Development of High Precision Process Simulation Based on Multi-Agent System for Shipbuilding

Abstract

A process simulation based on a multi-agent system for shipbuilding is developed. The works in the shipbuilding are precisely modeled including supplemental tasks. In many conventional studies, the work time is estimated by dividing a total workload by the work efficiency observed on the shop floor. On the other hand, shipbuilding work consists of many supplemental works as workers work under the constraints of three-dimensional space. Therefore, this paper proposes a modeling method for shipbuilding tasks that can represent supplemental works as well. The shipbuilding task is represented as a combination of elemental tasks, and each elemental task is an executable function that can consider a path in three-dimensional space. The ship simulator considers a virtual shipbuilding factory as an environment and workers as multi-agent. By comparing the results of the simulation in a sub-assembly process with the actual work in a real shipyard, it was confirmed that the simulator can properly approximate the time of each task including supplemental works. Also, it was shown that the proposed method enables precise examination and reduces the non-value-added time.