A generic model for simulating office process flows

In the field of simulation, the use of application-specific software can bring many benefits to the model-builder in terms of improved productivity and reduced skill requirements. Such software must have at its core a robust generic model for the application area which offers both the generality and sufficient detail to be able to simulate realistically. To develop such a core model, a thorough understanding of the problem area and simulation is needed. This paper describes one design of a generic core model for the simulation of office process flows where work volumes are substantial. It forms a part of a software package called SCOPE which provides a user-interface for data capture, and generates simulation models to run using the HOCUS simulation software. Also described is the facility for static modelling which has been developed to make further use of the captured data using conventional mathematical modelling.