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The BENEFITS
of computer simulation
It is known that the
best investment one can make is in the field of high technology and basic
research, though the benefits may not be immediate or easy to evaluate. One of
such fields is computer simulation software. Recall that simulation is used to observe the dynamic behavior of a model
of a real or imaginary system. The sub-title of the International Journal
SIMULATION (the most important publication on simulation methods and
applications) is For Understanding (see http://www.scs.org
). Indeed, simulating a complex system
we are able to understand its behavior at low cost. Otherwise, we would have to
carry out a complicated theoretical research or to build a device (an electric
heater, a building or a plain), and observe how it crashes to get hints for
improvements in the design.
If you run a
manufacturing plant, a shop, an hospital or a bank, then computer simulation may
show you bottlenecks, service times, flows and queues of clients and provide
important information on how to improve your business. There are few (perhaps no
at all) fields where simulation has not been applied. In our experience (Raczynski
Consulting) the successful simulation projects included manufacturing
plants, queuing systems, insurance company performance, AIDS dynamics, hospital
operation research, robotics, liquid flow problems, mechanical systems,
marketing, creation of galaxies and even legal processes.
Other important field
of computer simulation is education. For example,
the project on legal process simulation mentioned above was developed for the
Law Faculty of the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City and resulted
in a didactic computer game used in teaching problems related to stock exchange
and corresponding legal issues. But the most popular field of simulation
applications is engineering education. Such topics as automatic control,
physical systems dynamics or robotics are strongly supported by simulation. In
the future, there will probably be no career program that will not use
simulation as a didactic tool.
The simulation software
grows exponentially. It is enough to consult the Directory of Simulation
Software edited by The Society for Computer Simulation to see hundreds of
available simulation tools. The price of a simulation language or package varies
from US $ 25 to 20,000 and many of the packages of the Directory have a note
"contact provider" that means that the price may be even higher. In
fact, the cost of a simulation package not always reflects its quality.
Selecting a tool you must see, first of all, if it is applicable to your problem.
Then, you should check the platform and methodology used. This may need a
consult with an expert, and you will need more information on the package.
Unfortunately, most of the advertisements and software summaries contain phrases
like "the best", "friendly", "easy to use" and no
relevant information.
Finally, I would like
to strongly recommend computer simulation to all who have not used it before.
Perhaps "Raczynski Consulting" can help you in your simulation task.
For more information, visit the pages:
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e-mail
: stanracz@prodigy.net.mx