6. System evaluation
6.1. Pre-evaluation
The proposed system with cloud-computing and RFID is expected to overcome the bottleneck in information flow by providing a platform for communication across participants and realizing automated material tracking. In order to assess the benefits of the proposed system over the existing system, a simulation study was conducted using the Arena simulation package [32].
Three scenarios were developed and tested in the simulation: 1) the AS-IS case (the current process with the information bottleneck described in Section 3 that needs to be enhanced); 2) a new workflow with only the cloud-based system without RFID (manual scanning); and 3) a new workflow with the proposed cloud-based system integrated with RFID (automated tracking). As described in Section 3, there is potential communication failure in the AS-IS case that leads to disruptions in fabrication. In the second scenario (cloud only), the information is clearly communicated, yet still delayed
due to manual input that can cause some disruptions in fabrication. Both