5 Steps to Simulation
Step 1: Decide on the purpose of the simulation and what performance metrics you want to monitor
Very rarely will you need to simulate your entire business. Decide what information you need and then determine what part of your operation you should simulate to provide you with that information.
Examples of metrics that you could monitor are:
Work-in-progress, call abandon rates, customer wait times, equipment utilization, completed products count, cycle times and labor utilization.
Step 2: Build a first Pass Simulation
Good data is essential for building an accurate simulation. As the saying goes, Garbage In, Garbage Out. An effective method to make sure that you have the right data for your simulation is to build a first pass model and then collect the data it requires. This ensures you collect the required data AND means you waste less time collecting nonessential data.
Step 3: Calibrate Your Simulation
You will need to make sure that your base simulation behaves like the real thing. Run your simulation and see how the performance measures match the behavior of your existing layout or, if you are simulating a proposed layout, the expected performance. This is where you may need to collect and/or act upon additional data to make sure that the simulation incorporates the variability of your real or anticipated layout. SIMUL8 lets you adjust your model easily by one click of the mouse. The properties of an object are displayed and changes to the name, timing, routing or other parameters of that object can be made.
Step 4: Analyze the Results and Select the Best Alternative
SIMUL8 lets you try out different ideas on your PC before they're implemented. Ideas like:
- How will changing the batch affect production?
- How will adding an additional operator affect the abandon rate?
- Will a faster machine eliminate our bottleneck?
After the simulations are run you can compare the metrics and implement the best solution based on the reported results.
Step 5: Share Your Simulations
The final stage to any simulation project is to share the results with managers, colleagues and other involved personnel. Demonstrating the simulation in action has a good impact and increases understanding and acceptance of any proposed changes. The sophisticated results options and reporting features of SIMUL8 make it easy to share relevant, timely information with your colleagues.
|
