Simulation Practice Research Interest Group (SP-RIG)

Leader: Dr Antuela Tako, Reader in Operational Research

Dr Tako leads the SP-RIG, with research being conducted on the practice of simulation and how it can be improved.

PartiSim: participative simulation for the real world

PartiSim is a new approach to simulation fit for the operational needs of the 21st century. At its heart is a belief that greater stakeholder involvement is vital to developing simulation models capable of addressing the increasingly complex problems found within organisational settings today.

About us

The focus of our research is on the practice of simulation, looking at how people go about developing and using simulation models and investigating how the practice of simulation can be improved. As a result, our interests lie in the methodology and methods employed in simulation studies. We use a range of simulation methods (discrete-event simulation, system dynamics and agent-based modelling) and apply them across many application domains (eg manufacturing, services, health, supply chain, utilities). Through our work, we aspire to support stakeholder involvement in simulation studies and aim to establish our research in client-oriented modelling.

Through our simulation tools, we work with organisations by running stakeholder-oriented workshops to help them understand and make better decisions. The most recent organisations we have worked with include the East Midlands Ambulance Service and Leicestershire County Council (the SIMTEGR8 project).

Current and recent research projects have encompassed the following themes:

  • facilitated modelling with simulation
  • learning and insight from discrete-event simulations
  • what can we learn from wrong models?
  • police force demand modelling and staff allocation
  • modelling the impact of human decision-makers in supply chains
  • comparison of simulation methods using linguistic analysis.

Members

Leader

Antuela Tako, Reader in Operational Research

Members

  • Duncan Robertson, Lecturer
  • Rahul Kumar, Lecturer
  • Anastasia Gogi, Research Associate
  • Heather Callaghan, PhD student
  • Mohammed Ibrahim-Shire, PhD student
  • Naoum Tsiopsas, PhD student
  • Hanjing Zhang, PhD student

Associate members

  • Thomas Jun, Lecturer, Design School, Loughborough University
  • Johanna Leigh, Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough University
  • Anna Ozolina, PhD student, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University
  • Lisa Jackson, Professor, Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
  • Sarah Dunnet, Senior Lecturer, Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
  • Fahim Ahmed, Associate Lecturer, Strathclyde University
  • Niniet Arvitrida, Lecturer, Department of Industrial Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember