Simulation allows us to explore 'what if' questions and their scenarios without experimenting with the system. It helps us to identify bottlenecks in material, product flows, and information, and it also helps us to gain insight into which variables are most important to system performance.
Imitating the operation of a real-world system or the process over time requires using models in a simulation. This model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or the process, whereas the simulation represents the evolution of the model over time. The advantages of simulation provide a cost-saving by reducing the requirement for physical prototypes and testing. Instead of having to build and test a product physically, the companies can use simulation software to create a virtual prototype, which can be tested virtually.
The phases of simulation:
- Pre-modeling
- Model building
- Model runs
- Experimentation
- Final thoughts
Here is an example of a delayed start of force simulation in JavaScript: