A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1993

In the increasingly complex world of manufacturing, simulation has been accepted as a very power tool for the planning, design, and control of complex manufacturing systems. However, one area that has not been adequately covered is the interpretation of simulation results, which often can only be done by experts. An expe1t system can be employed to analyze the simulation output, and suggest recommendations, to make simulation as a modeling tool accessible to the non-expert users. In this study, an effort is made to achieve this integration of simulation with expert systems. Information needs at all the three levels of decision hierarchy are identified. Various desirable attributes of simulation modeling are identified and tools to achieve these attributes are presented. A prototype of Integrated Intelligent Simulation System is developed with the main objective of overcoming certain limitations of simulation modeling. The Integrated Intelligent Simulation System, so developed incorporates three basic modules viz. a manufacturing database, a simulator, and an intelligent back end. Manufacturing database facilitate ease in storage and retrieval of data which certainly enhances the value of simulation by reducing model development and execution time. Intelligent back end serves to analyze the simulation output and guides the user towards goals of simulation.