Flavors Technology Incorporated

Slide 22 of 24

Flavors' products were applied by a major European plastics manufacturer to improve their extrusion process. Specifically, the goals were to use fewer lines to manufacture the same order mix, and improve percentage of on-time order fulfillment. Both of these contribute to agility in responding to market demands, and to the quality of service delivered to the customer.

Two major functions were undertaken in developing this application. The first was a simulation of the finishing and packaging operations; the second generated factroy schedules based on many different considerations.

In both cases, the system is driven by incoming orders, which determine the sequence of operations in the plant. In phase I, the schedule is provided as input data, and the system simply simulates the finishing process. In phase II, the scheduling is performed by the system itself, in response to the incoming orders.

This scheduling process starts with the Finishing plant, because it is the most complex and contains the most potential for optimization. The finishing plant schedule in turn drives the Resin manufacturing and Packaging operations.

In the second phase Finishing line agents were imbued with decision-making ability, through a bid -auction mechanism. Individual lines bid for the right to process specific orders. The currency of the bid favors the ability to process without cleaning (or with minor cleaning) and to complete prior to the order's due date. The assignment of jobs to Finishing Lines is thus autonomous to the finishing Line Agents. In complex processes such as this, such an approach has proven very cost effective.