Application of discrete-event simulation to analyze bottlenecks and improve production line balancing in garment manufacturing: A case study of a small-scale enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City
Published: July 20, 2026
doi:10.62831/nckh.2026.593.v1
Abstract
This study applies discrete-event simulation to analyze operational efficiency and identify bottlenecks in a garment production line at a small-scale enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City. Processing time data from 18 operations were collected, cleaned using Boxplot, and modeled using Input Analyzer. The simulation results identify the pocket strap sewing process as the main bottleneck, causing congestion and imbalance in the production line. Two improvement scenarios, adding specialized workers and task reassignment, were tested and both significantly reduced work-in-progress inventory and improved resource utilization. The study demonstrates that simulation is an effective decision-support tool for small-scale manufacturing systems.
Keywords
discrete-event simulationAnyLogicbottleneckline balancinggarment production
References
1.
Hiệp hội Dệt May Việt Nam (VITAS). (2025). Báo cáo hoạt động sản xuất và xuất khẩu ngành dệt may Việt Nam năm 2019-2025. VITAS.
Banks, J., Carson, J. S., Nelson, B. L., & Nicol, D. M. (2010). Discrete-event system simulation (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
4.
Bongomin, O., Mwasiagi, J. I., Nganyi, E. O., & Nibikora, I. (2020). A complex garment assembly line balancing using simulation-based optimization. Engineering Reports, 2(11), e12258. https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12258
Jung, W. K., Kim, H., Park, Y. C., Lee, J. W., & Suh, E. S. (2022). Real-time data-driven discrete-event simulation for garment production lines. Production Planning & Control, 33(5), 480–491. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2020.1830194
Kelton, W. D., Sadowski, R. P., & Zupick, N. B. (2015). Simulation with Arena (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
7.
Kim, M., & Kim, S. (2023). Effects of step-by-step line balancing in apparel assembly line. Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics, 18. https://doi.org/10.1177/15589250231191196
Law, A. M. (2015). Simulation modeling and analysis (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
9.
Rahman, S. M. A., Rahman, M., Tseng, B., & Kamal, T. (2023). A simulation-based approach for line balancing under demand uncertainty in production environment. In Proceedings of the 2023 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC). https://doi.org/10.1109/WSC60868.2023.10408105
Teshome, M. M., Meles, T. Y., & Yang, C. (2024). Productivity improvement through assembly line balancing by using simulation modeling in case of Abay Garment Industry Gondar. Heliyon, 10(1), e23585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23585
Yemane, A., Gebremicheal, G., Meraha, T., & Hailemicheal, M. (2020). Productivity improvement through line balancing by using simulation modeling (Case study: Almeda Garment Factory). Journal of Optimization in Industrial Engineering, 13(1), 153–165. https://doi.org/10.22094/JOIE.2019.567816.1565