Simulation Excursion of The Netherlands Defense Academy, NLDA

Simulation Workshop and Presentation of The Netherlands Defense Academy, NLDA

For over 30 years, InControl has been working in close cooperation with many leading global Universities, Applied Sciences, and R&D Institutes. InControl’s cooperation is related to solving complex issues for so-called crowded places or supply chains such as last-mile delivery, human behavior, or specific domains like Defense.

A good example is the usage of our discrete-event software Enterprise Dynamics® during courses at the Netherlands Defense Academy, NLDA. As of this year, NLDA started using our Crowd Management simulation application as well. Both applications are very relevant for military planning, strategy, and operations.  The simulation software of InControl has become an integral part of the Master Military Technology, Processes & Systems (MTPS) curriculum. In this Master’s Program, much attention is paid to modeling and simulation. During the MTPS Master’s Program, students learn to identify, analyze and solve complex technical-operational challenges, related to military missions and systems.

Simulation software has proved to be an important tool to prepare and optimize military infrastructures, and operations, train staff, and predict incidents that threaten (inter)national safety and security. How can we effectively prepare soldiers and security personnel to succeed in their work during peace and mission-critical settings? Our Simulation Software can support the introduction of new operating procedures for tactical and operational army logistics.

Two weeks ago a group of students, professors, and lecturers of the NLDA visited our office in Woerden for a Simulation Workshop & Presentation. Our CCO, Frank van Poeteren, kicked off with a presentation about InControl and our experiences and contribution to the defense domain. Followed by a presentation by Douwe, Crowd Management Simulation Engineer at InControl. He explained the validation and technical features of our software application Pedestrian Dynamics®. Our CTO, Fred Jansma explained how our software contributes to the safety and security of complex infrastructures.

Student Presentation

Student presentation NLDA

As part of the program, four students from the Master Degree MTPS from the faculty of Military Science presented their assignments using Pedestrian Dynamics®. All students are Navy, Land, and Air Force officers and follow the Master’s program, besides their daily operations and assignments, part-time. InControl’s Pedestrian Dynamics® is used to understand the behavior of agents in specific settings and is tested if the results of their simulation models sync with the theory and vice versa. A very successful Workshop & Presentation with compliments to the well-prepared students and good cooperation with the lecturers of the NLDA.  

“We enjoyed our visit to InControl: from the enthousiastic welcome, and the interesting case studies to the in-depth discussions during the day. We learned a lot while having fun. In particular, talking with the Crowd Simulation Engineers was very fruitful: we discussed Pedestrian Dynamics and how we could use it for our applications. We shared many ideas and started collaborating on new projects. 

We look forward to visiting again with our next batch of master students.” 

– Ir. Sander van Oers, Assistant professor NLDA 

Consider starting a simulation course with our simulation software at your University, Applied Sciences, or R&D Institute.

Feel free to contact us to receive more information about our educational program and become part of our Educational Community to discuss and share your knowledge with other lecturers.

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Simulation Software contributes to the warehouse of the future

smart warehousing

Simulation Software contributes to the warehouse of the future

Warehouses and distribution centers are facing major challenges. During the pandemic, consumer demands increased exponentially, consumers expected short lead times, high product availability, flexibility, and variation in delivery and return options. Companies started to build up more stocks to meet those expectations during this period. Now there are large stocks, but demand is falling as a result of the high inflation.

The global supply chain has been forced to adapt quickly to changes in demand, automation can help to build safer, more productive operations and boost the ability to respond to rapid changes in demand. Warehouses turned out as crucial breaking points in the supply chain. Therefore, optimization and efficiency in this industry are very important.

To meet these expectations, warehouses need to become smarter, faster, and more flexible, but how to prepare your warehouse for the future? Promises of superfast fulfillment are leading organizations with warehouses to explore digital twin technology, enabling them to mirror the operational setting and run experiments to experience and understand how it can be optimized, and how new technologies can be rolled into play.

By 2025, 50% of the work activities could be replaced by next-level process optimization and visualization. Applications will be impacted by e.g., Robotization: Robots, Cobots (collaborative robots) and RPA (Robotic Process Automation), and Process Virtualization by Digital Twins and AI (McKinsey & Company report: Top Trends in Tech, 2020). We see simulation as an inseparable part of AI, combining visions, (historical)data, algorithms, and assumptions to get insight and therefore grip on supply chain processes.

warehouse simulation

Simulation modeling is a powerful method for designing, planning, and optimizing warehouse operations. By creating a digital twin of a warehouse, companies can design, simulate, and test within current and new warehouse operations, including (semi) automatic order picking, batching algorithms, stock allocation, (empty) tote management, tracking and tracing temporary storage, and shelving virtually.

