Simulation-based universal model for food SMEs: material flow optimization using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage sector face significant challenges in developing standardized production models that can be universally applied across different business scales and configurations. This study aims to develop a universal production model for grilled chicken rice SMEs using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software to optimize workstation configuration and worker allocation. The research analyzed production data from 10 grilled chicken rice SMEs in Makassar City to establish baseline parameters for simulation modeling. Three workstation scenarios (4, 5, and 6 workstations) were simulated with varying worker allocation strategies: single worker per workstation, worker merge scenarios, and no-worker configurations to determine optimal resource utilization. The simulation results identified 4-workstation configuration with worker merge strategy as the optimal model, achieving 42.52% working time, 0.11% setup time, and theoretical maximum throughput of 295.89 units per day with 21:57 minutes average lifespan. The developed universal model includes standardized operating procedures and layout recommendations that can be adapted by various grilled chicken rice SMEs regardless of their current scale or configuration. This research contributes to simulation-based optimization methodology for small-scale food businesses and provides practical implementation guidelines for SME production standardization.

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