Simplifying PERT Network Simulation with ARENA

The Arena simulation software package is one of the most advanced and sophisticated simulation tools employed in business and industrial engineering. It includes “drop and drag” features that make it suitable for a visual network model construction that parallels the nodes and arcs of a typical network representation. This study employs these features to simplify model construction for activity time networks based on PERT. This reduction in the burden of model construction should enhance the use of Arena in network simulation, permitting users to tap additional modeling features not typically found in more specialized network simulation packages.