Many people new to simulation rightfully inquire how they can be successful. This first article will identify some of the issues associated with simulation projects. Later articles will explore these and other issues in greater detail.
So, to get started, here are five of the more important issues that should be considered.
Project Objectives - “Model this” is not a good objective. “Prove this” is not much better. A clear objective is essential to a meaningful project. Hopefully it would include the phrases “evaluate …” and “as measured by …”.
Know Yourself – What are your strengths and weaknesses? How about those of any other team members who will be involved? Be honest. Then come up with a plan to capitalize on the strengths and overcome the weaknesses.
Domain, Tool & Process Knowledge – It is not enough to be proficient in a simulation tool. Nor is it enough to have comprehensive domain knowledge of what is being modeled. While having project participants with both of those skills is a prerequisite to success, you also need to know how to conduct a simulation project and deliver validated, valuable results.
Project Planning and Management – A project that produces results after the decision is made has little value. And an over budget project may be cancelled before completion. You must pay appropriate attention to completion dates and project costs.
Team/Reviews – Even though “No man is an island”, too often simulation projects are conducted by a single person with little or no team interaction. Find a way to get others involved.
Look for five more success factors next time. Future articles will discuss these and others in more detail.?
Dave Sturrock
VP Products – Simio LLC
Tags: Agility, Objectives, planning, simio, simulation, software, success, team, tool
At first I was trying to pick some disagreements to prove that I have read this carefully as an assignments.
I had been worked for three years in a small radiator manufacturer.
And My experience there kept asking a question: the comparison between human intuition and computer simulation. Especially when I was having lectures.
We were not producing radiators for cars but radiators for diesel generators and some other customized machines. I was not doing IE job there but I kept thinking a lot since I am a IE undergraduate before.
As defined by the industrial, averagely, there is a new model added to the database per 3 or 4 days, each new model may have similar name of parts but the size and even shape may look different, which make the processing more complicate or impossible to make plan every time.
Because once you make a processing plan, one day or half a day passed, and workers won’t even take a look at it, they just look at the assembly drawings and gather the parts together, assemble them.
Since lots of the products are customized, the producing time varies a lot, sometimes workers spend short time to assemble it because it was precisely machined, sometimes it cost a huge time for them to assemble together due to inaccurate tolerances.
What worse is, the painting job is outsourced, actually it is called ‘Electrophoresis’ (probably!), which makes it harder to get a preciser processing time.
What even worse is, we cannot do processing plan, we just design them, and send drawings and CNC codes to the manufacturing Dept. to produce them directly, without instructions from technology Dept.
There is no time to do such job~ you will fall behind your competitors.
I kept thinking the poor quality generated by this way, accompanied with poor standard and processing plan.
Each product likes a building, it has common feature like foundations, structures, walls, floors, interiors and exteriors, but each feature won’t be the same for two buildings, what problem is, we have hundreds of such types and still increasing with high speed.
That’s what I kept thinking, when can we simulate such a small but messy plant.