Simulation and analysis of the Mercedes-Benz all activity vehicle (AAV) production facility

Abstract

Mercedes-Benz United States International (MBUSI) built a manufacturing facility for the production of the new M-Class "all activity vehicle" (AAV). This plant consists of three large sequential shops: the body shop, the paint shop, and the assembly shop. When the plant reaches full production, 270 vehicles will be produced each day by two shifts. A finished vehicle is intended to leave the end of the assembly line every 3.6 minutes. The main objective of this study is to simulate the design and operational policies of the AAV assembly facility and to verify that the daily throughput requirements can be met. The simulation study also answered various questions. What is the maximum throughput (capacity) of the facility? What is the daily distribution of throughput? Does the current design produce the required throughput of 270 cars per day? How do the buffers behave in terms of quantity fluctuations? What are the possible bottlenecks to the desired throughput? The paper provides a description of the integrated simulation model to analyze the capability of the production facilities at MBUSI. The paper includes the inputs used for the development of each of the three individual models: the body shop, the paint shop, and the assembly shop. Additionally, it includes descriptions of the model features and the assumptions that were made.