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• Using simulation to de-risk multi-trade prefab
• We've been having great success with discrete event simulation and multi-trade prefab. Here's why. It lets you see the impact of a process before you commit labor, space, or schedule to it. Too often teams build the plan in a spreadsheet and only discover bottlenecks once production is underway. A discrete event simulation is more than an animation. It's a mathematical model of the production system, and that forces data hygiene to produce credible results. Teams must define process steps, cycle times, resources, routing, and assumptions, often exposing gaps and improvement opportunities before production begins. Simulation also lets you test assumptions. Where will queues form, which trades create the constraint? How many electricians versus plumbers are required? What happens if demand increases, labor availability changes, or a station slows down? That's especially valuable in prefab where multiple trades work in sequence and disruptions compound quickly. Just as importantly, the visualization creates alignment. Seeing work flow through a virtual production system makes the process tangible. It builds buy-in and opens mindsets to process improvements that might otherwise face resistance. The goal isn't to model everything perfectly, it's to learn early, make better decisions, reduce risk, and build a production plan that will hold up in the real world. Give it a try.