Discrete event simulation (DES) is a modeling technique used to represent the operation of systems as a sequence of discrete events. Each event occurs at a specific point in time and marks a change in the state of the system. This type of simulation is incredibly useful for analyzing complex processes and systems where interactions and changes happen at distinct moments in time. DES can model a vast array of systems, including manufacturing processes, supply chains, transportation networks, and service operations. By simulating these events, DES identifies bottlenecks, optimizes resource allocation, and improves overall efficiency.
In discrete event simulation, the system is broken down into entities, events, and resources. Entities represent the objects moving through the system, such as products or customers. Events are the interactions or changes that happen, like the arrival of a customer or the completion of a task. Resources are the elements required to perform these events, such as machinery or personnel. The simulation tracks the state of the system over time, while providing detailed insights into the behavior and performance of the system under various conditions. This allows businesses to test different scenarios, predict outcomes, and make informed decisions to enhance operations and reduce costs.
Changes to any factory are expensive. The cost isn’t just in provisioning a new manufacturing or process instrument, it’s also the losses of stopping production while the changes are deployed and tested. The risks are that the new process isn’t an improvement over the old process and that costs could escalate—including investment in equipment and a slowdown in production—which will affect profits.
Discrete event simulation software is an industry 4.0 technology that helps break manufacturing processes into distinct events, modeling them in 2D or 3D, and testing proposed production changes in a virtual environment.
Discrete simulation software gives you a clearer picture of how changes will affect a live production environment before you go through the time and expense of implementing changes. Imagine a production line in an automotive factory. In discrete event simulation software, every operation and of every task—of human operators, material flow, or handling—along the line is modeled with a departure event and an arrival event. Breaking each operation or task into an event helps to visualize the movements to optimize output.
You can then adjust each event in turn or concurrently to support your output goals. This could include speeding up production, analyzing for supply-chain or production bottlenecks, or adjusting production levels according to market demand in real time.
When your facility and processes are modeled entirely in 3D, it also has potential as a digital twin. Real-time data from equipment and processes can be collected through Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) frameworks and fed back into the simulation model, where an accurate, up-to-the-minute representation of the production processes can be used for any optimization analysis.
Discrete event simulation software helps you analyze and optimize your production process to uncover bottlenecks without disrupting your current operations.
Redesign your production line, introduce a new operation or equipment, or change a process to understand the impact on the system, all in the software.
Identify bottlenecks, choke points, and failure vectors in the simulation and retune processes to minimize or eliminate problems.
Almost at your goals but need help to make it work? Discrete event simulation is a low-cost, risk-free method for iterating production changes.
Meet your business objectives by optimizing your factory process in a risk-free virtual environment before committing to change on the shop floor. Then, when conditions inevitably change, do it again to maintain your production goals.
When you apply simulated variables to your discrete event model, better ways of working in your real-world process will reveal themselves.
Implementing DES can cut costs by spotting inefficiencies and fine-tuning processes. It trims operational expenses, reduces downtime, and improves resource usage.
FlexSim is 3D factory simulation software to help predict and improve operational performance.
While discrete event simulation software offers many benefits, here are the top three:
DES software offers real-time monitoring and data analytics. Users can track system performance, identify bottlenecks, and analyze the impact of different scenarios to optimize processes.
By gaining the ability to simulate various scenarios, configurations, and strategies, business can more easily predict outcomes, optimize resources, and make more informed decisions.
Discrete event simulation software provides visualization tools that represent the flow of entities and events in the system. Comprehensive reporting helps improve communication and drive better decision-making.
The primary steps in discrete event simulation (DES) involve setting up and executing a model to analyze and optimize a system. Here are the main steps:
Determine the goals of the simulation. Primary goals should focus on topics such as, identifying bottlenecks, optimizing resource allocation, or predicting outcomes under different scenarios.
Create a conceptual model of the system, complete with entities, events, and resources. This involves sketching out the processes and interactions that occur within the system.
Gather relevant, accurate data on the system in order to create a realistic simulation. This should include items such as arrival times, service times, resource capacities, and other operational metrics.
Validate the simulation model by comparing its outputs to actual performance data and make necessary adjustments for accuracy. Next, run multiple simulation experiments under various scenarios to observe system behavior and responses to change.
