The following points about configuring your browser are crucial to successful access. However, these will also be the defaults on most PCs, so you will only need to worry about this list if things don't appear to be working right. You can access the web page from any Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later browser, or any Internet Explorer 3.0 or later browser. The following instructions apply to Netscape 3. If you use a different browser, you should take equivalent actions.
You should enable Java and Javascript on your browser. To do this on Netscape 3, select Network Preferences under the Options menu of Netscape, choose Languages, and check both Enable Java and Enable Javascript.
To be able to download the graph data later, you should select General Preferences under the Options menu of Netscape 3. Then choose the Helpers menu and choose Save to Disk as the action for text/plain. This will save data you download from the web page as a text file, which you can then open using Microsoft Excel.
Using the simulator
The web-based simulator runs continuously. That is, if you view the site at 10 am on January 16 and then view it again at 11 am on the same day, you will see that some simulated time has elapsed. One hour of real time corresponds to 24 hours of simulated time. You have no control over the simulator's clock. You may need to wait for a few simulated days to see the effects of your decisions, so constant monitoring is not necessary.
When you login, your factory's status is automatically updated. Whenever you make a change (like increasing the number of machines), the factory is also updated. To update the factory status otherwise, you must click on the update button on the bottom of the web page. In light of the slow speed of the simulator, there will usually be no need for frequent updating.
More information on the assignments will be distributed shortly before each assignment begins. Each of your written assignments will specify the length of time that the simulation will run. While the assignments are running, you can access the page as frequently as you wish. At the end of the assignments, the page is frozen (i.e. you cannot alter anything on it), and the simulator is immediately run for several additional simulated days. You can then access your factory's final status for that assignment.
The web page seen after logging in will have a schematic diagram of the job shop as shown earlier at the beginning of the document. Clicking on an icon on the schematic will reveal a menu and corresponding data. For example, clicking on a station icon will reveal a menu that gives data about the station, as well as buttons for additional menus that allow you to change the number of machines at the station or view the historical utilization the station. In similar fashion, you can get other information as described in the table on the following page. You will also be able to download the data into text files which can be opened by Microsoft Excel, for further analysis, by clicking on a button in these menus.
Icons on the Littlefield Technologies web page:
ICON INFORMATION AVAILABLE ADJUSTABLE PARAMETERS
Order Queue:
· Number of new customer orders by day
· Average number of orders waiting for kits by day
· Current pricing contract for arriving orders
Lot size
Pricing contract for future orders
Materials Buffer:
Inventory ordering costs and unit price per kit
· Average number of kits (raw materials) in the buffer by day
Whether there is currently and outstanding order for kits
Inventory reorder point
Inventory reorder quantity
Station Queues:
· Average number of receivers in process waiting while all the machines in the station are busy, by day
Stations:
· Historical utilization of the station by day (i.e., the average fraction of time a machine was busy at that station during that day)
Purchase price and retirement price of a machine in that station.
Number of machines in each station
· Scheduling Policy used (for tester only)
Completed Jobs:
· Numbers of orders completed by day (by pricing contract)
· Average order lead time by day (by pricing contract)
· Average revenue per order by day (by pricing contract)
Clicking on the above icons will also enable you to change the "Adjustable Parameters" of the factory such as the number of machines in a station. Assignment handouts will explain which features you can change.
Sources and uses of cash can be obtained by clicking on the cash button on the web page. Sources of cash are revenue, money raised from the sale of machines, and interest. Uses of cash are raw material (kit) purchases and the purchase of additional machines. Finally, you can check the overall standing of your team using the overall standing button.