SIMUL8

simulation software Simulation software is based on the process of modeling a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is, essentially, a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually performing that operation ...

is a product of the SIMUL8 Corporation used for simulating

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

s that involve processing of discrete entities at

discrete time In mathematical dynamics, discrete time and continuous time are two alternative frameworks within which variables that evolve over time are modeled. Discrete time Discrete time views values of variables as occurring at distinct, separate "poi ...

s. SIMUL8 allows its user to create a

computer model Computer simulation is the running of a mathematical model on a computer, the model being designed to represent the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be determin ...

, which takes into account real life constraints, capacities, failure rates, shift patterns, and other factors affecting the total performance and efficiency of production. SIMUL8 can be used to model any process where there is a flow of work, however the main areas of use are in

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

, contact centers, automotives and

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

Model building

Construction of SIMUL8

models A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided int ...

is usually not based on programming or

statistical data Statistics (from German: ', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industrial, or socia ...

, but rather on drawing organization schemes on the screen. However, SIMUL8 implements a two-way

interface Interface or interfacing may refer to: Academic journals * ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society * '' Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics'' * '' Inter ...

with

Visual Basic Visual Basic is a name for a family of programming languages from Microsoft. It may refer to: * Visual Basic (.NET), the current version of Visual Basic launched in 2002 which runs on .NET * Visual Basic (classic), the original Visual Basic suppo ...

, which leaves space for creation of model features which cannot be modeled using only the

graphical interface A graphical user interface, or GUI, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and visual indicators such as secondary notation. In many applications, GUIs are used instead of te ...

. SIMUL8 also provides its own

simulation language A computer simulation language is used to describe the operation of a simulation on a computer.Fritzson, Peter, and Vadim Engelson.Modelica—A unified object-oriented language for system modeling and simulation" European Conference on Object-Orie ...

called Visual Logic, which allows the user to implement

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

of the simulation.

Basic components of SIMUL8 environment

A SIMUL8 simulation revolves around processing work items. They enter the system via work entry points, pass through work centers, may temporarily reside in storage areas and leave via work exit points. In addition to this mechanism, work centers may need specific resources to process work items. A

simulation A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

consists of a number of these objects and of the routes between them, modeled as a directed graph.Concannon et al. Simulation Modeling with SIMUL8, USA, 2003-11-01,, p. 115/410
{, class="wikitable" , - style="text-align:center;" ! Component ! Description , - style="text-align:center;" , Work item (element, entity) , models physical or logical objects moving through the

. Entities enter the system, induce different sorts of activities, use different kinds of resources and at the end leave the system. A customer, product or document can be a SIMUL8 model entity. , - style="text-align:center;" , Entrance (Work entry point) , objects that represent the entry of entities into the system (for example an arrival of customer or formation of a product , - style="text-align:center;" , Activity (Work center, action) , objects that model activities which the entities go through. Resources are typically used during execution of an activity , - style="text-align:center;" , Queue (Storage bin, stack) , objects that model cumulation of entities. The stack usually precedes activities for which the stacked entities wait because of lack of resources , - style="text-align:center;" , Exit (Work exit point) , a place through which the entities leave the modeled system (completion of an order, leaving of a customer) , - style="text-align:center;" , Resource (source) , objects that are used for modeling capacity restraints of workers, material or means of production used in activities , - style="text-align:center;" , Route , objects that connect all the other simulation objects. They represent sequences of activities and thus the movement of entities in the system.

References

External links

SIMUL8 Homepage
Simulation software COVID-19 models

Model building

Basic components of SIMUL8 environment

See also

References

External links