Abstract:
MONN is a manufacturer of premium quality and custom woven Axminster carpeting. The
process of making a custom woven Axminster carpet involves many processes but the weaving
process o ered room for improvement in the throughput and changeover time of the 5 looms,
which weave the carpets. It was identi ed that the looms created a bottleneck in the factory
making any improvement in loom changeover time valuable.
The processes and methods in place when setting up a loom for a new job were uner-
gonomic and slow. Using multiple literature sources that looked into facilities planning and the
ergonomics of preparing the looms, new methods improving ergonomics and speed were devel-
oped. Two new scenarios were developed which could lead to possible improvements over the
current system. In order to assign a monetary value to the di erent scenarios, AnyLogic was
used as a simulation tool to model the di erent scenarios. AnyLogic is a simulation program that
by utilising the concept of discrete and agent based modelling provides a platform to simulate
a process with accuracy.
The current processes and systems MONN uses was simulated providing a foundation for the
new scenarios for and benchmark to which they can be compared to. To ensure that the base
model was realistic; validation and calibration experiments were conducted. Once the based
model was completed, the new scenarios could be developed using simulation.
Two scenarios were developed where changes in the material handling systems and improve-
ments in general ergonomics were made. An additional scenario was added where sta were
relocated to new positions to further improve performance.
The results of the scenarios' simulation models were documented, and the monetary values
of the simulations were assessed to determine the feasibility. It was found that all proposed sce-
narios were an improvement over the current system and would that they would pay themselves
in 5{8 years contributing R500 000 { R1 350 000 a year to pay themselves o , depending on the
scenario.
