Improving productivity of automated tissue converting lines: an empirical model and a case study

This study is focused on minor stoppages as sources of variance within automated production lines in industrial environments, and it suggests the handling of the problem through a combined phenomenon - mechanism analysis and simulation approach. The resulting seven-step methodological pattern has been applied to a real-life case study of a tissue converting line: the product type and the machine speed have been identified as causal factors for minor stoppages and the wrapper machine has been chosen to exemplify the methodology. Results point out that the speed of the wrapping machine which allows the daily throughput of line to be maximized changes when products change, thus highlighting a trade off between minor stoppages and wrapper speed. However, in some other cases, minor stoppages are more detrimental than the machine speed is useful.