Decision Support Simulation Method For Process Improvement Of Electronic Product Testing Systems

Spread of the Jidoka concept can be phrased as a trend at the production of electronic products. In most of the cases, with the application of this concept, the development of testing procedures (for quality assurance purposes) of the finished products can be avoided. In those cases, when the production process of the appropriate quality product cannot be implemented safely for the establishment of the product testing process (following the production process), changing the number of variety products, change of requirements concerning the electronic products (e.g., instructions related to energy consumption, noise level) and the variation of the required testing capacity make the modification of the established testing process necessary. The implementation of related plans often leads to problems (e.g., not the appropriate storage area, material flow process or material handling equipment having been chosen). The method of process configuration affects the sustainability, since the poorly established process can lead to additional usage of non-renewable natural resources and unjustified environmental impact. For one of the tools of Industry 4.0, we developed such a state-of-the-art testing method with the use of simulation modelling by which the change of testing process can be effectively examined and evaluated, thus we can prevent the unnecessary planning failures. The application of the developed method is also shown through a case study.