In order to control manufacturing systems, managers need risk and performance evaluation methods and simulation tools. However, these simulation techniques must evolve towards being multiperformance, multiactor, and multisimulation tools, and this requires interoperability between those distributed components. This paper presents an integrated platform that brings interoperability to several simulation components. This work expands the process modeling tool Papyrus to allow it to communicate with external components through both distributed simulation and cosimulation standards. The distributed modeling and simulation framework (DMSF) platform takes its environment into consideration in order to evaluate the sustainability of the system while integrating external heterogeneous components. For instance, a DMSF connection with external IoT devices has been implemented. Moreover, the orchestration of different smart manufacturing components and services is achieved through configurable business models. As a result, an automotive industry case study has successfully been tested to demonstrate the sustainability of smart supply chains and manufacturing factories, allowing better connectivity with their real environments.

Hospitals and other healthcare settings use various simulation methods to improve their operations, management, and training. The COVID-19 pandemic, with the resulting necessity for rapid and remote assessment, has highlighted the critical role of modeling and simulation in healthcare, particularly distributed simulation (DS). DS enables integration of heterogeneous simulations to further increase the usability and effectiveness of individual simulations. This article presents a DS system that integrates two different simulations developed for a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) ward dedicated to COVID-19 patients. AnyLogic has been used to develop a simulation model of the ICU ward using agent-based and discrete event modeling methods. This simulation depicts and measures physical contacts between healthcare providers and patients. The Unity platform has been utilized to develop a virtual reality simulation of the ICU environment and operations. The high-level architecture, an IEEE standard for DS, has been used to build a cloud-based DS system by integrating and synchronizing the two simulation platforms. While enhancing the capabilities of both simulations, the DS system can be used for training purposes and assessment of different managerial and operational decisions to minimize contacts and disease transmission in the ICU ward by enabling data exchange between the two simulations.

Lean implementation plays a major role in optimizing productivity and reducing waste. Applying the adequate integration of Lean Techniques (LT) can ensure a higher profitable benefit. Many companies face difficulties in choosing the LT that best suit their situations to reach their objectives. In this study, we propose the simulation of specific modeled industrial contexts and check the impact of implementing LT simultaneously. Market fluctuation, demand diversification, and uncertainty of resources contexts are studied to perceive how LT behaves accordingly. Four KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are retained for the analysis: Work in Progress, Lead-time, Production Throughput, and Defect Rate. An aeronautical company is modeled and experiments are performed to demonstrate the usefulness of a developed co-simulation framework to perceive the sensitivity of LT to some industrial contexts. The results showed that Poka Yoke and 5S are context-free LT valid in any industrial context. Pull, SMED, and Cross training are contextual and deserve careful applicability regarding the simulated context. Cross training, suitable for uncertainty of resources, does not show any significant improvements when the company was exposed to market fluctuations and demand diversification contexts.

Different heterogeneous simulation components can be integrated to produce a more effective complex global system. The IEEE High-Level Architecture (HLA) is an international standard that promotes interoperability and reusability for distributed simulation (DS). This paper proposes a DS system that integrates an agent-based and discrete-event simulator with a 3D game engine to build virtual reality (VR) applications that replicate real environments. In this case study, AnyLogic is used as an agent-based and discrete event simulator to simulate the process flow and COVID-19 transmission inside the University Health Network dialysis unit, Toronto, Canada. Unity game engine delivers the 3D modelling replicating the real architecture and environment of the dialysis unit. The HLA standard plays a major role in the integration of AnyLogic and Unity to produce a more effective and powerful DS system for VR applications.

In many domains, Discrete-Event Simulations (DES) are usually used to reproduce the behavior of a certain system or process, where events are processed one after another in chronological and sequential order. Classical DES will no longer be a possible solution for Complex and Large-scale systems, System of Systems (SoS), and Performance Evaluation Systems that compare multiple different simulations running simultaneously in parallel. Advances in network and communications made the Distributed Simulation (DS) approach one of the best solutions for the aforementioned Systems Simulations. One of the challenges faced when developing a DS from DES components is the federation behavior including time management and synchronization between these components. In most of the traditional DES platforms, simulations cannot exchange messages, nor change the configuration at run time. This makes the DES connection and integration very hard and at times, impossible to implement. This article presents the method used to integrate different DES components, using High-Level Architecture (HLA) Evolved Standard, Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), and Jaamsim, a Java open source DES.

Discrete event simulation (DES) is a method for digitally replicating the behavior and performance of real-world processes, systems, and facilities. DES is widely applied in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and military domains. In some cases, DES method is insufficient. On one hand, the simulation must be disassembled into subsystems and then distributed on a multiprocessing environment to enhance the simulation performance. On the other hand, to expand current functionality and prevent future application development, a set of interacting simulations is required. In this project, the IEEE high-level architecture (HLA) standard mechanisms are adopted to solve the interoperability problems between heterogeneous components. Time synchronization between federates is essential to have all DESs running in parallel. In this paper, we present a distributed simulation framework designed to assist decision-makers in making the best decisions and prioritizing the adoption of Lean tools and techniques.