NAFEMS DACH Conference 2026

Engineering simulation plays a critical role in performance-driven development, yet many organizations now operate under increasingly strict constraints on how simulation resources may be used. These constraints may arise from regulatory frameworks, fixed computational allowances, sustainability targets, or capped R&D budgets. In such environments, engineering advantage is no longer achieved through higher simulation volume, but through disciplined, transparent, and well-governed use of simulation capability.

Highly regulated, high-performance engineering environments, such as in a high-performance motorsport event, provide a clear and extreme example of this challenge. Governing bodies impose explicit limits on aerodynamic development, including caps on CFD usage, wind-tunnel testing hours, allowable computational effort, and overall development expenditure. These constraints are enforced within defined testing periods, requiring teams to make deliberate trade-offs between model fidelity, solver selection, simulation frequency, and development focus. Under these conditions, limited visibility into actual simulation usage can result in wasted allowances, duplicated analyses, or reduced engineering effectiveness.

This presentation examines how granular simulation and software usage reporting can support effective governance and decision-making in regulated environments. The discussion addresses how execution-level data — including simulation activity, license consumption, concurrency, and timing — can be structured to provide transparency across the engineering workflow. By linking simulation usage to design intent and development objectives, organizations gain insight into where constrained resources are consumed, when they deliver the greatest engineering value, and how they support result quality.

The session demonstrates how structured reporting enables proactive governance within constrained testing windows, supporting informed trade-offs between accuracy, turnaround time, and resource consumption. Time-based views of simulation activity further support planning and prioritization, reducing reactive decision-making and improving overall engineering efficiency.

While grounded in the context of highly regulated, performance-driven engineering environments, the principles discussed are directly applicable to a wide range of engineering sectors, including automotive, aerospace, energy, and industrial manufacturing. As regulatory oversight and resource constraints become more prevalent, transparent governance of simulation usage emerges as a best-practice enabler of engineering quality rather than a compliance burden.