Six industries, one method, delivered for manufacturing plants, pharma lines, airport terminals, container terminals, warehouses and mines in India, the Gulf, the USA and other markets.
Discrete event simulation is used in any facility where work moves through steps that queue: production and packing lines, pharma blocks, airport terminals, container terminals, warehouses and mine haul circuits. The model advances one event at a time (a part arrives, a machine stops, a passenger reaches a counter, a truck tips) and counts what waits where, for how long, and how much comes out the other end.
That is why the method travels so well between industries. A coater with pallets of cores stacked in front of it, a check-in hall with a queue folding back on itself, a berth with vessels at anchor and a crusher with trucks waiting to tip are the same problem in a model: a resource, a queue in front of it and a demand that varies by the hour. What changes from one industry to the next is the decision the model is built to settle, and the data it is built from.
| Term | What it means | Example across industries |
|---|---|---|
| Event | A moment when something in the facility changes state | A tablet batch finishes coating · a vessel berths · a pallet lands on a dock |
| Entity | The thing that flows through the model | A carton, a passenger, a container, a truckload of ore |
| Resource | Whatever does the work and can be busy | A machine, a check-in counter, a quay crane, a picker, a shovel |
| Queue | Entities waiting for a resource to come free | Cores before the coater, passengers before security, trucks at the crusher |
| Utilisation | The share of time a resource is working, not waiting or broken | A coater at 100% caps the line; a berth at 75% starts to build anchorage waiting |
| Throughput | Output per hour, shift or year at the end of the flow | Strips per shift, passengers per hour, boxes per year, tonnes per shift |
| Scenario | One set of changes replayed over the same demand | A second coater, ten counters instead of five, a fourth berth, one VNA aisle |
| Validation | Replaying a period the facility already recorded and comparing the model with it | Last year’s output, a recorded peak day, a logged month of vessel calls |
Six industries bring VB Engineering the same kind of question in different words: will the line, terminal, warehouse or haul circuit deliver the number at the peak, and which option gets it there for the least money. The table names the decision each industry takes to a model and what the model counts to settle it.
| Industry | Decision taken to the model | What the model counts | Go deeper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | New line · bottleneck · relocation | Output per shift for the line or plant, the station that limits it, the buffer each station needs, and the option that lifts output without a second line | Manufacturing simulation and evaluation |
| Pharma | New line · investor case · line short of nameplate | Strips, packs or batches per shift, the machine that constrains the block, the changeover and clearance hours lost, and whether the capex line is needed at all | Pharma plant capacity simulation |
| Airports | Counters, lanes, gates and stands at the peak hour | Counters, security lanes, gates and stands at the peak hour; queue length and wait per 15 minutes; the opening plan operations can roster to | Airport terminal simulation |
| Ports | The next berth: now, later or not at all | Berth occupancy, anchorage waiting, yard occupancy and gate queue across the forecast year, and the year each option becomes necessary | Port and terminal simulation |
| Warehouses | Positions, docks and robots on the peak day | Pallet positions in use on the peak day, lines per hour by wave, dock doors, sorter chutes and AMR fleet size | Warehouse layout and capacity simulation |
| Mining | Trucks per loading unit · crusher throughput | Trucks per loading unit, shovel and crusher utilisation, the queue at the crusher and tonnes per shift | Mining simulation |
A line or a whole plant modelled station by station, so the capex paper, the bottleneck argument or the relocation layout is settled on output per shift, buffer sizes and the station that limits the line.
Manufacturing simulation and evaluation ›Also: Bottleneck analysis · Simulation before capex
An oral solid dosage, API or packaging block run as a year of campaigns, changeovers and line clearances, so the second line, the investor capacity figure or the running line that misses its number is proven before the money moves.
Pharma plant capacity simulation ›
Departures and arrivals, kerb to gate, run through the design-day schedule, so the counter, security lane, gate and stand counts are tested at the peak before the terminal drawings freeze.
Airport terminal simulation ›Also: Airport DES industry page
Berths, quay cranes, the container yard, the truck gate, rail and the freight station run through the forecast year, so the next berth or the yard extension is placed in the year it is actually needed.
Port and terminal simulation ›Also: Port DES industry page
Racking, picking, sorter, docks, AMR fleets and cold stores run through the peak week, so a new DC, an extension or an automation purchase is decided on positions and lines per hour, not on a drawing count.
