What is the warm-up phase?

In a simulation run with no warm-up phase, the process instances start at zero and the resources are idle. This is unrealistic in many situations and leads to a distortion of the results because a production process is a continuous process that does not start at zero. To obtain better results in simulation runs, a warm-up phase can be defined. The model thus becomes a realistic representation of resource utilization, etc. Result attributes and statistics are reset when this time span has elapsed. This does not mean that all values are set to zero. Status-related information in particular, such as the number of process maps waiting or being processed, is retained. All data pertaining to completed functions and process instances is removed. For functions and instances that are active at the reset time, the start times are retained. Period-related information, such as cumulated processing times, are, however, set to zero. The figure below illustrates this graphically.

Inclusive reset

1 = Point in time at which reset is carried out

2 = First function included

3 = First process instance included

See also

Effect of warm-up phase on statistics