Investigating Sustainable Production Planning of an Industrial Progressive Die Stamping Process Using Discrete Event Simulation

Abstract This paper investigates the use of discrete event simulation (DES) as a potential decision-support tool for environmentally sustainable production planning. We propose a comprehensive methodology that integrates DES design, dynamic CO2 intensity calculations, and in-depth scenario analysis. This approach facilitates simulation-driven production planning with an emphasis on evaluating and reducing the environmental impacts of manufacturing. Our methodology is applied to the evaluation of an industrial progressive die stamping process (PDSP). The PDSP is a part of a production line in a large Danish manufacturing company. The performance of the PDSP was simulated and evaluated for two working days: 09 Jan 2024 and 10 Jan 2024. Key performance indicators like utilization rate and lead time are assessed alongside environmental sustainability metrics such as process CO2 emissions and CO2 emissions per product. Building upon this baseline, we then simulate and compare two alternative production scenarios: i) increased production capacity and ii) variations in planning orders. These scenarios are then contrasted with the baseline model. Our results demonstrate the potential of DES in identifying new production strategies. The first scenario demonstrates a 7% increase in production capacity, corresponding to a 2.6% increase in process CO2 emissions. The second scenario demonstrates a 5% reduction in process CO2 emissions while retaining the same production capacity as the baseline model. These findings illustrate how DES can uncover production plans that prioritize sustainable manufacturing.