Patent ID: 7467023

Claim:
A method for modeling a batch process manufacturing facility, comprising: selecting a sequence of unit operations, wherein each of the sequence of unit operations has an identifier code; selecting a set of scheduling cycles for each of the sequence of unit operations, where the set of scheduling cycles can relate to one another in nested levels; using the identifier code to obtain operational parameters for each of the sequence of unit operations; defining one or more discrete tasks for each of the sequence of unit operations; generating a process time line using the operational parameters, the discrete tasks, the sequence of unit operations, and the set of scheduling cycles for each of the sequence of unit operations, wherein the process time line is used as a tool for batch processing and facility design; and wherein defining one or more discrete tasks for each of the sequence of unit operational parameters includes: defining a default task execution option for a given unit operation task at the unit operation sub-cycle level; defining a task execution option for a given discrete unit operation task at a design cycle level higher than the unit operation sub-cycle level where there exists a plurality of design cycle iterations; testing the task execution options for each discrete unit operation task during the generation of the process time line; and including or excluding in the process time line, at the respective design cycle level, an adjusted task duration for each of the discrete tasks associated with each of the sequence of unit operations in the process time line depending on the results of the tests.