Simulation Special Interest Group

Special Interest Groups and Regional Societies

Simulation Special Interest Group
 

The simulation special interest group aims to provide a forum for the regular exchange of ideas on simulation theory and practice, for academics, practitioners and software suppliers. The group runs a biannual conference on simulation called the Simulation Workshop. The last conference was held near Leamington Spa in March 2006. In addition, we aim to hold two meetings a year on topics of interest to those working in computer simulation. Examples of meetings include

  • June 2005: Simulation at Southampton
  • June 2003: The Principles and Best Practice in High Level Architecture
  • March 2003: Simulation in Healthcare
  • November 2002: Variety is the Spice of Simulation Life in British Airways

If you are interested in running a meeting for the Study Group or would like to find out more, contact Christine or Kathy (contact details below) or join the mailing list to receive news by e-mail and circulate any messages of your own.

Other sites of interest to those in the simulation community:

http://www.informs-cs.org INFORMS Simulation Society
http://www.scs.org/ SCS, Society for Modeling and Simulation International
http://www.eurosim.info/ EUROSIM, Federation of European Simulation Societies

http://www.eurosis.org

EUROSIS, European Multidisciplinary Society for Modelling and Simulation Technology
http://www.siaa.asn.au/ Simulation Industry Association of Australia

Coming Meetings
COMING MEETINGS

GETTING TO KNOW YOU: RE-VISITING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYSTEM DYNAMICS AND DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION
A joint meeting of the SD+ and Simulation Special Interest Groups of the OR Society
Date/Time: Thursday 25th February 2010. 11:00 to 17:00. Lunch will be provided.
Venue: Room B116, first floor of the WBS Scarman Road Building, University of Warwick
For location and travel details see: http://www.wbs.ac.uk/about/find/

  • Abstract: This meeting is a chance to take a look at recent work which helps reveal the contrasts and similarities of two simulation approaches: system dynamics and discrete event simulation. In the past their relationship has been a distant one. Today there is increasing interest in understanding their distinctive strength and in creating ways of combining them in practical ways.

    For this event a range of speakers from practice and academia will talk about the two approaches, describing what each can bring to understanding real world problems and considering both practical and theoretical ways of bringing together the best of each approach.

  • Sessions include:
    - Antuela Tako and Stewart Robinson - Warwick Business School. Comparison of Discrete-Event Simulation and SD in the Supply Chain Context.
    - Chris Owen - PricewaterhouseCoopers. Using System Dynamics to tackle strategic supply chain problems.
    - Jennifer Morgan - Strathclyde University. Exploring frameworks for combining SD and DES.
    - Kim Warren - Strategy Dynamics. How management can use basic system dynamics to develop & manage strategy
    - Steffen Bayer - Imperial College. Contrasting the use of DES and SD and their social role in the model development process.

As an added feature, Sally Brailsford ( Southampton University) and David Lane (London School of Economics) will facilitate a session mysteriously called 'FAFSim', which aims to encourage communication between aficionados in each of the two simulation camps.

To book a place for this event please complete and return the attached registration form:
Have a happy and peaceful Christmas and we will look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
The organisers   

COMMITTEE / CONTACT DETAILS
Chair
(and contact)

Christine Currie
School of Mathematics
University of Southampton,
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
Tel.  023 8059 3647
Fax. 023 8059 5147
Email: christine.currie@soton.ac.uk

Co-Chair
(and contact)

 

Kathy Kotiadis
University of Warwick
Operational Research & Information Systems Group
Warwick Business School
Coventry
CV4 7AL
Email: Kathy.kotiadis@wbs.ac.uk


Previous Meetings

Simulation study group Joint meeting with London & South East OR Society AGM
How simulation was used to model passenger flows in Terminal 5
Speaker: Andrew Beck - British Airways
Date/Time: Tuesday 10th March 2009 6:00 for 6.30pm
Venue: In the upstairs bar of Ye Olde Watling, on the corner of Bow Lane and Watling Street. Nearest stations are Mansion House (Bow Lane exit) and Bank (exit 8) for tube, or Cannon Street and City Thameslink for rail.

