Processing incomplete data for simulation-based production planning in shipbuilding

This paper presents an approach for simulation experiments at early stages of the shipbuilding process. In the early stages of the planning process, the design of the ship is not yet complete. However, an early scheduling of the production is already needed for staff employment and material ordering. Because the plan is based on incomplete input data, the uncertainty in production planning is much higher than in serial production with fully detailed product design and routings. The uncertainty reduces the accuracy of planning and, therefore, has a significant impact on its quality and robustness. The paper presents an approach to describe this uncertainty and to reduce it by generating design details from historical data.