SimJect

Short description - In plant engineering, the on-time commissioning of custom-built, one-of-a-kind systems is critical to competitiveness. Planning logistics processes is essential because delivery dates are subject to uncertainties and carry implementation risks (depending, for example, on local conditions at the customer’s site). Current project management approaches using standard tools or network planning techniques are inadequate, as they barely account for temporal uncertainties in logistics, fail to identify critical chains in this regard, and do not assess the robustness of project plans. Although process simulation is used successfully in the implementation of custom one-off products, its use remains sporadic. Today, SMEs lack a practical methodology for leveraging process simulation, visualization, and analysis in project planning based on existing data to achieve higher-quality planning.

A methodology is being developed for the semi-automatic generation of initial project plans based on plant components, delivery dates, and delivery locations. This methodology enables the simulation of logistics processes to assess uncertainties in the project plan, as well as the visualization of project progress in 3D models of the future plants. It will be evaluated using a demonstrator. With regard to the individual methods to be integrated, existing tools are being adapted for use by SMEs. The methodology is designed using a tool-independent integration approach. The result is a functional demonstrator for the methodology, which can be used to analyze existing schedules for robustness and, if necessary, to replan them. Current construction progress is visualized in 3D, and the project plan is continuously evaluated. The innovation lies in the practical integration of all methods to support operational decision-making for and by SMEs.