Application of Simulation in the Optimization of the Blood Plasma Storage Process

Abstract

The paper deals with the process of optimizing the creation of the output product, which is the Cobas HIV-1 blood plasma separation card. The capabilities of the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software will be used in this process. The application of simulation software will help to reveal the possibilities of improvement during the entire production process of the said product and to debug all potential improvement errors on the digital model without physically interfering with the current production process. The paper contains a basic theoretical clarification of some basic terms. The following content describes individual parts of the production process in question. An analysis will be carried out, on the basis of which the most significant bottlenecks will be revealed. The data used to create the simulation were collected based on the recording of working time and its use on the given production line. This kind of observation also revealed initial bottlenecks. For these bottlenecks, a methodology for their effectiveness and criteria for their optimization is subsequently proposed. Subsequently, an optimization solution is proposed, which is verified and evaluated by simulation. The collected data were then transferred to a digital model in the form of a simulation. Based on the results of the simulation, the given optimization proposals will be evaluated at the end. Production on the line has been optimized gradually and thanks to this we can see several variants that can be compared, and the best one can be chosen. The development of the entire optimization process is the possibility to increase the production output from the original 350 produced pieces up to 699 pieces in the same time horizon. In the process of optimization, methodologies were created that followed it and gave instructions for the optimization of productions of a similar nature. In addition to the mentioned optimization simulation variants, the paper also contains a design solution proposal in the form of 3D models, when several workstations are united into one workstation.