Modelagem, simulação e análise de cenários para identificação de gargalos em uma linha de montagem: um estudo de caso em uma fábrica de baterias de chumbo ácido.

Abstract

The growing competition among companies and the significant increase in the battery market drive strategies to increase production volume. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the lead-acid battery production line, focusing on identifying bottlenecks and increasing production capacity. The research uses discrete event simulation, implemented in AnyLogic software, as a tool to model the production flow, identify critical points and test different improvement scenarios. The assembly process was studied in its final stages, seeking a greater understanding of the current limitations of the system. From the data collected, four different operating conditions were simulated, including the change in cycle times in automatic machines, increase in the capacity of manual stations and the increase in the physical capacity of belts. The study revealed that the main bottleneck was in the leak test equipment, and that the reduction in its cycle time generated an increase in production capacity, with gains of up to 127 batteries per shift. It is concluded that the application of the simulation allowed a deeper understanding of the production system and promoted valuable insights for strategic decision making, especially in relation to the increase of the nominal capacity of the production line.