Continuous improvement and participative factory planning by computer systems

Turbulent influencing factors - based on market requirements and technological demands - lead to a permanent change and improvement in the factory processes, manufacturing systems and layouts. New investigations in manufacturing show that the application of new machining processes and tools require a systematic and stepwise change of the layout and the organisation in order to activate the economic potentials. It is evident that continuous improvement and optimisation with the perspective to medium-term objectives can be realised by means of new methods and new computerised systems for factory planning. Digital models and the technology of virtual reality allow the continuous planning of changes in factories. This paper includes results of the planning of future manufacturing systems and the systematics of continuous planning based on digital modelling and virtual manufacturing.