IMPROVING MARINE FORCES STORAGE CENTER EFFICIENCY USING WORKFLOW MODELING AND DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION

Abstract

This thesis uses conceptual modeling and discrete event simulation (DES) to assess warehousing efficiency for Marine Forces Storage Center (MFSC), Marine Corps Logistics Command. In April 2018, MFSC took possession of a new warehouse aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany to consolidate multiple warehousing operations into one warehouse facility to store, issue, receive, and account for military equipment. In August 2018, MFSC began the consolidation process and started moving all military equipment into one single facility. Today, MFSC conducts warehousing in a 57,000-square-foot storage facility, significantly smaller than the 120,000-square-foot facility it operated in previously. First, simulation event graphs illustrate the specific warehouse workflow behaviors and procedures. Simkit, a Java-based simulation package, is used to build a DES to represent the warehouse workflow processes, compute statistical outputs, and assess the warehousing performances based on different input values. This study analyzes the warehouse throughput using different statistical analysis methods, such as simulation experiments and predictive modeling, to reveal the input-output relationships that promote optimal warehouse performance. The warehouse workflow simulation model serves as a proof of concept and verification tool to promote workflow optimization, identify and mitigate bottlenecks in the workflow processes, and assist data driven decision-making to improve operating procedures.