Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Reino Ruusu, MSc. (Tech.), is a research scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. He has a master's degree in computer science from Helsinki University of Technology, and a 15-year experience in building modelling and simulation tools for manufacturing, robotics, materials science and operations research.
Speeches
The distribute simulation integration and optimization platform SOMO from ESTECO is capable of executing a very diverse set of simulation workflows, but the simulation workflow must be statically created for each study. The EPES project (www.epes-project.eu) carries out research and development on a platform for
business-process management from the point of view of sustainability and life-cycle management. The EPES platform integrates business-process modelling and execution tools with the SOMO simulation integration platform in order to create a collaborative environment, in which the execution of simulation studies is an integrated part of the overall collaboration between engineers and architects from various disciplines.
For additional flexibility, the EPES platform provides configuration tools for the SOMO platform that are capable of dynamically configuring simulation workflow models based on the actual contents of input files for the simulation tools. This allows the set of input and output variables, constraints and objectives to be dependent on the contents of the simulator input data, thus allowing the EPES platform to isolate the workflow preparation as a set-up task that does not need to be repeated for each simulation run using a single set of tools. This saves a significant amount of time and prevents human errors in the workflow preparation process.
The developed system is demonstrated using a case of aircraft wing assembly studies using discrete event simulation (DES) as a part of one of the EPES business cases. The EPES system provides new supporting services for the assessment of productivity and sustainability, and enables the validation of production scenarios, e.g. future factories, at the early stages of design and improved decision making for an optimal manufacturing facility will be supported. This business case focuses on productivity and the reduction of energy consumption, waste production and water and material usage during the production phase of the wing life cycle. The case provides tools for streamlining design-for-manufacturing evaluations for wing design concepts as a part of the wing architectural design process.
