SIMULATION APPLIED TO EFFECTIVE DESIGNING OF ASSEMBLY WORK STATIONS A. Grande, G. Mirabelli, E. Papoff Department of Mecahnical Engineering University of Calabria Via Pietro Bucci, Cube 46C, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, Italy URL http://www.unical.it Email a.grande@email.it; e.papoff@unical.it Keywords: Methods engineering, Workstation design, Simulation, Methods Time Measurement, Ovako Working posture Analysis System. Abstract Methods engineering is nowadays a systematic approach to work planning and continuous improvement. Nonetheless, all measuring techniques of human work activities - although with different application modes according to the situation - are excellent tools to quantify the time necessary to perform each activity and, in a wider perspective, an essential precondition for an efficient management of production. Given such a context the use of cutting-edge software and hardware technology can realistically support and prompt the digital formalization of real production contexts, allowing considerable evolution of traditional work planning techniques, thereby enhancing precompetitive research and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. The present work, concerning the innovation of the production plant of a small enterprise specializing in leather goods production, describes computer aided planning steps to evaluate the best configuration of assembly work stations. The results obtained are very interesting and effective, above all if they are considered in the perspective of an increase of the planning capacity within SMEs. In fact, they enable to obtain objective evaluation of work stations, as far as time and ergonomics are concerned. Introduction The identification of a structured methodological approach linked to topics of working activities analysis, as introduced by Frank and Lilian Gilbreth’s evaluation, combined with the application of a comprehensive technique for evaluating the duration of the activities performed – whose first author is F.W. Taylor – are the fundamental premises for the development of work planning and analysis. The ability to break down, detail, measure and analyse each operating step has always been – since its first introduction in production systems – a comprehensive scientific tool able to produce considerable benefits in terms of improvement of working methods, calculation of standard time-values for each activity, increase in productivity, enhancement of resource employment and – finally – cutting down of prices. The development and consolidation of computer assisted planning tools – initially employed in the technical drafting of products – paved the way for the subsequent larger interest of industries in this field. The capability of interacting with an industrial system in a virtual environment able to simulate processes created new opportunities for studying and analysing productive configurations as for the validation of productive activities – necessary to obtain a given product – the planning and control of productive activities and the quantification and optimisation of resources. The employment of three-dimensional tools for planning working environment not only enables more efficient planning, but also the modelling, simulation and optimisation of workstations, processing lines, methods and procedures. In its first steps of framing, development and implementation, engineering techniques applied to the study of working methods aimed at increasing the performance of already existing methods, by focussing their emphasis on activities linked to the performance of a specific task. Later, thanks to a more design-oriented approach, the interest of manufacturers addressed more specifically towards the planning and development of brand-new working systems. It is obvious that the use of three-dimensional simulation techniques in the design of new workstations not only enables better visualisation of the workstation in itself but also the identification of the potential activities carried out by the worker. Further support, which is necessary to associate this virtual visualization with an objective evaluation criterion, was provided by the historical evolution of the techniques employed for the evaluation of work. .....