System Dynamics Modeling of the Effects of the Decision to Purchase Industrial Robots on a Manufacturing Organization

Abstract

Over time, all industries have adapted to the ever-increasing demand for higher product quality and throughput by embracing automation and industrial robots. The impact of the purchasing decision of automation equipment such as robots on an organization's profitability needs to be better understood, given the paucity of published empirical data on the topic. One alternative approach to deal with the scarcity of data is simulation, and among the available simulation methods for redressing this issue, System Dynamics (SD) has proved to be a reliable alternative. This work presents a SD-based simulation model for the purchasing decision of an industrial robot (purchasing option) within a manufacturing organization that is based on a previously established technological archetype. The intent of this study is to create a suitable simulation environment based on a combination of the two simulation models to study in greater detail the economic effects of purchasing industrial robots.