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An Approach to Represent Material Handlers as Agents in Discrete-Event Simulation Models

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Highlights of Practical Applications of Scalable Multi-Agent Systems. The PAAMS Collection (PAAMS 2016)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 616))

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Abstract

This paper introduces an initial approach to represent human-driven, industrial-truck material handlers as agents in discrete-event simulation models of manufacturing systems. The approach is network based and involves material handlers creating work tasks for themselves based on the current states of the system, such as inventory in a production area and material availability in a supply area. The material handler integrates other work tasks with supporting the production lines. The approach leverages constructs currently available in simulation software and is implemented in FlexSim. An illustrative example is provided and the agent-based results are compared to traditional means for modeling material handling.

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Acknowledgements

Support for this research has been provided by the Faculty of Engineering Management DS. 2016 Poznan University of Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Poznan University of Technology, ul. Strzelecka 11, 60-965, Poznań, Poland

    Allen G. Greenwood

Authors
  1. Allen G. Greenwood
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Correspondence to Allen G. Greenwood .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Inteligencia Artificial, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Javier Bajo

  2. Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

    María José Escalona

  3. Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Sylvain Giroux

  4. University of Poznan, Poznan, Poland

    Patrycja Hoffa-Dąbrowska

  5. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    Vicente Julián

  6. Department of Informatics, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Paulo Novais

  7. Fluminense Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Nayat Sánchez-Pi

  8. Inst. Comp. Sci. & Bus. Info. Sys. (ICB), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Rainer Unland

  9. Departamento de Informática e Estatístic, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis S.C.,, Brazil

    Ricardo Azambuja-Silveira

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Greenwood, A.G. (2016). An Approach to Represent Material Handlers as Agents in Discrete-Event Simulation Models. In: Bajo, J., et al. Highlights of Practical Applications of Scalable Multi-Agent Systems. The PAAMS Collection. PAAMS 2016. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 616. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39387-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39387-2_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39386-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39387-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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