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SIMULATION INSTRUTIONS
1. Getting started:
a) unzzip files in new folder

b) Click on selfsim.exe icon to run the simulation.

c) After a minute or two wait the Avraham Y. Goldratt
Institute logo will come up and prompt you for a
parameter-file extension. Type (310 or 312 or 350 or 360 or
390), press ENTER. When prompted for a command file extension
type “N” for no. (If you have done everything correctly you
should be looking at a representation of the plant you
are about to manage.)
2. Study the network before you get started.

PRODUCTION OR LOGICAL LAYOUT (Right side of the screen)

3. Across the bottom of the right half of the screen you will
see the “x axis,” a series of letters from A to H; the “y
axis” is numbered from 1 to 9. This provides a coordinate
system to identify resources. (e.g., the green machine in
the bottom left portion of the factory is designated “A1”;
where the cyan resource at the top right is “F9”. The
brown (designated W on the paper copy is found in two
places (B3 and D7) and is an assembly operation. The
letters are also used to identify the four types of raw
materi9als that feed into this plant (A, C, E, & F) as well
as the finished products (A, D, F) produced by the plant.
Current demand based on perfect forecasts for each
product/sales price combination is as follows: Product A
(@ $180/unit) = 40 units per week, Product D (@ $240/unit)
= 80 units, Product F (@ $180/unit) = 40 units. The
processing time for each activity is shown inside each
block on right side of the screen. Cost of raw materials
is shown on the screen (A = $30; C = $35; E = $30; and F =
$65).
THE MACHINE ENVIRONMENT
4. On the left side of the screen is the area where you can
move the “smiling face” cursor --- aptly names I might add
– who will act as your foreman for the week. The main part
of this environment consists of colored rectangles. Each
color denotes a certain kind of machine or production
resources. The number of rectangles of the same color
indicates the number of machines of that types which are
available to be scheduled. By looking at the right side of
the screen you can select a job to work by identifying its
coordicates with a letter (horizontal) and number
(vertical). When you select a machine to do a certain job
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its operation name appears on top of that unit’s colored

area on the left side of the screen. The machine’s status
is shown at the bottom of that unit’s colored box.
PRODUCTION SIMULATOR FUNCTION KEYS:
A: To ACTIVATE a work center move the cursor to a machine
whose color matches a work center you wish to activate. Press
A and enter the coordinates (a letter and a number) to begin
a
setup on a machine. Production will begin immediately after
setup if material is present to be worked.
P
: To PURCHASE raw material from any cursor location just hit
P. Enter the letter of the raw material (A, C, E, or F) and
then the number of pieces that you would like to buy. There
are no sales on credit. You cannot return items once you
press return.
ALT-P: An alternative way to PURCHASE material which allows
you to return items for instant credit by entering negative
quantities.
F
: FREEZE the clock for those moments of sheer terror when you
need time to think. Pressing ENTER will resume play.
+/-: Speed up or slow down Q: QUIT the simulation
Z
: Compute capacity for product mix including WIP, but not
setups
L
: LIMIT – to present a limit on the number of pieces of
particular work center will produce, move the cursor to the
allocated machine and hit L. Enter a number of pieces to
limit and hit ENTER. The limit can be changed by pressing L
and reentering a new limit. After the production of the
proper number of units has been produced the machine will
hold
for further instruction. You can continue processing parts by
pressing U for unhold.
W
: Week performance
Maintenance reports
If a machine has been limited (li), then M will tell you how
many pieces are required to fill the pre-imposed limit.
If the machine is being setup (su), M will tell you how many
minutes are required to complete the setup.
Machine Status Symbols
su machine is in setup
pr machine is processing with no production quota
li machine is processing with a pre-imposed production limit
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ho indicates the machine has filled its production limit and

is holding for further instructions
bk indicates the machine is currently broken but under repair
id indicates the machine is setup but idle because it has no
material to work.
At the column on the extreme left of each machine you will
find the machine’s setup time in minutes.
In scheduling this operation you should consider several
factors including: (1) the setup time; (2) the processing
time
per part (which appears in black on the particular
operation’s
colored block); (3) the number of finished pieces in
inventory. Each operation stores its output in a buffer
located just above the operation. For example, when the
simulation begins, there are 25 units that have been
completed
at process B3l these units can be used in processing by
either
A5 and C5.
You are in sole charge of the simulation. You have direct
access to information from the shop floor, and are in a
position to set plant policy.
The smiling face is your foreman, who has to be physically
present to give instructions (i.e., the cursor has to be on
the proper color resource block to give instructions.
Normally command require a single keystroke, but sometimes
you
will be requested to enter more information.
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Goldratt Simulation Software Keystroke Codes:

(Legend for the Self-Learning Kit)

Getting Started:
SELFSIM.EXE

First, lets get the program running with a simple file. We'll run the basic plant (310) for
starters. The easiest way to do this is use Explorer [right mouse on Start] to move to the
Selflearn sub directory on A: drive. Then, run Selfsim.exe [double click]. Selfsim.exe is an
older MS Dos program. When the AGI Logo screen comes up, enter the Parameter file
number [use 310 for this first one]. Type 'N' in the Command File box for now (you'll use
command files later).