Analyze the simulation results to identify patterns, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement. Use statistical and graphical tools to interpret the data and draw meaningful conclusions.
Implement the recommended changes and monitor their impact, using DES for ongoing optimization. Document the process, results, and recommendations, and prepare reports to communicate findings to stakeholders.
Discrete event simulation (DES) is widely used across various industries to optimize processes, improve efficiency, and support decision-making. Here are some key industry applications:
DES is used to model production lines, optimize workflows, manage inventory, and reduce bottlenecks for better resource allocation and improved productivity.
In healthcare, DES aids in the management of patient flow, optimization of staff allocation, and the improvement of scheduling of surgeries and treatments.
DES is used to optimize the movement of goods, manage fleet operations, and improve supply chain efficiency. This helps with route planning, load optimization, and reducing transit times.
Retailers use discrete event simulation to manage inventory, improve store layouts, and provide better customer service. It's beneficial for simulating shopping behavior, forecasting demand, and planning staffing.
DES helps with network design, capacity planning, and traffic management. Telecom companies can simulate network behavior, optimize bandwidth allocation, and improve service quality.
DES helps in simulating energy demand, planning infrastructure investments, and enhancing service reliability by optimizing power generation, managing networks, and improving maintenance scheduling.
The future of discrete event simulation (DES) looks promising, thanks to the integration of AI and machine learning. These advancements will make DES smarter, more accurate, and better at predicting outcomes. With the growth of cloud computing and IoT, the gathering and processing of data in real-time and making simulations more relevant and up-to-date will be easier than ever.
As industries embrace digital transformation, DES will help streamline operations, cut costs, and improve desicion-making. All in all, DES is set to become even more efficient, innovative, and adaptable in the years to come.
Learn how DES it helps in identifying bottlenecks, conducting scenario and cost-benefit analyses, and ensuring safety and compliance and how Autodesk FlexSim can help.
Learn how to avoid bottlenecks in the manufacturing process.
See the benefits of discrete event simulation for AEC and manufacturing industries.
Discrete event simulation (DES), provides a risk-free, data-driven way to experiment and evaluate changes, enhancing decision-making in the manufacturing process.
Learn what discrete event simulation is, the benefits it provides and how Autodesk FlexSim can help.
Learn how the digital factory of the future is changing manufacturing through intelligent systems and how Autodesk solutions support this evolution with advanced layout and coordination tools.
Discrete event simulation simulates the flow of materials, components, and finished products through a production facility to analyze bottlenecks and explore ways to optimize production in a risk-free virtual environment.
A discrete event simulation models a process where actions or procedures along the chain of events change the system in only one degree. For instance, a conveyor belt junction sends an object one way or another, or a robot applying a screw or bolt where there wasn’t one before.
Discrete event simulation assumes that there is no change in state between a departure event and the following arrival event. It models the behavior or process of a workflow in a compressed time and form for fast and accurate analysis.
Those analyses might predict performance results, discovering the variables resulting from the interaction between events or statistical modeling. Learn how it can help manufacturers here.
Every position or workstation along the workflow of a factory floor can be an event where the system undergoes a state change.
That’s not to say that the space required for a manufacturing production line is never considered in a discrete event simulation. In some cases, the state change might be in (or include) the transport system itself—for example, where it turns to fit adequately on the factory floor.
Manufacturing factory floor processes are an everyday use of discrete event simulation because they contain many relatively simple events—or can be broken into relatively simple parts with little or no state change between events.
However, discrete event simulation applies to many other areas. One example is queueing processes when customers interface with your company on a technical support, sales call, or in-person.
Discrete event simulation is also popular in medicine. Healthcare systems are adapted individually because they often contain complex steps and interactions between different providers and organizations, all with multiple variables that are hard to predict.
Healthcare interventions can use discrete event simulation to introduce different behaviors and decisions, ultimately identifying the best way forward when a patient presents with symptoms.
Discrete event simulation focuses on events that occur at specific points in time, whereas continuous simulation models change continuously over time.
At any point in time, there is an ordered list of events scheduled to occur in the future. The simulation engine removes the first event from the event queue and then advances the simulation clock to the time recorded on that event.