  • Abstract: British Airway’s OR department has been heavily involved in the modelling of Terminal 5’s departure concourse and transfer area.  At the core of this work was a simulation model generated by OR looking at passenger flows.  This enabled BA to determine the level of physical elements (such as fast bag drops) and resources (such as staff) required to meet service standards. OR’s modelling was pivotal in making decisions surrounding the design of the departure concourse and the transfer area.  The simulation model was, and is, being used by OR and its clients in helping to determine staffing levels required on the concourse and the transfer area.

Simulation Modelling: Exotic Experiments and Practical Applications
Date/Time: Wednesday, 1st October 2008, 10:30 – 15:30 (registration starts at 10:00)
Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Management School building Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, LA1 4VX

Speakers & Titles:
Exotic Experiments with Simulation Models
Lee Schruben ( University of California, Berkeley, USA). Lee is a Fellow of INFORMS and well known for his work in simulation, which combines an interest in modelling & software (using event graphs and SIGMA) with deep knowledge of statistical and analytical approaches in simulation.
For Process Design Decisions, Should I Simulate to Inform My Choice?
Stephen Chick (INSEAD).
Steve is well-known for his health-related work and is interested in the use of a simulation tool, from the perspectives of system interactions, in quantifying uncertainty, for optimization, and the economic value of simulation to decision makers
A Generic Hospital Simulation Model: Is It Feasible?
Murat Gunal and Mike Pidd ( Lancaster University).
Murat is a PhD candidate at Lancaster University. He is an experienced simulation modeller and has been known for his work in investigating the use of simulation on performance measurement in public services such as hospitals. Mike is well known for his work in simulation modelling and the development of improved simulation methods utilising current developments in computing hardware and software. His current application work focuses on simulation modelling for improvement in public services, especially in policing and healthcare.
Determining the Range of Predictions for Calibrated Agent-based Simulation Models
Roger Brooks ( Lancaster University).
Roger is a lecturer in the Management Science department at Lancaster University. He is the co-author of a textbook on simulation: Simulation and Inventory Control published by Palgrave Macmillan. His areas of interest include conceptual modelling, Boolean networks and agent-based simulation.
High Performance Simulation on a Desktop PC
Stephan Onggo ( Lancaster University).
Stephan is a research associate at the Department of Management Science, Lancaster University. His research interests are in the areas of simulation conceptual modelling, simulation technology (including parallel and distributed simulation), and simulation applications.

Showcasing Simulation at Warwick
Speakers: Various, see below
Date/Time: Wednesday 24th October 2007
10.00am - 3:30pm
Venue: Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick.

Speakers:

  • Professor Stewart Robinson: Overview of Simulation at Warwick.
  • Professor Ruth Davies: Agent based simulation applied to Hospital acquired infectious diseases.
  • Dr Katy Hoad: Automating the Analysis of Simulation Output Data.
  • Dr Kathy Kotiadis & Dr Navonil Mustafee: Conceptual modelling in health care.
  • Ernie Lee: A quest for a better VIS-based knowledge elicitation tool
  • Antuela Tako: Comparing Discrete-Event Simulation and System Dynamics: the user perspective.
  • Chris Watts: Modelling Motivation: Understanding problem-solving processes in social networks.
  • Stavrianna Dimitriou: Incentive Alignment in Supply Chains: The Use of Agent Based Simulation.

Simulation Modelling within the Criminal Justice Sector
Joint event with the Criminal Justice Special Interest Group
Date: Monday 19th March 2007. Anticipated start is 10:30am and finish at 15:00pm
Venue: Wakefield. The workshop venue is called the Orangery see: http://www.publicarts.co.uk/conference/conference.htm
Following discussions at OR47, the Simulation and Criminal Justice Special Interest Groups have organised a joint workshop. The one day event will provide a unique focus on the application of simulation to the criminal justice (CJ) sector.

