Barriers to and Driving Forces for the Implementation of Manufacturing Simulation in the Swedish Foundry Industry

Summary form only given. The deregulation of the European electricity market has led to increasing electricity prices in Sweden, and prices are expected to raise even further, posing a major threat to the Swedish foundries. This study present results from a study of barriers to and driving forces for the use of manufacturing simulation and optimization methods at nine Swedish foundries. The method used is in-depth interviews and a questionnaire. The largest barriers were found to be: lack of information regarding what opportunities manufacturing simulation may gain, lack of time or other priorities, and lack of staff awareness. The largest driving forces were found to be: lowered production costs, faster production periods, and possible simulation of the daily production plan