Tel: 07795 233648
Email: info@bluecattechnical.co.uk
Background and Aim
As part of my previous employment, I have been responsible for developing a number of iterations of FleetFlow. This is a naval logistics model created on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). FleetFlow is a discrete event simulation model which, prior to this project, modelled the following:
- Delivery of Bulk Consumables (BC), e.g. fuel, ammunition, victuals; in particular to simulate Replenishment At Sea (RAS) and consolidation at a host port
- Maritime Intra-Theatre Lift (MITL), i.e. transport important personnel, mail and cargo around the group(s)
- Forward Aviation Support (FAS); specifically to simulate the provision of support to helos within the group(s)
The aim of this project was to develop FleetFlow version 4 with the following enhancements:
- Operational Maintenance and Repair (OMAR); simulation of the failure, battle damage, repair and planned maintenance of ship systems
- Improved simulation runtime
- Enhanced input file format and front end
Approach
This project was the birth of Blue Cat Technical and was a joint effort with Polaris Consulting Limited.
This task involved all stages of model development, starting with a lengthy period of requirements capture, followed by initial model design. A number of phases of model development were then identified, with each phase following the same pattern of detailed design, development, and testing.
One major change for FleetFlow version 4 was to migrate the input file from MS Excel to MS Access, and given the increase in complexity and volume of input data, to develop a user friendly front end.
Result
A fully tested FleetFlow version 4 was delivered on time and to budget at the end of March 2009. This model is now with Dstl to be used in anger.