Node Design, Factory Infrastructure

A supply network consists of nodes and of transportation connections. Both, the total logistics network and the internal structure of the nodes have to be designed. The term Node Design stand for the design of the internal structure of a node within a ligistics network. For example, it has to be determined which ressources and capacities are required at a production plant. Engineers call this area of issue  Factory Planning. Currently, in many companies projects are run that are aimed to support the factory planning with particular software tools. In this context, virtual factories are considered.

In our research, we consider issues with respect to the design of flow production under stochastic condistions (stochastic service time and failure). Dimensioning of buffer between stations requires significant consideration in optimization problems. With the POM Flowline Optimizer which has been developed by us and which is applied e.g. in the automotive industry and optimized dimensioning of buffer can be realized.