Simulation model-based design of a P2X equipment manufacturing system

The early stages of manufacturing innovation are characterized by ambiguity and uncertainty, often named as the fuzzy-front end of innovation. The practice of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) in manufacturing can aid the reduction of ambiguity, by capturing technical requirements and system specification in a centralized modeling environment, sharable by all relevant stakeholders. However, challenges often arise when attempting to achieve this type of collaborative work environment between the various distinct technical and less/non-technical teams, with particular knowledge sets, professional backgrounds, and motivations. Furthermore, manufacturing system design can greatly benefit from early and extensive experimentation, which can be achieved through the building of digital models and performance of simulation runs, to access different considerations and compare alternatives relating to system architecture, material flow and production planning. Despite simulation technologies' high maturity level and the large number of tools available, their effective implementation in the manufacturing sector continues to be very limited, with low adoption levels being often attributed to a persisting lack of the necessary competencies, along with difficulties in the integration of modeling practices within the enterprises' workflows. This paper exemplifies the use of discrete event simulation as a centralized tool for supporting the early stages of manufacturing system design for an alkaline water electrolyser system, laying the foundations for future work on the development of a centralized engineering model and utilization of MBSE to achieve domain interoperability.