The aim of this course is for students to get acquainted with the principles of discrete event stochastic simulation, in order to (1) learn how a simulation study, focused on improvement of business processes, should be conducted, and (2) be able to judge whether simulation can be a useful technique to analyse business problems.. The course addresses 10 learning objectives (linked to the intended learning outcomes of the IEM master programme, indicated by the numbers in brackets). After successful completion of the course, the student is able to:
- explain the principles of discrete event simulation [A3, A6];
- describe the steps to be taken when conducting a simulation study focused on improvement of operations systems [logistics systems and business processes] [A1];
- judge whether simulation can be a useful technique to analyse certain operations systems [when to use and when not to use] [A3, A4, A6];
- design a simulation model for a given operations system [A3];
- implement this model in an advanced simulation tool [currently Plant Simulation] [A3];
- verify the model and examine its validity [A3];
- define input and analyse output of a simulation model [A2, A3, A6];
- design and conduct a structured set of simulation experiments [A2, A6];
- combine simulation with optimization [A3, A4];
- write a well-structured project report on a simulation study [A8, B3].
|
 |
|
Simulation is the process of designing a model of a system and conducting experiments with this model for the purpose either of understanding the behaviour of the system or of evaluating various strategies (within the limits imposed by a criterion or set of criteria) for the operation of the system. The course consists of a theoretical part (1/4) and a practical part (3/4). For the practical part, we use advanced simulation software to implement simulation models and, as an examination, to carry out a small but realistic simulation project. Besides, the course contains three small assignments to get acquainted with the principles of simulation and to learn working with the simulation software.
Subjects:
- Basic principles of simulation.
- Advantages and drawbacks of simulation.
- Basic concepts (event control, random number generation).
- Structure of a simulation study and the use of dedicated simulation software.
- Simulation model construction, model verification and validation.
- Input analysis for simulation models.
- Output analysis of simulation models.
- Variance reduction.
- Experimental design.
- Simulation-based optimization.
|
|
|
Bachelor students who have the possibility to follow a master course during their bachelor programme and would like to take this course can submit a motivated request no later than 14 days before the start of the quartile, containing:
- Study progress overview from Osiris
- Description of how the student meets the course’s prerequisites
- Approval of the programme director (or a delegate from the student’s bachelor programme) for following this master course
The request should be sent either to Niek van der Veen (email: n.vanderveen@utwente.nl) or Mieke van der Meulen (email: m.g.vandermeulen.utwente.nl)
|
|
The final grade is composed of 2 partial grades:
- Grade of a multiple choice exam (25%)
- Grade for a final assignment (75%)
The final grade is only given when the 2 grades are greater than or equal to 5. Moreover, the course has three intermediate assignments that have to be passed (judged sufficient) before a final grade can be given. These intermediate assignments will be made individually, whereas the final assignment will be made in groups of 2 students.
|
|