Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral

Simulation

Homework 1 Chapter 1

Basic Concepts of Simulation

Name: Victor Ortiz

1. Name several entities, attributes, activities, events, and state variables for the
following systems:
(a) A cafeteria
Entities: client, cashier, waiter, e.g.
Attributes of a client: hungry, hurried.
Attributes of a cashier: faster, reliable, responsible, skilled in mathematics.
Attributes of a waiter: faster, reliable, expert in the products.
Activities: take orders, collect payments, dispatch orders, e.g.
Events: arrival and departure of clients, lack of raw material, faults in the
equipment.
State variables: number of occupied tables, number of orders per table, number
of people that pay with cash or credit card, number of clients waiting for
attention.

(b) A grocery store

Entities: client, cashier, distributor, salesperson.
Attributes of a cashier: faster, reliable, responsible, skilled in mathematics.
Attributes of a distributor: faster, reliable, responsible, punctual.
Attributes of a salesperson: faster, reliable, responsible, skilled in sales.
Activities: sell products, fill displays, organize the supermarket carts.
Events: arrival and departure of clients, reception of products, lack of products.
State variables: number of people that pay with cash or credit card, number of
clients waiting for attention, number of sold products per day.
(c) A Laundromat
Entities: client, washing machines, employees.
Attributes of a client: hurried, with a lot of clothing to wash.
Attributes of a washing machine: faster, economic, high capability, long-lasting.
Attributes of an employee: faster, reliable, responsible, expert in repairing and
installing washing machines.
Activities: wash clothes, separate clothes by colors and characteristics, dry
clothes, collect payments.
Events: arrival and departures of clients, faults in the washing machines,
damages in the clothing, lack of washing materials.
States variables: number or clients per day, number of washing machines,
amount of pounds of washed clothing per day.
(d) A fast-food restaurant
Entities: client, cashier, employee, deep fryer.
Attributes of a cashier: faster, reliable, responsible, skilled in mathematics.
Attributes of an employee: faster, reliable, responsible, expert in attention to
the client.
 Attributes of a deep fryer: high capability, long-lasting, fast cooking.
Activities: take orders, dispatch orders, cook the food, serve the clients.
Events: lack of raw material, damages in the equipment, arrival and departure
of clients, lack of staff.
State variables: number of orders, number of clients waiting for, number of
occupied seats, amount of sold products, dispatching time.

(e) A hospital emergency room

Entities: doctor, nurse, patient, equipment.
Attributes of a doctor: safe, expert in his/her science, calm, intelligent.
Attributes of a nurse: safe, expert in her science, patient, responsible.
Attributes of the equipment: high capability, long-lasting, sterilized.
Activities: vaccinate, feed the patients, administering medicines, heal the
wounds, evaluate the patients.
Events: lack of medicines, lack of staff, lack of beds, arrival and departure of
patients.
State variables: number of patients, amount of administrated medicines,
number of empty beds, number of registered cases.

(f) A taxicab company with 10 taxis

Entities: client, taxi driver, taxi, radio operator.
Attributes of a taxi driver: responsible, respectful, reliable, good driver.
Attributes of a taxi: economic, good condition, long-lasting.
Attributes of a radio operator: responsible, respectful, faster with the callings.
Activities: pick passengers, answer callings, deliver things, collect payments.
Events: taxicabs with mechanical problems, taxicabs with flat tires, absence of
taxi drivers, detained taxis.
State variables: number of clients, amount of gained money per day, number of
received callings per day, amount of mileage per taxicab in a day.
(g) An automobile assembly line
Entities: operator, robotic arm, inspector.
Attributes of an operator: responsible, faster, careful, skilled in assembling.
Attributes of a robotic arm: long-lasting, faster, economic.
Attributes of an inspector: responsible, careful, tricky, skilled in assembling.
Activities: put parts, assemble automobiles, transport automobiles through the
assembly stations.
Events: lack of parts to assemble, absence of an operator, damages in the
robotic arm, lack of inspection tools.
States variables: number of assembled cars per day, amount of used parts per
day, amount of time to assemble a car, number of automobiles waiting for
assembling.

2. Consider the simulation process shown in Figure 1.3 in the class book.

(a) Reduce the steps by at least two by combining similar activities. Give
your rationale.

In my opinion I would reduce the steps 9 and 10 in one because previously you
can define the necessary runs that you will need, avoiding spending resources or
time in new runs. Also I would combine the steps 2 and 3 because these steps are
linked for setting the initial parameters that will enable us to continue with the
project in a good way.
 (b) Increase the steps by at least two by separating current steps or
enlarging on exiting steps. Give your rationale.

We can enlarge the step 9 in two by separating it since analyze the runs can be
more complex if we consider that variables have influence and which aren’t. This
analysis will be more extensive and imply more time in the execution of the project.
Also we can enlarge the step 11 in two by separating the part of reporting since we
need a lot of time to organize the results of the experimentation in a more didactic
way with graphs, tables and possible benefits in the future.

3. A simulation of a major traffic intersection is to be conducted, with the objective of

improving the current traffic flow. Provide three iterations, in increasing order of
complexity, of steps 1 and 2 in the simulation process of Figure 1.3.

 Turning right at red traffic lights if the way is clear.

 Building an interchange near to the intersection.
 Creating an alternate route near to the intersection.

4. A simulation is to be conducted of cooking a spaghetti dinner, to discover at what

time a person should start in order to have the meal on the table by 7.00 P.M.
Download a recipe from the web for preparing a spaghetti dinner (or ask a friend
or relative for the recipe). As best you can, trace what you understand to be
needed, in the data-collection phase of the simulation process of Figure 1.3, in
order to perform a simulation in which the model includes each step in the recipe.
What are the events, activities, and state variables in this system?

Meat and tomato spaghetti recipe

Data collection

 Amount of ingredients
 Spaghetti cooking time
 Sauce cooking time
 Meat cooking time
 Mixing time of the meat with sauce
 Waiting time of spaghetti to mix with the meat and sauce

Activities
 Cut the onions and tomatoes
 Wash spaghetti with cold water
 Grind the meat
 Cook spaghetti
 Make sauce
 Mix the meat with sauce
 Mix spaguetti
Events
 Lack of ingredients
 Burn spaguetti
 Burn the meat
 Burn sauce
 Cut oneself
  Spill something
 Damages in the oven
State variables
 Cooking time
 Amount of ingredients
 Waiting time for mixing

5. What are the events and activities associated with the use of your notebook?

Activities
 Take notes
 Do homework
 Do exercises in class
 Look for the subject
 Write the instrcutions of the class
Events
 Missing notebook
 Stain the notebook with ink
 Run out of sheets of paper in the notebook
 Break a sheet of paper by mistake

6. In the current WSC Proceedings available at www.informs-cs.org/wscpapers.html

read an article on the application of simulation related to your mayor area of study
or interest, and prepare a report on how the author accomplishes the steps given
in Figure 1.3.

7. Go to the Winter Simulation Conference website at www.wintersim.org and address

the following:
a. What advanced tutorials were offered at the previous WSC or are
planned at the next WSC?
The advanced tutorials that WSC offered in 2013 were: simulation as a cloud service,
modeling human behaviors, simulation of complex adaptive systems, inside discrete
even simulation software, simulation of a complex production and logistics networks.
b. Where and when will the next WSC be held?
The next WSC will be held in Savannah, GA at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort
& Spa hotel December 7-10, 2014.