The development of a generic simulation model of citrus packing lines
Date
2011-10
Authors
Beukes, H. T.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The design of a citrus packhouse is a time-consuming process and the construction of such
a facility is extremely expensive. Most packhouses, however, consist of identical operations.
It has been proposed that a generic simulation model can be developed in order to assist
engineers in decision-making and evaluation during the design or redesign of citrus
packhouses. This project is concerned with the development of such a model.
The report consists of five major phases, namely the problem identification phase, the
solution approach identification phase, the solution development phase, the verification and
validation phase and the recommendation and conclusion phase. The problem identification
phase is focused on the formulation of the problem and a discussion of the major functions
and operations within a citrus packhouse. Simulation modelling has been identified as an
appropriate tool to develop the solution and a roadmap for the development of such a model
has been identified. The solution development phase entails the construction and
computerization of the simulation model according to the proposed roadmap. The techniques
employed to ensure the validity of the model are described in the verification and validation
phase. The recommendations and conclusion phase entails a discussion of how the model
can be used to perform experiments and the final remarks regarding the model are
discussed.
The model developed during the course of this project can be used to assist engineers to
evaluate proposed designs and evaluate the effect of certain parameters on the system. The
model is generic and can be used to represent almost any citrus packhouse.
Please refer to full text for Afrikaans summary.
Please refer to full text for Afrikaans summary.
Description
The goals of this project entail the creation of a simulation model of a citrus packing facility, in order to demonstrate the flow of inputs, outputs, materials and resources within the facility. This model should be generic and reusable for a variety of applications and organisations. The proposed outcome of the project is a functional simulation program which can be used to enter specific constraints of a certain packhouse in order to analyse the flows within the facility in order to evaluate it in terms of throughput and resource utilization.
Final year project, 2011
Final year project, 2011
Keywords
Citrus fruit packhouses, Citrus fruit -- Handling -- South Africa, Simulation modeling