Glass

What’s on the radar for optimising your glass operation? As anyone in the industry knows, delivering capacity improvements takes an ongoing commitment of time and measurement. So whether there’s new products to launch, plans to invest in equipment, introducing robots, or even tackling a rebuild, Simsol can help. Simsol work with Siemens digital industries as a smart expert partner, bringing certainty to glass production decision making by generating dynamic data using simulation models. Simsol works with organisations to clearly navigate change, simplifying the calculations for how different components work together and the inevitable, seemingly endless, ‘what if’s of the glass planning process.

Dynamic production data for glass

The mission of Simsol is for all manufacturers to have access to dynamic data as part of industry 4.0. This kind of production data gives insights into unlimited configurations and is especially relevant for the glass sector, where Simsol has helped a multitude of manufacturers to take their first steps into digitalisation with reliable data to make decisions with certainty.

Simsol is recognised as a Siemens Smart Expert partner in Plant Simulation software – the video shows some of the testing opportunities this powerful tool can provide, all in a virtual environment with no risk. Below are some typical scenario where simulation has helped glass manufacturers.

Building a new glass factory site

Whether manufacturing float or container glass, simulation software provides a precision tool for engineers to test unlimited variations in layout, explore machinery performance and validate the best approach to make the most of the space they operate in.

 

Optimising or troubleshooting a glass warehouse

Simulation can also be used to evaluate process design – getting granular on exactly how components work together, whether that’s looking to get more value from production assets, or investigating performance issues. By testing scenarios in this factory, high level decisions on how operations will run can be made with certainty, giving you a solution to meet throughput targets and customer needs.

Warehouse management

While it can be often overlooked at the end of the production process onsite, efficiencies in warehouse layout can have an impact on cost per unit and how effectively products reach customers. Simulation can be used to evaluate optimal warehouse layout to meet the demands of lines and make it flexible to benefit from an agile approach to accommodating changes in product mix and meeting new trends. You can read about how the work Simsol did for Pilkington Glass UK in validating their warehouse below.

Case study: Pilkington introduces industry 4.0 technology to glass warehouse to validate layout

Get in touch for a chat about your glass manufacturing challenges