Abstract
Is it possible for discrete-event simulation to be used in a facilitated workshop environment? Over the last decade there have been various attempts to use simulation in this way, but we argue here that none have been successful in achieving a fully facilitated mode where the model is both developed and used in the workshop. We attempt to use a discrete-event simulation in a facilitated mode as part of a lean improvement workshop in a hospital setting. The model was successfully developed and used within the 3 day period of the workshop. Although the intervention was successful, we still had to build the model in the 'back-office', meaning that a fully facilitated mode was not achieved. The paper concludes by discussing how fully facilitated modelling with discrete-event simulation might be made possible; the answer is more about changing mind-sets than about technological challenge.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 231-240 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | European Journal of Operational Research |
Volume | 234 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The financial support of the Strategic Lean Implementation Methodology (SLIM) project (www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/projects/slim) is acknowledged. SLIM was funded by the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (EPSRC Grant reference EP/G049971/1). We are grateful for the advice and support of Matthew Cooke, Neil Davis and Ruth Davies.
Keywords
- Facilitated modelling
- OR in health services
- Simulation