  • Professor Mike Pidd from the University of Lancaster will present a joint project with John Sinnott from Greater Manchester Police.
  • Ernie Brummitt and Mark Dean from Nottinghamshire Police will be demonstrating the Witness simulation model for Call Handling that they built in conjunction with Lanner. In addition to explaining their approach to model building, the presentation will also highlight the opportunities offered in terms of using modelling output to help drive efficiency and business benefits. On a similar theme, Nottinghamshire Police will also discuss their recent experience using the generic Witness Custody model that was built by Lanner on behalf of PITO.
  • Kevin Sheehy will also be presenting some of Lanner's current work in the CJ sector.
  • Peter Loader of Process Evolution will provide an overview of Evidence Based Decision Making (EBDM) and the core techniques; in particular how simulation can be interfaced with other techniques to give an 'end to end' process improvement solution. The talk will be illustrated with real examples and feature the XIMES shift pattern design software recently made available to all police forces in England and Wales.
  • Kees van Haperen from Koios Group will talk about the use of Simulation, Soft Systems Methodology, System Dynamics in support of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s resilience programme with particular focus on the Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear aspect for the Fire and Rescue Services.

Simulation in Industry
Speakers: Andy Beck of British Airways, Xiaowei Cao of GlaxoSmithKline, Peter Lacey of the Whole Systems Partnership, John Ladbrook of Ford.
Date:  20th October 2006
Venue: Brunel University

  • About the speakers: Andy Beck, Xiaowei Cao and John Ladbrook are all experienced users of simulation and will talk about how they use simulation in their work, giving examples of some real life projects. Peter Lacey is a proponent of system dynamics, and so the SD versus simulation debate will continue.
  • For more details: please get in touch with Christine Currie, Christine.currie@soton.ac.uk

The Third Two Day Simulation Workshop (SW006)
Ashorne Hill Conference Centre, Royal Leamington Spa
Tue 28th – 29th March 2006

  • The biennial Operational Research Society Simulation Workshop brings together practitioners and academics working in the field of discrete-event simulation. It provides an opportunity to exchange ideas on the current and future state-of-the-art in simulation and modelling. Due to the success of previous workshops, SW06 is moving to a new location.
  • For further information, see the pages under the Conference section

Simulation At Southampton
Wednesday 8th June 2005 , 10.00am-4:00pm
Lecture Theatre 7B, School of Mathematics (Building 54), Highfield Campus, University of Southampton. http://www.soton.ac.uk/AbouttheUniversity/Southamptongettinghere/HighfieldCampus

  • The OR Society Simulation Study Group is holding a one day meeting at the University of Southampton on Wednesday 8th June 2005. The meeting includes talks covering the full range of simulation research being carried out at the University and figures well-known experts in the field of simulation as well as up-and-coming new researchers.
  • Bootstrap Resampling - Russell Cheng ( School of Mathematics, University of Southampton)
  • Combining discrete-event simulation and ant colony optimisation to select optimal screening policies for diabetic retinopathy - Sally Brailsford ( School of Management, University of Southampton)
  • Experiments for Fast Simulation Models - Adam Brentnall (Home Office)
  • Parallel and Distributed Discrete-Event Simulation: The .NET Framework Grid - Israel Vieira ( School of Mathematics, University of Southampton)
  • Bayesian Methods for Optimisation of Simulation Models - Christine Currie ( School of Mathematics, University of Southampton)
  • Controlled Screening for Simulation Experiments - Bruce Ankenmann (Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Northwestern University, USA)

The Second Two Day Simulation Workshop
Hornton Grange, part of the University of Birmingham’s conference park
23-24 March 2004
The first simulation workshop, held in March 2002, brought together practitioners and academics from the UK and from overseas. It provided an opportunity to exchange ideas on the current and future state-of-the-art in simulation modelling, with a particular focus on discrete-event simulation. Following the success of this event, a second workshop is to be held in March 2004.

  • We are also proud to announce that this will be held in cooperation with the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group for Simulation (ACM SIGSIM).
  • The workshop will include plenary sessions, special focus streams and a PhD poster session. Contributions to the technical programme are sought in the following areas, although papers in any area of discrete-event simulation will be considered.
  • For further information, see the pages under the Conference section

Joint meeting with the Defence Study Group
The principles and best practice in High Level Architecture
Wednesday 4th June 2003 10.00am
Whittle Lecture Theatre, QinetiQ Cody Tech Park, Farnborough.

