Dassault Systèmes announced that GEA, a leading supplier to the food processing industry and a wide range of other process industries in the world, has used SIMULIA applications, based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, to simulate airflow inside the company's cafeteria in Oelde, Germany, closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to better understand how to safely reopen the facility for 1900 employees.

Aware that the coronavirus can spread through droplets in the air, in the context of the "Back to work" initiative undertaken by the company with the aim of completely reopening all sites, GEA wanted to examine the diffusion of particles by air. inside the company cafeteria and view different security scenarios. The company then worked with Dassault Systèmes to build a virtual 3D twin of the cafeteria, with parameters that included virus-positive people coughing and sneezing, to simulate the behavior of the flow of particles within space. In this way, GEA was able to really experience how the virus can spread in the air and contaminate surfaces such as plates, trays and tables. The virtual twin also revealed unexpected areas of high virus concentration.

GEA is now using the simulation results to identify and implement a risk management strategy that is effective in making the cafeteria space safer. This includes a number of changes, including entrances, exits and seating arrangements, separating the cafeteria kitchen from the dining area, modifying the ventilation system and taking additional safety measures to protect the kitchen staff.

"The simulation has provided us with a valuable learning experience and will play an important role in the decision-making process of planning the reopening of our in-house cafeteria, an important meeting space for all our employees," said Erich Nitzsche, Vice President Engineering Standards & Services, GEA. “The results of the collaboration with Dassault Systèmes have exceeded our expectations, showing us a scenario different from what we expected. Thanks to simulation, we are able to think in a more focused way in finding solutions that allow us to guarantee the health and safety of our employees and to reduce the negative impacts on our business. The choice of Dassault Systèmes was a winning initiative for us”.

GEA plans to share videos showing the simulation results with employees so that they can clearly communicate internally why and how the new measures were adopted and what role technology played in this strategy.

"Virtual worlds revolutionize our relationship with knowledge and open up enormous possibilities," said Klaus Löckel, EUROCENTRAL Managing Director, Dassault Systèmes. "Our SIMULIA applications reveal the invisible, representing the time and space of a behavior as it evolves within the specific environment. GEA can understand and act on this behavior, responding to the coronavirus crisis with a program that puts the well-being of employees first".