TO ANALYZE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AREAS IN ANY MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, AN IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES AND THE MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS ARE ESSENTIAL. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO CHARACTERIZE THE MANUFACTURING AREA IN DETAIL BEFORE THE MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM IS DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED. USING STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTER SIMULATION TOOLS AND STRUCTURED MODELING METHODOLOGY, GENERIC MODELS OF THE MANUFACTURING AREAS INCLUDING THEIR INTEGRATION WITH MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS COULD EASILY BE BUILT. THESE MODELS, WHICH INCLUDE DETAILS OF THE EQUIPMENT, PEOPLE, AND MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS CAN EFFECTIVELY UNDERSTAND THE BEHAVIOR OF THE MANUFACTURING AREAS. A GENERIC COMPUTER SIMULATION MODEL HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO CHARACTERIZE THE ETCH AREA IN A SEMICONDUCTOR FAB FACILITY.