SIMULATION CONSULTING
Best way to answer “what-if” questions
A computer simulation is the imitation of a real-world system or process on a computer. Simulation is an efficient and cost-effective way to show and analyze the causes of problems and effects of alternative solutions.
We are the market leader in applying data driven simulations to solve cargo, passenger and vessel movement problems to help our clients enhance operations efficiency, reduce uncertainty, mitigate risks, and thereby save cost and improve profitability.
Our Approach
Go through a process of interpretive, developmental and analytical steps
1: Problem Formulation
Define the problem to be studied, the problem solving objective and the measure metrics.
2: Model Conceptualization
Abstract the system into a model described by the elements of the system, their characteristics, and their interactions, all according to the problem formulation
3: Data Collection
Identify, specify and gather data to support the model.
4: Model Building
Get the model right and efficient. But remember model building is not the main task; experimenting to look for the right solution and implementing it is.
5: Verification and Validation
Establish that the model executes as intended and the desired accuracy or correspondence exists between the model and the real system.
6: Experimentation and Analysis
Conduct experimentation with the model and make sense of the outputs.
7: Documentation & Presentation
Record an important, written history of a project and give a chronology of work done and decisions made. Deliver results in the best presentable format to facilitate decision making by clients.
Thoroughly and repeatedly scrutinize the creditability of our simulation models
Modularization & Sequencing
Break the model into modules and develop them sequentially. Don’t get to the desired level of detail at one shot. Instead, add in levels of detail successively to make the model complex as needed.
Trace & Interactive Debugger
Print out the state of the simulation model to see if the program is operating as intended. Incorporate an interactive debugger to stop the simulation at a selected point in time, and to examine and possibly change the values of certain variables.
Periodic Crosschecking
Have more than one person read the program, as the developer may get into a mental rut and thus not be a good critic. And this is done periodically to ensure that each critical block of the program is checked.
Animation
Build an animation engine and observe the animation of simulation output for debugging and verification.
Correctness of Input
Compare the sample mean and sample variance for each simulation input probability distribution, against the desired mean and variance to ensure that values are being correctly generated.
Test Run
Run the simulation under a variety of settings of the input parameters and check to see that the output is reasonable.
Last but not least, ensure that each model passes validity tests, such as “Turing Test” or statistical procedures
Typical Simulation Studies
Evaluate terminal capacity, anchorage capacity and channel capacity
Make best use of berths, equipment and other resources
Compare alternatives and determine best setups
Identify bottlenecks and develop preventive measures
Visualize new operations concepts and quantify impact of change