Model Development

We have been building large scale simulation models daily for many years, so we have the skills and experience needed to make simulation work for you. Chances are good that if you've come across a tricky situation, we've already seen it and developed a successful solution. We can save you time, effort and hassle. Even better, we can customize the level of consultation we provide to your needs and skill level.

If you are dedicated to developing simulation skills of your own, we can support your learning by smoothing over any bumps you might meet along the way. We usually provide this service via our coaching program.

If you'd like a professional solution developed quickly and accurately, we can provide comprehensive simulation development services. We can customize a simulation application to fit your needs, your process, and your real business problems. In a nutshell, we take the complex problem solving involved in simulating a real process and put it into a user-friendly interface so you can start using it right away.

By allowing us to take care of the simulation development, you can concentrate on getting the results and, therefore, the solutions you need.

Take a look at some of our case studies and you will see how diverse this application is, then contact us to discuss your individual needs.

User Interface Development

A good user interface can turn a simple simulation model into a full decision support system. We specialize in creating interfaces that wrap seamlessly around a simulation tool to make it easier for non-specialists to use. We find that the integrity of your difficult modeling work is much easier to maintain if you keep the user-changeable input parameters separate from the model itself. With our interfaces, there is no need for the end-user to know anything about simulation, let alone have any simulation development skills. We allow end users to simply change important variables, hit run and then view the results. We can even create interfaces that will build a 'custom' model from scratch based on what the end user enters in the interface. Though it takes a little bit of time to set up a user interface, you will find that your efforts will be amply repaid in terms of more efficient, trouble-free use of the model over the long run.

Simulation Optimization

A basic simulation model is an evaluative tool - it can help you evaluate what will likely happen under a given scenario. It is not an optimization tool. That means that it will not tell you how you should change your input variables to create a particular desired result. There are many technical reasons why this is so, many of which are discussed in a detailed article we wrote a while back about simulation optimization. For now, let's just say that in order to turn a simulator into an optimizer, the modeler must develop a optimization component in addition to the simulation model. Whether or not it makes sense to add an optimzer to your simulation project depends upon a variety of factors. We can help you decide whether it makes sense for your project, and can help you implement one if it makes sense in your case.

Graphics and Animation

We're numbers people by training, but we're also realists. We know that many clients find the animation that naturally comes with simulation to be as important a decision making aid as all the charts and tables in the world.  Over the years, we've learned many tips and tricks for creating effective animation and graphics with SIMUL8 (our discrete event simulation tool of choice). We can work with you to ensure that your models serve as not only a great decision aid, but also as a great visual tool for communicating about your process.