Up comes the simulation graphic. Press enter to start the simulation. The graphic is divided
into three main areas:

The top left is system status. Note the time clock is running (top left). The time is in hours
and minutes. You will run this simulation for 8 hours per day for five days. Cash is the cash
you have on hand at any moment. Pace is the speed of the simulation (don't go faster than
5).
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The lower left is the actual physical layout of the machines. You have 1 Blue, 2 Green, 2
Cyan, 2 Magenta and 1 Brown machine(s). The Su (set-up) times noted are in minutes. It
takes 15 minutes to set up Blue, 120 minutes to set up a Green and 0 minutes to set up the
brown. The 'Next' column is used when you use common files. The smiley face is you. You
can move between the machines when the simulation is running by using the
up/down/left/right arrows to move the smiley fact to different machines.

The right part of the graphic represents the material flow routing. It is a matrix with rows 1
to 9 (bottom to top) and columns A to H (left to right). The RM (raw material) comes in at
the base of the columns and is conveniently named according to the column. RM A costs
$30 each, RM C costs $35, RM E costs $30 and RM F costs $65. The white boxes on the
routing show Work-In-Process (WIP). Notice there is some WIP at the start (25 parts that
just completed operation B3 on the Brown machine, 15 parts finished E2 on the Magenta
machine and 10 finished at F3. The parts at B3 can go either to process A5 (Green
machine) or to C5 (Blue machine). At the B3 split, you choose where the common parts go
by [A]ctivating the machine you want to draw the parts (either A5 or C5). All the other
materials flow from bottom to top. The Brown machine is an assembly operation. For the
Brown machine to perform operation B3, you must have at least one finished through A1
and C1 (can't assemble without both parts). This is the same at operation D7. The numbers
on the colored boxes indicate the processing time it takes for that process. B3 is 8 minutes.
A1 is 4 minutes. E2 is 18 minutes.

Production: You have five days to meet the Demand for product A (40), product D (50)
and product F (40). Each Finished Good (FG) sold immediately deposits cash into your
Cash-on-hand. FG A sells for $180, D for 240, and F for $180. You can [P]urchase raw
materials any time (press [P]). The simulation asks what material to buy and how many.
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You pay for the parts immediately. When you have parts any where in the system, you can
produce. Production is controlled by you telling the machine operators what process to
[A]ctivate. Notice the two Green machines are responsible for four different operations
(A1, C1, A5, F1). Since you have WIP at B3, you can [A}ctivate a Green machine and tell
it to do process A5 right now. To [A]ctivate a machine, move the smiley face over the
machine you want to [A]ctivate and press [A]. Then tell the machine what process to start.
When a machine is activated, its status shows on the surface of the machine (su-set-up, pr-
processing, id-idle and so on). Also, a '+' sign shows up on the material flow graphic on the
right showing the process as activated. When the '+' sign blinks, the machine is producing.

In the image above, we are 1 hour and 27 minutes into the first day of the simulation. One
green machine is activated at A1 and is in set-up. One Cyan machine is processing work at
E1 and a magenta machine is processing at E2. You will notice there is 15 items of WIP
after E2. That is the same as when the simulation started. There is one part in E2, one item
of WIP waiting for E2 and one part in process in E1 and seven parts of raw material E
awaiting E1. So, you can deduce that 10 pieces of raw material E were purchased earlier
and machines E1 and E2 were activated. They had fast set ups and are now producing. Note
the cash on hand was reduced by 10 * $30=300 to pay for the raw material.
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Here you see a different simulation 4 hours and 25 minutes into Day 1. The simulation is
running at Pace 2 (a little faster). In this image, you see that we sold five product A. The
demand for A, which was 40, is now 35. You notice we earned 5*$180=$900 extra cash on
hand by selling the product A. Also note there is WIP after A7, A6 and A5. Also note, I
have both green machine making process A5 (that is ok). In this simulation, I didn't buy
any raw material so you would see the income of Cash from sales easier. I just processed
the WIP that was at B3. Got it?

