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Hitting the ground running with SIMUL8

Automotive design and systems integration specialists, DESign were given a recommendation to use SIMUL8 to simulate an automotive body construction area for a Ford manufacturing plant.

Many Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are mandating that Tier 1 & 2 automotive suppliers use SIMUL8 as the simulation and throughput analysis tool of choice, in order to be awarded contracts. This is due to their own success with the software, and the need for them to have confidence that any decision taken will benefit their organization.

Learning SIMUL8

DESign, who hadn’t used SIMUL8 before, were recommended SIMUL8 by Ford and began learning the software for this project. By using SIMUL8 Academy, our self-paced e-learning platform, and with help from the SIMUL8 Support team, DESign were able to pass over their first set of results to Ford in just 1 week.

“I found SIMUL8 surprisingly easy to pick up. In the past we had hundreds of lines of programming but because of the comprehensive routing options my job was made much easier.”
Anthony Dunn, Simulator, DESign.

At first DESign were apprehensive, as in the past they had found learning to use new simulation software time consuming. Straight away DESign were able to pick up the basics of SIMUL8 quickly and get started on the project at hand. One of the main features DESign found extremely useful was the grouping functions in SIMUL8. When simulating conveyors, they could quickly change the number of carriers in the system and run the simulation. The DESign team couldn’t believe that it only took a couple of minutes to find the optimal number of carriers for the plant.

Getting Results Fast

The simulation helped DESign to develop a layout and process to best achieve the required throughput targets by identifying bottlenecks, experimenting with different ideas and optimizing carrier quantities. DESign were able to efficiently develop a plan which would meet Ford’s requirements and SIMUL8 allowed them to demonstrate the results of various scenarios.

With the help of SIMUL8 Academy and the SIMUL8 Support team, DESign were able to complete the full project in 10 weeks, providing Ford with all the results they needed to meet their throughput targets.

“I was very happy with the results SIMUL8 gave us especially in such a short timeframe – modeling was very quick compared to what my experience has been in the past.”
Anthony Dunn, Simulator, DESign.

Creating Engaging Simulations

After a week of learning SIMUL8 and working on the Ford plant layout DESign provided Ford stakeholders with the first set of results. With the ability to see the simulation on top of the plant CAD layout, the stakeholders at Ford were instantly engaged with the simulation.

Throughout the modeling process DESign worked alongside a Ford Industrial Engineer, testing different inputs and concepts. This way, DESign could validate the simulation and make live changes in minutes to get new sets of results straight away. Working in an agile environment helped DESign understand their client’s requirements and implement them before presenting to stakeholders.
“It was really great for us to pass all of our data to DESign and we had our first results within a week. SIMUL8 makes this process so engaging.”
Sarunyou Naksrisuk, Ford

One thing that was key in engaging Ford stakeholders was the visualization that SIMUL8 offered. This allowed the team at DESign to build a simulation that looked like Ford’s process, from layout through to the colors that the objects reached at various stages of the process. Being able to set the simulation up in this way helped to engage the Ford team and help them gain understanding of their process within the simulation.

Using SIMUL8, DESign were able to pass over their first results to Ford in just 1 week, while creating an engaging simulation. Our goal at SIMUL8 is to make our users successful and it’s great to see how quickly DESign were able to get up and running with their simulation project. DESign completed this exciting project with Ford in only 10 weeks and we can’t wait to hear about their next simulation project!

With all of the SIMUL8 support available, from public & online training, coaching and a dedicated support team, our users can get started with SIMUL8 and engage stakeholders immediately. If you’re new to SIMUL8 and need help to get up and running – or you’d like to share your own success story with us – just get in touch.

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