Simulation driven processing function development, offering and operation

TL;DR: The objective is to present a modeling and simulation approach for simulation-driven design (SDD) to support function development and shows that it is possible to identify a set of solutions which meet the specified requirements, supporting evaluation and prioritization of business offers and activities.

Abstract: In today’s industry, functional provision is becoming more and more important, necessitating increased simulation support. In this paper, the objective is to present a modeling and simulation approach for simulation-driven design (SDD) to support function development. The scope of this paper is simulation support for developing hardware equipment used in processing industry. The research is founded on industrial needs identified through two parallel interview-based studies in the Swedish process industry. Both companies explore doing business with functional products rather than hardware, in scenarios where the responsibility for and availability of the functions may remain with the service provider. One as-is and one future (to-be) scenario are presented. A decomposition of a general processing function (applicable to both companies) describes how the companies transfer machine input to output specifications. The decomposition includes customer and provider value and the paper demonstrates, as part of the results and based on the SDD approach, how that value may be increased through evaluation and prioritization. Additionally, the SDD approach shows that it is possible to identify a set of solutions which meet the specified requirements, supporting evaluation and prioritization of business offers and activities.