Towards assisted input and output data analysis in manufacturing simulation: The EDASim approach

Discrete-event simulation has been established as an important methodology in various domains. In particular in the automotive industry, simulation is used to plan, control, and monitor processes including the flow of material and information. Procedure models help to perform simulation studies in a structured way and tools for data preparation or statistical analysis provide assistance in some phases of simulation studies. However, there is no comprehensive data assistance following all phases of such procedure models. In this article, a new approach combining assistance functionalities for input and output data analysis is presented. The developed tool — EDASim — focuses on supporting the user in selection, validation, and preparation of input data as well as to assist the analysis of output data. The proposed methods have been implemented and initial evaluations of the concepts have led to promising feedback from practitioners.