Challenge: That's the short instruction set. There are more codes and commands and other
things that may help below. At the beginning of each day, the simulation pauses to give you
a chance to review things. At the end of the five days, there is a summary of how you did.
The report shows your financials and efficiency numbers. Make sure to record the results so
you can compare your runs.

Don't get addicted. Try to figure out WHY WHAT YOU ARE DOING SUCCEEDS (OR
FAILS).

Happy Simulating!
Dr Holt

Parameter Files for different simulations

310 Basic manufacturing plant with common parts and assembly
312 Same as 310 except Batch size of 20
350 Basic manufacturing plant with plenty of time.
360 V plant (few resources & Many products
390 Intensely complex confidence builder

Command Files (this files are used when you run in batch mode only)
N No command file
9** Command files you name starting with 9

Left side:
Colored box: Available machine. All machines of the same color can produce any part
requiring that color.
Number to left of colored box: Set-up time, if any, for that machine

Right side:
Matrix representing product flow. Raw Material (RM) is purchased near the bottom for the
price indicated. RM flows upward through Work In Process accumulation points from
colored machine to colored machine. The parts move, the machines stay still. The matrix
location (eg. A1, B3, etc.) indicates the part to be produced or the machine operation to set
up. Finished Goods (FG) exit out the top of the simulation. FG are sold for the price
indicated. Demand decreases as parts are delivered.

Top Left:
Information on time of day (in minutes up to 8 hours per day for the 5 day week). Cash on
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hand goes down as RM is purchased and up as FG are sold.

Keystrokes to control the simulation

<enter> Begin simulation when paused
<f> Freeze the simulation while running (Time to think)
<a> Activate a machine (tell a specific machine to start making a part)
Indicate the activity to start by entering the matrix location of the part or process
Machine Codes Once Activated:
su In process of set-up
Matrix shows '+' sign in at part location in set up
pr Processing of parts
Matrix shows blinking '+' sign in at part in process
id Machine is set-up but not processing anything - idle
li Processing but processing limited (will stop at specified amount)
ho Holding. Machine holding. Will not accept more production
bk Machine broken down
<p> Purchase RM
Indicate the type and number of units of raw material desired.
<Alt><p> Negative Purchase of RM
Use this keystroke combination to sell back RM if too much was purchased. Enter a
negative number as the 'sell back' quantity.
<l> Limit the number of parts to process on that machine
<m> Maintenance. Shows the time left in set-up or number of parts yet to make (when
limited)
<h> Holds production immediately on that machine.
<s> Stops machine immediately.
<k> Kills production immediately.
<z> Calculates production capacity (without set-ups) for current demand.
<b> Shows batch sizes if any (works while holding at end of day)
<+> Speed up pace of simulation (Starts at pace 1. Max is pace 6)
<-> Slow down pace of simulation
<q> Quit simulation (yes to quit then <g> to go again)
<w> Show weekly performance (only works at end of week and after)

Other Options
• <F1> Schedule Function. Opens window to create a schedule
Codes in Schedule Function
<L> Look back at simulation matrix
<A> Add a specific operation for a specific quantity at a specific time
(Typically to schedule the constraint exactly as you choose)
(Default time is next possible time)
<C> Change or edit/delete a specific operation added
<F3> Schedule delivery of non-constrained product
(schedule spread delivery or at specified times)
<F9> Schedule purchase of Raw Material planned operations and
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planned deliveries (Rope)

(Constraint Buffer size in hours
Shipping Buffer size in hours
Assembly Buffer size in hours)
(Prompted to use of common parts to avoid stealing-Yes)
<F2> Display of approximately delivery of materials
<F10> Display schedule of Constraints
<s> Save Command File as 9**
<o> lOad a Command File
<g> Go to the Simulation
(Prompted to save or not)
(Prompted to set-up machines automatically. Use O for yes)
Typical sequence:
<A> for constraint, <F3> for all free resources,
<F9> for purchases, <g> Go back, <s> save, <o> Automatic set-ups.
• <F5> Shift to Buffer Management View of Simulation
View Constraint Buffer in Top window
(Grid shows due for constraint work moving from top right to lower left by
columns)
(Vertical scale is minutes. Horizontal scale is hours of constraint buffer requested)
Processes due in Capitals and Black are ready for work.
Processed due in small letters and white are not ready for work
View Shipping Buffer in Bottom window
(Grid shows finished goods due for shipping moving from top right to lower left)
(Vertical scale is in quantity. Horizontal scale is hour of shipping buffer requested)
FG in black capitals will ship on time.
FG in small white letter are not ready for shipping.
Multiple late FG shown as white '-'
Multiple on-time FG shown as black '+'
Mixture of late and early shown as gray box.

Keystrokes documented by:

James R. Holt
Washington State University-Vancouver