So far we have set simulation properties for the Process Flow itself. We still need to specify how the simulation itself should be run – for how long do we want to run it, do we want to have a ‘warm up’ period, and so on. Parameters of the simulation run itself are set in System Architect in the diagram properties of the IDEF3 Process Flow diagram.
We want to simulate our Process Flow for a single week. (We have previously specified that a working week is made up of five working days and a weekend.)
Setting parameters of the simulation run
1 Right-click the diagram whitespace, and then select Diagram Properties from the floating menu (or select Edit > Diagram).
2 Select the Sim Diagram tab in the ‘IDEF3 Process Flow diagram properties’ dialog.
3 In the Simulation Parameters field, type Run Time as the name of the Parameter, and then click the Define button.
4 The Run Time Definition dialog opens. Set the following values as shown below:
In the dialog above, we have set a warm-up period of 1 day. Remember this as the simulation is running – ignore the initial performance of the simulation through the first day.
We have set the simulation to run for 1 week. We have also set the default currency to USD, for United States Dollars, for the costing calculations part of the simulation.
5 Close all dialogs by clicking on the OK buttons.
