About Alma Sim
The Haulage Simulation System is a high-performance software platform designed to model, analyze, and optimize mine load and haul operations. Developed in C# and built for accuracy and scalability, it simulates equipment movement, queuing, and dispatching logic to evaluate fleet productivity under varying operational constraints.
Key Objectives
- Operational analysis: Identify system bottlenecks and improve truck–shovel utilization.
- Fleet optimization: Test alternative equipment mixes and dispatch strategies.
- Scenario comparison: Evaluate productivity, cycle times, and queue distributions across multiple runs.
- Decision support: Empower planning teams with data-driven insights for short- and long-term scheduling.
Core Features
- Discrete Event Simulation (DES): Efficient, event-driven modeling ensures realistic equipment interactions and timing accuracy.
- High-performance engine: Written in C# and optimized for zero-GC runtime using a custom event scheduler.
- Unity 3D integration: Provides real-time 3D visual playback of haulage operations for validation and presentation.
- Flexible input modeling: Supports configurable haul routes, loader assignments, and stochastic parameters such as fuel, delay, and breakdown distributions.
- Detailed reporting: Generates production summaries, delay breakdowns, and performance heat maps for data analysis.
Technology Stack
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Core Engine | C# discrete-event simulation framework |
| Frontend | Unity 3D visualizer and UI Toolkit interface |
| Scripting | Python tools for batch scenario runs |
| Data I/O | CSV and JSON, with optional Firebase sync |
| Integration | Supports modular plug-ins for dispatch algorithms and KPIs |
Applications
- Mine planning and operational research
- Haulage route optimization
- Equipment dispatch strategy testing
- Productivity forecast and validation
Development Philosophy
The project prioritizes determinism, reproducibility, and performance. Every simulation tick, state update, and output is traceable through structured event logging and time-stamped metrics. The architecture is designed for scalability—from simple single-route studies to highly complex multi-node networks.
“Accurate simulation is the foundation of effective haulage decision-making.”
Contributors
Developed and maintained by Gus Otto and collaborators specializing in simulation modeling, C# performance engineering, and 3D visualization.
Would you like me to include a short “Project History” or “Team Vision” section (for example describing the evolution from internal prototype to production simulator)?