The challenge is to achieve the most efficient warehouse operation. Simulation modeling can contribute to the selection of the best order-picking module, conveyor and sorting systems, or automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). Using simulation software, warehouse managers can easily plan during peak days and determine when these peak moments are. By integrating the Warehouse Management System (WMS) with the simulation model, data from the inventory can be used for accurate simulation studies.

Questions that can be easily answered using Simulation Software are:

  • How to deal with capacity shortages both in operation and in design?
  • How many extra Shifts and/or resources are required?
  • How much surplus capacity do you accept during the rest of the year to handle your peak day? E.g. Do you leave an entire floor empty for a whole year, which you then only use during your peak period? How and when to fill up this floor. What measures to take to ensure sufficient stock?
  • What do you do if a part of your system breaks down (contingency)?
  • What are the lead times and are they short and stable enough to ensure product safety in case of, e.g., chilled foods?
  • What is the reason to implement a shuttle system and robots.
  • How to optimize your and 3rd Party equipment, staff and logistics?

From an emulation perspective, managers can get insight into the operation. How is the performance on a peak day/period? What extra dynamics do peak days provide? For example, during special offers on black Friday, there might be flows that would normally never be seen. How to cope with these challenges?

Enterprise Dynamics® is a powerful and robust simulation platform that provides a digital environment where you can safely explore a solution without impacting day-to-day operations. By using a virtual model to validate and visualize current and future operations, optimizations and innovations will demand less costs, risks, effort and time. So, supporting maximal operational performance.

Simulation software can give insight in:

  • Overall performance
  • Steering optimization, innovation and control
  • Bottleneck detection
  • The stability of the warehouse design under different loads
  • The impact of failures on the warehouse
  • Batching algorithms
  • Stock allocation
  • Empty Tote Management
  • Implementation and scale up a shuttle system and robots
  • Required and right seize capacities.

Curious how our simulation software can help to prepare your warehouse for the future? Download our free trial or contact us, we are happy to tell you about the capabilities of our software and expertise.

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Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.2 released!

Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.2 released!

For all leading construction companies, architects, engineers, and consultants using crowd risk analysis. We are happy to announce the release of our crowd simulation software Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.2!

With Pedestrian Dynamics® you can increase customer experiences, decrease costs, and contribute to your innovation programs to contribute to more safe, secure, and sustainable infrastructures and events.

Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.2 gives the crowd modelers more tools to help them in the model building process and to present the results to the end user.

The new features of Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.2 are:

  • New TextBox Element, to enhance your model by showing text or output in your 2D or 3D visualization 
  • New functionality in the Error Monitor, to easily find the location where the error in your model is reported  
  • Miniature Map, a small layout shown at the bottom. Click on this layout to easily navigate your model. 

New TextBox element

The new text box element can show predefined messages or dynamically updatable
text. This tool brings extra functionality to help you analyze your environment during
the simulation run and create videos to show your projects’ results.
This element can be found on the draw toolbar of the 2D Builder. Draw the text box
in your layout, adjust its size, font, and many other settings in the settings window,
including the visualization in both 2D and/or 3D. Use the available predefined
logics to define the text to be shown: a fixed text such as the name of an activity
or its capacity, or even text that is updated dynamically during the run, such as the
number of people in a queue line.

Show the location in your 2D/3D model layout directly from the location reported in the Error monitor

New functionality has been added to the error monitor and tracer window. In the context menu you can find a new function Go to location. Use this for example to easily find the location of an error that is reported in the error monitor in your 2D/3D model layout.

Debugging your model is now facilitated by this tool. Select the line in the error
monitor which is reporting the location. Right-click on the error and the context
menu opens, which shows the “Go to location” option. By selecting this option, a red
circle pops up on the environment which indicates the location.

Miniature Map for easy navigation

A miniature layout of your entire model for easy navigation. When working with
large models, the zoom in/out process to find a specific location can sometimes
be cumbersome. The miniature map tool does not only give you extra information
about which part of the model is shown in the view, but also makes it easier to move
between different areas.

A new button can be found on the View tab of the Model Layout. Click this
button and a settings window will appear in which you can enable the miniature
map. This map is shown in the bottom left corner of the 2D Builder windows. The
green area shows the current area shown in the Layout. Click the image to move the
view to the indicated location. The map can be updated via the settings window or
on reset.

Download our release highlights document to read more details about the new improvements in Pedestrian Dynamics® 4.2. 

Curious what Pedestrian Dynamics® can do for you, your company, and your customers? Please contact us, or try our software free of charge.