Warehouse layout and capacity simulation ›Also: Warehouse and logistics simulationLoad, haul, dump and return modelled cycle by cycle, with the crusher and the processing plant behind it, so the fleet size, the haul road change or the crusher upgrade is tested on tonnes per shift.
Mining simulation ›Also: Underground mine haul cyclePick your facility. The answer, the data the model is built from and a representative programme come back on the spot; no form needed.
Each example below is the first question VB is typically asked in that industry and the figure the model returns; the figures come from the representative studies on VB’s sector pages and are modelled, not an operator’s data.
The 1 minute 47 second run below is one of VB’s own models: an airport check-in hall at the peak with ten counters against five, the output chart comparing them, then the security hall lane by lane. A production line, a berth, a warehouse or a haul circuit is modelled and shown the same way.
Digital twins for airports and emulation, VB Group, on YouTube. The player loads only when you press play; no cookies are set before that.
Simulate when the decision is expensive, the flow varies by the hour or the season, and the spreadsheet answers with an average. Four moments bring most studies to VB Engineering, in every industry on this page:
| Simulation is the right tool when | Another tool fits better when |
|---|---|
| Queues, breakdowns and peaks drive the answer | The flow is steady and an average is the honest answer |
| Several options must be compared on the same demand | There is only one option and it is already committed |
| The board, the investor or the authority wants the figure proven | The question is stress, heat or airflow (FEA or CFD) |
| Records exist, or rates can be timed on the floor | No data exists and none can be measured in time |
Have one of these four moments on your desk? Tell us the decision and the date the number is due.
A representative VB Engineering programme runs 4 to 6 weeks for one production line, 5 weeks for a pharma line capacity case, 7 weeks for an airport terminal, a container terminal or a distribution centre, and 12 to 20 weeks for a whole plant. The table sets them side by side with what moves each one.
| Facility | Typical model scope | Representative programme | What moves the length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production line | One line, station by station, with buffers and changeovers | 4 to 6 weeks | Number of products and changeovers; whether cycle times are logged or timed |
| Whole plant | Several lines, shared utilities, stores and internal transport | 12 to 20 weeks | Lines in scope, shared resources, forecast cases |
| Pharma line or block | OSD, API or packaging line through a year of campaigns | 5 weeks, data pack to board paper | Campaign mix, changeover matrix, investor or board deadline |
| Airport terminal | Kerb to gate: check-in, security, frisking, gates, stands | 7 weeks, data pack to walkthrough | Process areas in scope, design-day schedules, airside included or not |
| Container terminal | Berths, quay cranes, yard, gate, rail and freight station | 7 weeks, data pack to walkthrough | Berth options, forecast years, rail and bulk included or not |
| Distribution centre | Racking, picking, sorter, docks, AMR fleet, cold store | 7 weeks, data pack to walkthrough | Process areas, WMS data quality, automation vendors to test |
| Mine haul circuit | Loading, haul road, tipping, crusher and stockpile | Fixed in the proposal | Haul circuits, fleet types, processing plant included or not |
Modelled programmes from VB’s representative sector studies (Category 3). Assumptions: one decision, three to four options, records exportable from the facility’s systems. Your programme is fixed in the written proposal.
Need the programme for your own facility, from data pack to report? It comes with the estimate.
A discrete event simulation study tests options before a decision, using a one-way data pack taken from records; a digital twin keeps a two-way live link with the running facility through sensors and control systems and is used to run it day to day. The two are stages of one path rather than rival products.
| Discrete event simulation study | Digital twin | |
|---|---|---|
| Data link | One way: a data pack from logs, schedules and floor timing | Two way: live data from sensors, PLCs, MES or WMS |
| Question | Which option meets the target before the money is spent | What is happening now and what happens next in the running facility |
| Moment | Before capex, a relocation, a new line or terminal | After commissioning, in daily operation |
| Life | Handed over with the report, re-run for the next decision | Runs continuously and is maintained with the facility |
| What it needs | Records and a validation period | Integration with the facility’s control and data systems |
VB works on both sides of that line. A validated study model is often the first build of a twin, and WisTwin, VB Group’s digital twin platform, is where a model carries on into operation once the decision is made.
Three representative studies from three industries, each with the decision it settled. The facilities and operators are not named, and the figures are representative of the delivered work.
