Process Flow Approach

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Aaupadhye asked Jul 13 2023 at 3:36 PM Natalie White commented Jul 13 2023 at 9:29 PM

Process Flow Approach

Hi,

So I want to edit parts of my logic but I am not sure about the approach. Instead of having 1 item per order buffer, I want to have up to 30 items per order buffer and one box be created per item. This would create a buildup of boxes on the conveyors so that way the operator is not constantly waiting for boxes. I also want the operator to only pack 1 item into 1 box. Any help would be appreciated.

WCOCModelDraft6.fsm

Amit.

Software Version:

FlexSim 23.0.8

processflow logic

wcocmodeldraft6.fsm (176.6 KiB)

· 4

Julie Weller commented · Jul 13 2023 at 3:51 PM

Hey @Aaupadhye! What's the current behavior of the system, just so we can get an idea of what it does now and how to change it?

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Aaupadhye Julie Weller commented · Jul 13 2023 at 4:05 PM

The system right now sends a single item from the dynamic buffer into one of the order buffers based on percentage. This then triggers a box to be sent and routed to the corresponding station where the order buffer is. If there is already one item in one order buffer, the system then moves the next item into the other order buffer instead and triggers a box to be created and routed to this. The model works fine and there are no errors, however, I want to change some of the logic.

I want up to 30 items to be able to stack up on each order buffer instead of just 1 on each. This would then trigger 60 boxes to be created per each conveyor system. I want the operator to keep packing 1 item per box. In summary, I want more than one item to be able to be stacked on an order buffer, while still having the operator pack 1 item per box. I also want the box to be routed correctly according to which pack station the item arrives at.

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Natalie White Aaupadhye commented · Jul 13 2023 at 4:31 PM

Perhaps instead of aquiring the order buffers as a resource, you could route items to either of the buffers with a Decide activity. Then, you can set a limit of 30 on the max content of your queue. Since you no longer need to aquire the buffers, they won't be restricted to only holding one item at a time.

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Answer 1 · 2023-07-13T19:15:51Z

Natalie White answered Jul 13 2023 at 7:15 PM Natalie White commented Jul 13 2023 at 9:29 PM

Amit, apologies for the delay.

To create the logic you described, I used "Assign Labels" activities. Half the items are assigned labels corresponding with pack station A, and half with pack station B. Several activities within the process flow then needed to be adjusted. I changed the process flow for the first conveyor system (which handles the small boxes) and the example model is attached. Let me know if this is the behavior you are looking for.

wcocmodel.fsm

Also, I am happy to explain this process flow further if there is any confusion on your end.

wcocmodel.fsm (176.3 KiB)

· 5

Aaupadhye commented · Jul 13 2023 at 8:02 PM

This is the behavior I was looking for, thank you!

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Aaupadhye commented · Jul 13 2023 at 8:11 PM

One last thing, sometimes the operator packs an item on before the box hits the queue. Is there a fix for this or is it just a glitch?

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Natalie White Aaupadhye commented · Jul 13 2023 at 8:25 PM

Yep, you'll need to edit the properties of the Wait for Event activity so that the token can associate this event with the correct box. You do this by matching the label on the entering item.

The reason you were seeing this error is because multiple tokens were already in the Wait for Event activity. When one box entered the pack station, all tokens in the Wait for Event activity were released to their downstream activities, even though only one box had arrived.

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1689279764384.png (28.7 KiB)

Aaupadhye Natalie White commented · Jul 13 2023 at 9:11 PM

wcocmodel.fsm

So I tried repeating the same process flow except on the second conveyor system, and it is not working like the first one. I stepped through the model and tried to see where it was going wrong, and I just copied the same flow basically so I am confused why the boxes aren't routing properly and why the operators aren't working either.

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wcocmodel.fsm (175.5 KiB)

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