  • A joint meeting providing an opportunity to share best practice in, and multiple perspectives on, the application of High Level Architecture to simulation projects. The High Level Architecture has been with us now for several years. This distributed simulation standard and technology has been used in many different ways to create federations of interoperable federates that are used in many areas of defence. Various opinions on the usability of this technology exist, particularly with respect to the use of the DMSO RTI. What is currently emerging from this are various patterns of use, best practice strategies that facilitate the use of the High-Level Architecture's elements (the Object Model Template and the Runtime Infrastructure). This joint meeting between the Defence Study Group and the Simulation Study Group represents the opportunity to discuss contemporary best practice issues from the perspective of different applications, and will be of interest to both experts and novices in the field. Currently we have four speakers lined up to provide defence and non-defence perspectives in the morning session, with discussion and debate following on after lunch. The aim of this session will be to distill and capture the current perceived best practice.

Joint One Day Meeting with SORG
Simulation in Health Care
John Nike Lecture Theatre, University of Reading
Monday 31st March 2003

  • The recent debate on the problems within the National Health Service has highlighted the need to extend the range of issues tackled by the O.R community. This one day event hosted by the Simulation Study Group and the Southern O.R Group, will demonstrate how one O.R technique - simulation, can contribute to more effective health treatment and care. Speakers for the event come from both the health service and academia so it is expected that this event will be of interest to health care practitioners as well as academics working in this field.
  • Introduction: Key Issues in Health Care Simulation Sally Brailsford (School of Management, University of Southampton)
  • Successful Simulation in Practice: Healthy Lessons from the Service David Bensley (Department of Health)
    The presentation will discuss the use of simulation in the Department of Heath and the NHS together with the principles behind successful applications. The talk will be illustrated with various practical examples.  
  • The Use of Simulation in Cost-Effectiveness Analyses Ruth Davies (School of Management, University of Southampton)
    The advantage of discrete event simulation over other modelling techniques is that it is flexible and able to describe the progress of large numbers of individuals, influenced by risk factors such as medical history and age, over many years. Results may be sensitive to the system boundaries, the simulation time span, the discount rate and the quality of life indices. Ruth gives illustrations from models of the treatment of coronary heart disease and of the screening and eradication of Helicobacter pylori. 
  • Simulation of Hospital Pharmacies Jim Scanlan (University of West of England)
    Hospital pharmacies are under increasing pressure to deliver a service that meets waiting time criteria and yet minimise dispensing errors. Many initiatives are being introduced that affect the way the pharmacy operates.Jim will use this presentation to describe a simulation model that will allow managers to plan resources, to make changes to operating procedures and evaluate different workload patterns.
  •  Priority Scoring for Surgery Allan Cummings (Innovations in Care Unit, National Assembly of Wales)
    In 2002 the Innovations in Care Unit were asked to address the implementation of priority scoring for surgery, in line with published policy. They were particularly concerned to understand the relationship between prioritisation and maximum waiting times. Allan will demonstrate a simulation model developed in conjunction with the University of West of England. This model was used to explain the concepts and consequences of various prioritisation schemes to clinical staff.  
  • Simulation on the Effects of Differing Care Scenarios for Thrombolysis Martin Pitt (University of Exeter)
    There is overwhelming evidence and agreement that the effectiveness of Thrombolysis (a drug based treatment for Acute Myocardinal Infraction - AMI) depends critically on the speed at which it can be delivered to a patient after onset of AMI. In this presentation, Martin will describe a simulation that he has developed to assess the impact of different 'what-if' scenarios of care for delivery of Thrombolysis
  • Open Forum chaired by Sally Brailsford and Les Oakshott  

Joint Meeting Simulation Study Group and LASEORS
Variety is the Spice of Simulation Life in British Airways
Andy Beck, British Airways
Tuesday 12 November 2002

  • Simulation is used widely across BA such as in cargo, crew planning, engineering and marketing. This talk will cover the variety of problems that simulation has helped to solve in BA. Insights will be given on when to and not to use simulation and how to get the best out of simulation.
Operational Research Society (UK): Simulation Study Group
Two Day Workshop

