Conceptual modeling in simulation projects by mean adapted IDEF: An application in a Brazilian tech company

Several process modeling techniques have been used in simulation projects. However, most of these techniques provide little specific support to the programming. The main cause of this is the fact that these techniques were not developed with the same logic used in simulation models. From this issue, this paper presents an industrial application of a new conceptual modeling technique, named IDEF-SIM (Integrated Definition Methods - Simulation) currently under development by the authors. This adapted IDEF uses logic elements present in techniques such as IDEF0 and IDEF3, but in a way that is similar to the process interpretation logic usually used in simulation projects. This way, it can be noticed an increase in the conceptual model´s utility, which might facilitate the simulation model programming, verification and validation and the scenarios creation. Additionally, the paper presents the benefits of using IDEF-SIM to create the conceptual model of a Brazilian tech company manufacturing cell.