Input Data Management methodology for Discrete Event Simulation

Abstract

Input Data Management (IDM) is a time consuming and costly process for Discrete Event Simulation (DES) projects. In this paper, a methodology for IDM in DES projects is described. The approach is to use a methodology to identify and collect data, then use an IDM software to extract and process the data. The IDM software will structure and present the data in Core Manufacturing Simulation Data (CMSD) format, which is aimed to be a standard data format for any DES software. The IDM methodology was previously developed and tested by Chalmers University of Technology in a case study in the automotive industry. This paper presents a second test implementation in a project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in collaboration with an aerospace industry partner. 1 INTRODUCTION Discrete Event Simulation (DES) has proved itself to be an effective tool for complex processes analysis (Ericsson 2005; Banks et al. 2000). The drawback of using DES is the effort required and costs spent on processing the input data from various data sources to ensure valid simulation results. Large amount of time in a DES project is needed for gathering and extracting data (Skoogh and Johansson 2007). Most of the time, the needed information can be found in various Information Technology systems (IT-systems) in the companies. However, data is usually not in the right format required for DES and IT-systems do not have a standardized way of communicating with each other. This makes it hard to integrate several ITsystems and DES software and hence customized interfaces for exchanging information often need to be developed. A reusable, neutral, standardized interface should help reduce the effort and cost related to Input Data Management (IDM) in DES projects (Johansson et al. 2007). Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed the Core Manufacturing Simulation Data (CMSD) specification (SISO 2009) to create a neutral format between common production software applications and DES tools. The concept has already been tested in pilot implementations in some case studies (Heilala et al. 2008, Johansson, and Zachrisson 2006, Johansson et al. 2007). For example, the CMSD was used to generate input data that can be reused for DES models developed using both Enterprise Dynamics (ED) and Plant Simulation (Johansson et al. 2007).

An Open Source Tool for Automated Input Data in Simulation

“…They suggested the use of CMSD, designed by the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) [16] in order to support the identification and decision of the parameters required for the simulation application. A more generic input data methodology is proposed by Bengtsson et al [17], which uses the GDMTool [18] that implements CMSD.…”

Test Implementation and Initialisation of a Simulation Model Using CMSD

“…The GDM-Tool aim is aimed to allow the automatic integration of production data into the DES models stored in different IT-systems at companies [21]. An Application Programming Interface (API) was created for abstracting away the implementation details of reading and writing CMSD files to/from computer memory [22].…”

ERP, APS and Simulation Systems Integration to Support Production Planning and Scheduling

“…The generator has been implemented using the Arena simulation system language and the models are built on the basis of data on a static model of resources and planning data on the production flow. Similar concepts are proposed in [13][14][15].…”