simulation system and a physical system, which is
usually beneficial to at least one of them. Many applications have been
proposed in recent years to implement symbiotic simulation to physical
systems. However, little research has been carried out on implementing
computer-based information systems to symbiotic simulation.
In this research, symbiotic simulation is developed with the integration of
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. On the one hand, simulation
models benefit from the relevant manufacturing data which are provided by
ERP systems. On the other hand, ERP systems and physical systems benefit
from the feedback offered by simulation models.
A tube manufacturing shop floor has been selected as a case to demonstrate
how the symbiotic simulation can be practically implemented. In this case
example, a simulation model has been built using Anylogic 6 to mutually interact
with a SAP R/3 system. Experimentation has also been carried out to evaluate
the extent to which the symbiotic simulation can effectively address
uncertainties in manufacturing environments and ultimately control the ERP
system and the tube manufacturing shop floor.
