000010652 001__ 10652
000010652 005__ 20240531171549.0
000010652 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.24868/10652
000010652 037__ $$aGENERAL
000010652 245__ $$aDiscrete Event Simulation: providing a unique modelling solution for complex defence planning
000010652 269__ $$a2022-08-16
000010652 336__ $$aConference Proceedings
000010652 520__ $$aCritical decisions are being made today which will shape the delivery of Navy capability for decades. At the defence programme level, design and planning decisions are already challenging and complex. At the enterprise level, these programmes must be considered collectively as decisions are made for the future of facility, infrastructure, workforce, crewing, and supply chain requirements. The growing complexity of these systems provides the opportunity for new analytical tools to support the design and planning choices being made. In an increasingly digital world, it is vital to embrace new modelling and simulation tools to inform capability sustainment, acquisition, and support system decision making. One modelling and simulation technique growing in popularity in defence is Discrete Event Simulation (DES).
DES models consider a system as a discrete collection of events, with each event having some defined effect on the rest of the system. The individual processes comprising a system can be defined in terms of their system trigger and impact, and resource requirements. Complex and integrated problems can then be split into simplified modules. The configuration of these modules is analysed and optimised, and key dependencies between modules are clearly defined. DES has a range of benefits over continuous simulation models including speed and configurability. Since the system is defined from the bottom up, changes to low level processes can be trialled rapidly and without having to reconfigure high level logic.
The significance of the approach explored in this paper is that Navy support systems are modelled together as a holistic enterprise, yielding powerful insights into the dynamics caused by the interplay between these systems. Extant modelling approaches are limited by the assumption that system interdependencies are always adequately met, and so any insights into the cascading effects of constraints on external system bandwidth are lost.
The holistic DES approach examined in this paper provides a superior decision-making support tool, which is already being utilised in the Australian Defence sector and could provide benefits to European Defence communities. DES is ideal for testing trade-off scenarios before they become a costly reality. With this approach, the operation of enterprise level systems spanning decades can be simulated in seconds, providing a valuable insight into how design decisions being made today will impact the capability in the next generation.
000010652 542__ $$fCC-BY-NC-ND
000010652 6531_ $$aSimulation
000010652 6531_ $$aWarship
000010652 6531_ $$aTechnology
000010652 6531_ $$aDiscrete
000010652 6531_ $$aEvent
000010652 7001_ $$aRigby, J$$uBMT
000010652 7001_ $$aKnight, S$$uBMT
000010652 773__ $$tConference Proceedings of INEC
000010652 773__ $$jINEC 2022
000010652 85641 $$uhttps://www.imarest.org/events/category/categories/imarest-event/international-naval-engineering-conference-and-exhibition-2022$$yConference website
000010652 8564_ $$903188a76-68bb-43e7-9225-d16b42f751d2$$s1064294$$uhttps://library.imarest.org/record/10652/files/INEC_2022_paper_40.pdf