Industrial Methods and Digital Tools for Craft Professionals – A Use Case Deploying Discrete Event Simulation and Virtual Reality

ARGESIM Report 21 (ISBN 978-3-903347-61-8), p 27-34, DOI: 10.11128/arep.21.a2121

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated approach to explore human factors in the craft sector. The embedded use case consists of craft workshops being 3D-modelled and simulated so that different scheduling rules can be deployed. The connected VR visualisation allows craft professionals to experience scheduling rules and their impact on different performance measurements in an environment intuitively resembling their actual workshops. The lessons learned from the simulation modelling are collected to be presented as a use case. A modular approach appears to be beneficial for the simulation modelling, offering flexibility and pragmatism but detail where needed. Apart from this anecdotal evidence, the study is accompanied by interviews. These are analysed based on abduction grounded theory which combines a strong focus on the actual corpus of qualitative data but considers theoretical foundations, when appropriate. This paper presents the study design as it has not yet been conducted completely but is ongoing.