Vote of confidence: As simulation technology reaches maturity, perception remains a barrier to actual adoption
Malcolm Wheatley, senior contributing editor, Redditch, U.K. -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 4/9/2008 9:26:00 AM
According to a survey of European simulation professionals, a lack of basic understanding among key decision-makers about the worth of simulation is both hindering its adoption as well as constraining the benefits it can confer.
It's just one finding to come from research carried out by Redditch, U.K.-based simulation software specialist Lanner Group, which—as a former part of simulation pioneer, British Leyland-owned Istel Ltd.—traces its roots back to the 1970s.
"Simulation technology is reaching maturity as more organizations see evidence of how it can boost the effectiveness of business process improvement projects," observes David Jones, Lanner's managing director.
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| David Jones, managing director for simulation specialist Lanner Group, says that while recent survey results indicate the use of simulation technology results in powerful business benefits, not enough IT people adequately take into account the business implications when considering simulation as an option. |
"Despite that, it is clear that the industry has some work to do in order to address the lack of understanding at an IT and business level. Simulation technology often is perceived as complex, and in today's fast-paced environments, organizations require solutions that are easy to use and facilitate a fast return on their investment."
Some 99 percent of simulation specialists plan to increase their use of simulation and modeling in future projects, notes Jones. It’s not the only vote of confidence that simulation receives. Jones says 13 percent of those surveyed believe no decision relating to business process improvement should be made without first deploying simulation technology, while an impressive 83 percent view it at least as a useful tool.
But this vote of confidence isn’t universally shared within manufacturing businesses. When asked about the main challenges to encouraging the adoption of simulation, almost a third of respondents—30 percent—said the decision-makers within their organizations didn’t understand it, while 25 percent said it is perceived as complex. Further, 23 percent said the main barrier to adoption is cost, while 25 percent said it was time-consuming to implement.
In short, says Jones, while 97 percent of simulation professionals believe usage of simulation tools was key to business performance improvement, a quarter of them think as few as 10 percent of IT professionals truly understood the benefits of simulation. And worse, almost half—45 percent—think only 25 percent of IT professionals have an adequate appreciation of simulation’s benefits.
Automotive giant Ford, notes Jones, is a significant user of Lanner’s simulation software, and actively encourages its suppliers to use it to reduce supply chain risk.
The company has been using Lanner’s flagship Witness solution since 1982, explains John Ladbrook, Ford’s Dunton, U.K.-based simulation technical specialist. And since 2000, says Ladbrook, material-handling simulation has been an important focus.
“We wanted to ensure that we could feed parts to the assembly lines without disruption," he says. "In planning terms, we were building process models of the assembly lines, and assuming that they weren’t going to be impacted by material-handling issues—only for performance levels to subsequently demonstrate that they were. Simulation allows us to forestall those problems before they occur.”
Just recently, for example, a layout exercise included an assumption that a tow tug would be able to turn round after making a lineside delivery. In fact, says Ladbrook, simulation showed there was insufficient room. In practice, all that would have been possible was a detour on a much longer route, prompting delays. Recognizing the difficulty in advance, he explains, allows a layout change—circumventing the issue before it could become a productivity-sapping problem.
The relationship with Ford, says Lanner’s Jones, in many ways exemplifies the approach to simulation that the company sees as most productive.
“Typically, we prefer to target the people within an organization who have the problems, and the people who see an opportunity to do things better—typically at board level," explains Jones. "The use of simulation technology is a business decision, and as the survey highlights, not enough IT people adequately take into account the business implications when considering simulation as an option.”
