If you have used a Nintendo, a Game Boy, or a flight
simulator, you know what simulation is. Simulation gives you a model, an image
of reality, inside your PC. This model on the PC behaves substantially like the
real world. You can experiment with the simulated world on your PC and learn how
systems behave without the risk and expense of building in the real world. By
experimenting with the simulation, you can find the best way to configure the
model and to operate it. That knowledge can then be transferred into the real
world to save time and money.
Simulation helps you understand systems where:
Behaviors are random -- Human and machine behaviors are
frequently stochastic, not fixed. The same procedure may take different
amounts of time every time it is performed. For example, machine failures are
happen at unpredicted times and the repair duration is different each time.
Interdependencies are rampant -- The more
interdependencies exist in a system, the harder it is to understand. Without
a complete understanding of the interdependencies, it is impossible to exactly
predict system performance.
Feedback is encountered -- Interlaced systems are hard to
understand. When exits become entrances the results of small changes can be
hard to predict, e.g. does the feedback amplify or damp the change? Simulation
can track and show the results of changes in complex systems.
Experience
As project manager for Facility Workflow
Models, Mr. Kocher developed an animated, graphic simulation model (in
ProModel PC) of the Springfield, MA General Mail Facility (GMF).
This model was used to evaluate the usefulness of animated simulations in
USPS. The Springfield GMF was modeled both in its then current
configuration and also in its 1995 (full-up automation) configuration.
APMG Allen Kane requested that similar models be used by the Corporate
Materials Handling Committee to help them evaluate materials handling
concepts. This model became the basis for both of the projects below.
Utilizing the animated simulation model
developed in ProModel PC for Facility Workflow Models (FWM), several
alternative layouts and equipment's of the new Kansas City GMF were produced.
These Work Flow Models (WFM) assisted the Delivery, Distribution, and
Transportation Department in evaluating plans for the new Kansas City GMF.
WFM was used to model and analyze
performance of equipment proposed by the Corporate Materials Handling
Committee. Several of these simulation models graphically portrayed the
interaction of workers with existing and proposed mail processing equipment.
For example, one model showed the job performed by the operators of Mark-II
facer/cancelers. This model demonstrated how two Mark-II's could be run by one
operator with less actual labor than performed today by two operators. This
result was achieved by the installation of automated take-away systems from
the stackers to the OCR and BCS.
In preparation for a major revamping of
the material handling systems at the Philadelphia GMF a Work Sampling Study (WSS)
was performed. The WSS measured the proportion of labor devoted to 26
different activities within the GMF. This study created a baseline against
which to compare a similar study to be completed after the material handling
systems are installed.
Plan before
Building
New plant and equipment
can cost many millions. How can you be sure that the new
facilities will work effectively? How much will redesigning the
new process cost before all the bottlenecks are found and eliminated?
For a fraction of the cost G&E Systems can build an animated simulation
of the new processing facility and exercise it under different loading
scenarios to find and eliminate flaws before the steel goes up and
before the equipment is ordered.
Call G&E Systems to
make sure your investment will pay off from the beginning.