The operator had to commit counter and security lane counts in a terminal plan before the drawings froze. The busy-day schedule was run through the hall at both counter counts, and security was modelled as separate X-ray, walk-through and frisking steps with an express lane tested against the standard ones. Operations came away with an opening plan it could roster to and a queue layout that held the hall inside its service band. How the airport model is built.
A new berth sat on the capex list while shipping lines pressed on waiting time. Crane allocation and dwell rules were tested first, the fourth berth second and a two-berth extension last, each against the same waiting-time target, with berth and yard occupancy reported week by week. The board received the year each option becomes necessary and the rules to run until then. How the port model is built.
An investor wanted the capacity figure in the pitch proven. The model found the coater at full load with cores queuing in front of it every shift and 58 hours a month lost to changeover and clearance, while the proposed second line would have run at 55%. A second coater and a buffer before blistering met the target at a fraction of the capex, and the investor case went out again with the validation attached. How the pharma model is built.
Proof before commitment: a one-page check of your busiest process, in any of the six industries.
Three named people, CVs attached to the proposal: a simulation engineer who builds and validates the model, an engineer from your industry who challenges every input, and an approver who signs the report.
Simulation lead
CV shared with the proposalIndustry engineer for your sector
CV shared with the proposalVB Engineering approver
CV shared with the proposalSix common ones: a packing line modelled to find the station that caps output; a pharma blister line run through a year of changeovers; an airport check-in hall tested with five counters against ten; a container terminal run through a forecast year with three berths and with four; a distribution centre loaded with its peak-day orders; and a mine haul circuit tested with one truck more and one fewer. Each model counts events (a part arriving, a passenger reaching a counter, a truck tipping) and reports what queues where.
Simulation is applied to decisions that depend on flow and variability: sizing a new line or terminal, finding a bottleneck, testing a relocation or re-layout, checking peak capacity, sizing a fleet or an automation system, and proving a capacity figure for a board or investor paper. Physical behaviour (stress, heat, airflow) is a different branch, handled by FEA and CFD rather than discrete event models.
The main users are manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, healthcare, transport hubs such as airports and ports, and mining. VB Engineering delivers it for manufacturing plants, pharma lines, airport terminals, container terminals, warehouses and mines, in India, the Gulf, the USA and other markets.
It tests a decision before the money is spent, on the facility’s own data, with the variation a spreadsheet averages away. Options are compared on the same demand, so the report says which one meets the target and at what cost, the bottleneck is located by measurement rather than opinion, and the model can be re-run when the next decision arrives.
Advantages: it captures queues, breakdowns and peaks; it compares options like for like; it shows the result as an animation managers can follow. Disadvantages: it needs data and a validation step, it takes weeks rather than hours, and it answers flow questions only, so a structural, thermal or airflow question needs a different tool. A model is only as good as its validation, which is why VB prints the fit in every report.
A continuous simulation changes its state smoothly with time, like the level in a tank or the temperature in a reactor, and is solved with equations. A discrete event simulation changes only when an event happens, like a pallet arriving or a machine stopping, and jumps from event to event. Lines, terminals and warehouses are discrete; process chemistry is continuous.
In manufacturing, discrete event simulation is a model of the line or plant in which every part, operator and machine is an object, every cycle, breakdown and changeover is an event, and the model reports output, utilisation and queues per station. It is used to size a new line, find the bottleneck in a running one and test a layout before equipment moves.
No. A discrete event simulation study uses a one-way data pack from records to test options before a decision. A digital twin keeps a two-way live link with the running facility through sensors and control systems and is used in daily operation. A validated simulation model is often the first build of a twin, which is how VB carries a study into WisTwin.
A representative programme is 4 to 6 weeks for one production line, 5 weeks for a pharma line capacity case, 7 weeks for an airport terminal, a container terminal or a distribution centre, and 12 to 20 weeks for a whole plant. Data that must be measured on the floor, more options or a tender deadline change it; the programme is fixed in the proposal.
FlexSim, AnyLogic, Siemens Plant Simulation, Simio and Simul8 are the most used packages. VB Engineering builds its models in FlexSim, with AutoCAD layouts and, where the geometry of a running facility is uncertain, Leica RTC360 laser scans as the base.
Say which facility, what is being decided and when the number is due; a simulation engineer comes back with the estimate, the programme and a written proposal.
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Name, work email, organisation, the facility and the decision in hand, and the date the number is due.
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