After the simulation is run, you will get the performance results of the process according to the scenario you have set up. The results given by the simulation will be:
- Process Cycle Time
- Process Cost
- Process Waiting Times
- Resource Utilization %
KPIs in Simulation Results
KPIs are there for you to grasp barriers and obstacles in the process. For example, there may not be sufficient resources or assets to process the amount of tasks assigned to them, resulting in undesirable wait times for potential clients. Assessing and understanding how your business process achieves the given scenario can definitely help you improve it, knowing, for example, if it will meet your service level agreements (SLAs) when practiced in your organization.
If bottlenecks are already known for your organization, then simulating test scenarios can be a huge asset. Sometimes the only thing that may seem possible to optimize a process is to increase the volume of resources and assets. However, when you do these test simulations, you might find a cheaper, faster, or even easier way to optimize your business process, such as a simple procedural change.
In EPC’s simulator, we present the KPIs to you through bar chart diagrams.
Process Cycle Time
We call the time from the beginning of the process until its end “Cycle time”. It involves the time needed for the resources or asset to complete the tasks and the time they have to wait to undertake their next task.
EPC’s simulator gives organizations the cycle time from the start of your first case to the end of your last case along with the cycle time distribution. The EPC simulator supports in-timetables and 24/7 cycle times for more realistic simulation results:
- 24/7 is more likely to be applicable to assets such as software or machinery, which may operate 24/7. In the simulator results, look for “Process Instance Cycle Times Excluding Off-Timetable Hours”
- In-timetables cycle times only count the time that resources are working. They omit weekends, for example. In the simulator results, look for “Process Instance Cycle Times Including Off-Timetable Hours”
Process Cost
EPC’s simulator will calculate the costs of your process instance, allowing you to understand where your expenses are going and how those costs might impact your business. By doing simulation tests, you can find the best workflow for the lowest possible cost. The simulation will give you the:
- Minimum cost of the process instance
- Maximum cost of the process instance
- Average cost of the process instance
Process Waiting Times
Waiting Times in processes are dead times where a part of the process, a task for example, is waiting for a resource or an asset to become free so that the task can be started. Waiting time can be when a resource is requested to perform a task but it is not available or is already working on something else. This feature is great for understanding exactly how long a customer has to wait for your current processes. You can also run different scenarios to determine the best way to manage resource time to minimize customer wait time, thereby improving client satisfaction.
Resource Utilization %
This might be the most used section of all the KPIs, showing you the percentage of utilization of your resources. It tells you how long each resource has been occupied during your scenario. As a rough guide, if your resource or asset has been busy for more than 80% of the process time, it’s highly likely that timeouts will start to accumulate and impact the resource itself or customer satisfaction, which is not viable for a successful business process.
Warm-up and Cool-down Times
EPC’s Simulator rules out any warm-up and cool-down times from your scenarios to make results clearer and get rid of any noise.
MXML Logs
Simulations results can also be saved in MXML files, containing all activities with their timestamps. These files can be imported into other tools for more detailed examination.
CSV Report
You can download your simulation results in a CSV format:
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