20-21 March 2002
  • Since taking over the Simulation Study Group (SSG) around three years ago, Simon Taylor (Brunel University) and Stewart Robinson (Warwick Business School) have organised over seven one-day community events in a variety of locations on various aspects of simulation modelling ranging from verification and validation to simulation optimisation. Three more are planed over the next 12-month period (Supply Chain Modelling, Agent-based Simulation, and Group Working). These meetings have attracted many fine contributions from a wide range of practitioners and researchers, and have been well attended. Other SSG activities have also included a special issue of the Journal of the Operational Research Society (Taylor, Paul and Robinson 2000) and the development of an EPSRC Technology Programme Network dedicated to the study of collaborative simulation modelling (GROUPSIM). A special issue of ORINSIGHT is also planned.
  • To celebrate the hard work put in by all those involved in the SSG, and to present the opportunity for new people to get involved, it has been decided to hold a two-day Workshop on simulation modelling. The purpose of the Workshop is to enable an exchange of ideas on the current, and future, state-of-the-art in simulation modelling, with a particular focus on discrete-event simulation. The Workshop will be held on 20-21 March 2002 at Hornton Grange, part of the University of Birmingham’s conference park. This is an Edwardian property that stands in its own attractive and peaceful grounds. All bedrooms are en-suite, and are equipped to the highest standard. The conservatory dining room and oak room bar provide a relaxed setting for meeting with colleagues. Residents also have access to the University’s leisure facilities. All the attractions Birmingham has to offer are within a short distance.
  • The workshop will have a published proceedings and support grants will be available (see the ORS web page for the Workshop for more details). The workshop will include plenary sessions, special focus streams and a PhD poster session. Contributions to the technical programme are sought in the following areas, although papers in any area of discrete-event simulation will be considered.

Joint One Day Meeting between the Simulation Study Group and the UK Simulation Society
Simulation Output Analysis
Wednesday 9th May 2001, 9:30am-4:00pm

  • Executive MBA Teaching Centre
    Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry

  • Simulation is now one of the most commonly used tools in the study of complex systems. There are many powerful simulation packages available and the range of applications is wide. However analysis of the resulting output has lagged in development. It is only in recent years that more sophisticate approaches have been advocated and studied. A number of international conferences and workshops have been held in the last five years on the theme of simulation output and its analysis. This workshop will review the most recent advances in output analysis and should afford the practitioner an up-to-date overview of current methodology and approaches. There will also be opportunity for networking with practitioners and academics.

Simulation Software: Model Reusability, Model Integration and Groupware
Pauline Wilcox, Heriot-Watt University
July 2000

  • The latest meeting of the Simulation Study Group took place on Wednesday12 July 2000 at Lancaster University. The meeting was well attended, with approx 25-30 people from both industry and academia. Speakers were Professor Mike Pidd (Lancaster University), Mr David Bruce (DERA Malvern) and Dr Simon Taylor (Brunel University).
  • The meeting was under the heading of Simulation Software: Model Reusability, Model Integration and Groupware. The general focus of the meeting and the presentations given concerned reuse in simulation. This concerned discussion of the many facets of reuse. Although people tend to think of reuse in terms of software, there are many other areas where reuse is applicable; for example, reuse of concepts, designs and techniques. Talks covered this spectrum of reuse, reflecting on where we are and where the future potential lies.
  • Mike Pidd's talk reflected on the theme of reuse in academia, reminding us that reuse is already a part of our lives. We automatically achieve a level of reuse without generally thinking of it as such, through standard software libraries and design patterns for example. The presentation by David Bruce posed the question that in making reuse a goal in its own right we are missing the point. The ideal focus is perhaps on reusing designs and code etc. where appropriate as a solution to a particular problem, rather than a goal in its own right. The difference is subtle, but an important one. Having the aim of reuse as a high profile in a project can sometimes be harder work than starting from scratch.
  • Both speakers raised the importance of human factors; an issue often overlooked in favour of focusing on technological system and software issues. There is a significant human issue involved in achieving reusability, since one of the factors that stops reuse is the ability to understand someone else's designs or software. An issue of human communication that cannot be resolved by technology alone.
  • In the afternoon session Simon Taylor gave a presentation regarding Groupware and its potential impact on imulation modelling. He is currently evaluating a Groupware framework (using the Microsoft Net Meeting product) to consider the extent to which it can assist simulation and modellers in remote locations. He also introduced the EPSRC funded GROUPSIM programme which is in part dedicated to introducing Groupware and Computer Supported Collaborative Working into the simulation modelling community

The Practice of Simulation Verification and Validation
February 1999
Held at the University of Warwick

Simulation Software: Present and Future
June 1998
Held at Brunel University

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