Using Predictive Simulation To Design Site Masterplan At Royal De Heus
Royal De Heus is an international animal feed supplier providing nutritional products to support animal health and performance. To support the creation of future production facilities in Asia and Africa, they were seeking to create a layout masterplan. This included developing a base design and an alternate design to compare performance of the entrance, weighbridge, gatehouse and parking area.
Lanner’s parent company Royal HaskoningDHV was selected to create a predictive simulationmodel of the proposed plans using WITNESS Simulation Software. WITNESS, Lanner’s flagship software, lets analysts create feature-rich models that allow users to test choices in a risk-free, virtual environment.
Within WITNESS, a model was built directly over the site layout plan. Then, using real-world site data, the performance of the design could be tested. A second model was built over the alternate design, allowing results from the two proposed layouts to be compared. The outputs of each model provided insights into bottlenecks, process constraints and other design considerations.
Use case 2: Staffing and shift scheduling
Labour requirements are key to operational planning – in terms of achieving performance and optimising costs. So what’s the best way to deploy staff and structure schedules to deliver the right outcomes as demand shifts over time?
Predictive simulation and digital twin technology make it easier to answer these questions. Barclays Merchant Services discovered this when looking to optimise call centre operations. Their centre handles more than 20 million calls annually, and they needed to know when and how to deploy employees so as to meet service level requirements and manage costs.
By modelling call centre operations in our WITNESS Horizon predictive simulation software, they optimised the number of employees required to handle calls, as well as the number and length of shifts. This enabled them to reduce overtime costs by between £80,000 and £100,000 a year – while still achieving their customer service targets.
Recently, Lanner's Eric Gaury delivered a webinar focused on how predictive digital twins can be used to help maximise project ROI. He also spent some time discussing how you can understand and maximize your investment in predictive simulation technology itself.
To watch the full webinar, click here. If you'd like to discuss your specific business challenges, contact us today.
Results
The use of predictive simulation modeling makes it easy to see and understand the impact of proposed changes in the entire end-to-end process, often uncovering unintended consequences. By exposing potential challenges or opportunities early, decisions can be made with confidence.
For example, analysis showed bottleneck issues at the site entrance. This would have impacted overall site performance and throughput if not identified during the design stage. By identifying issues early, the site plan supports decreasing truck throughput time, decreasing delays in dock processing and increasing overall site throughput capability.
Also, while the masterplan will serve as a basis for future facilities in Africa and Asia, each facility will require some adjustments based on local requirements. By developing a flexible, dynamic simulation model, the masterplan can be easily updated for specific site requirements, with the assurance that the plan will perform as intended. Analyzing the performance of the plans in the design stage, before resources are committed, will also ensure a Royal HaskoningDHV was selected to create a greater return on investmentbased on CAPEX savings.