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SYSC 527/627: Discrete Systems Simulation
Instructor: Alexandra Nielsen or Wayne Wakeland
Alexandra Nielsen: Graduate Assistant, Systems Science. Alex holds a MS in Systems Science and a graduate certificate in computer modeling, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Systems Science.
Wayne Wakeland: Professor and Systems Science Program Chair. Wayne earned his Ph.D. in Systems Science, and has taught modeling and simulation courses at PSU for many years. He also has twenty years of industrial experience in manufacturing and Information Technology.
Summary
The mathematical basis for discrete system simulation (DSS) is probability theory and queuing theory. It is used extensively in the fields of operations research, civil engineering, systems engineering, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, engineering management, systems analysis, etc. Students learn how to use DSS to model systems of interest.
Course Format: fully online
Content is delivered via D2L
Students apply discrete system simulation to projects within their field of interest. Examples of past student projects include: production floor layout, computer network design, helicopter logging, patient scheduling at a health care facility, customer flow through a cafeteria, traffic flow regulation via on-ramp meters, scheduling/design of a heavy duty equipment maintenance shop, automated testing facility for integrated circuits, the X-ray inspection facility at a castings manufacturer. oil tanker loading at the end of the Alaska pipeline, production & inventory control at a hydraulic equipment manufacturer, and others.
Simulation Language: ARENA from Rockwell Software
A state-of-the-art simulation package for the PC and Unix workstations that features: 1) ease of model specification using general purpose models and blocks, augmented by discrete logic as needed, 2) special blocks to make it easier to model manufacturing systems & processes, 3) support for animation, including importing graphics from CAD S/W, 4) a full set of statistical utilities for analyzing both input and output data, and 5) full integration with Microsoft applications.