Static simulation: a new method of facility automation analysis

An example of a typical factory is presented in order to compare the requirements and the results of three methods for analyzing manufacturing facilities. While the process of obtaining the data is the same for the different types of modeling, the development of the model is different. The three methods are static modeling (the spreadsheet); dynamic simulation, which solves the requirement for obtaining details unavailable with spreadsheets; and a promising new method called static simulation, which is a combination of queuing theory and input from operations research that results in answers that approach dynamic simulations answers. Static simulation combines the data approach of the spreadsheet method with the mathematics normally involved in dynamic simulation. The result is that the calculation of time-dependent characteristics of the facility, like cycle time or inventory levels, can be obtained. The results are very similar to those of dynamic simulation and are unobtainable with spreadsheet analysis