NIST XML simulation interface specification at Boeing: a case study

Efficient and consistent simulation data management is indispensable and a challenging problem to be solved in modeling manufacturing and business processes. An extensible markup language (XML) based simulation interface specification is being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The proposed NIST document contains a prototype generic simulation data specification, which is an endeavor to fill a void in exchanging reusable simulation data. A case study was performed at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), utilizing the NIST XML simulation interface specification. Entity classes in this case study simulation model contain asynchronous servers, multiinput-output buffers, bidirectional cranes, labors (manpower), processes, and machines on different shifts. This model can be executed from a batch control language document, that is derived from the proposed NIST XML-based simulation specification. This case study illustrates a feasible method for using the XML-based NIST specifications in a discrete event simulation model of a manufacturing process.