This paper is concerned with the modeling of the steel fabrication process using an IDEFO approach and implementing an interactive prototype simulation tool on the World wide web. The prototype simulator is an object oriented knowledge based system coded in JAVA.

Steel fabrication processes for standard open section production lines have been modeled using expert systems in the past. That paper dealt with the capabilities of the equipment in a fabrication shop and with the requirements of the job to be executed. The present paper updates the earlier work and includes real time simulation of the processes and queuing effects.

The user is able to access the Steel Fabrication Simulator over the INTERNET using a JAVA capable World Wide Web Browser. She can select from a number of prescribed production paths and assign certain resources. The user inputs the number of elements to be fabricated and is prompted for details such as the number and size of holes etc. The simulation is then run and the user can see the passage of the elements through the shop in a schematic display. Total time to fabricate the job lot is output as are data about each machine's productivity and idle time.

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