Directing operator to closest workstation

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Pietro Turrin asked Sep 20, '24 Pietro Turrin commented Sep 23, '24

Directing operator to closest workstation

Hi, I'm having a problem directing operators to the closest station.
Currently, operators pick up colored boxes, and before placing them in the Queue they must pass through a station, called ScanItem. There are 4 of these stations, one near each Queue to optimize reading times and reduce crossing distances.
Currently, however, operators do not follow any logic in choosing the ScanItem. I tried to implement queue management logic but without results.

(I realize that it is not an efficient system, but I need it to be able to understand the logic behind directing operators).

Thanks for the help

TU5 Conditional Task Tutorial V4.fsm

Software Version:

FlexSim 24.2.1

travel path station

tu5-conditional-task-tutorial-v4.fsm (81.9 KiB)

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Jason Lightfoot ♦♦ commented · Sep 20 at 12:55 PM

Have you tried adding the query 'ORDER BY distance ASC' when pulling the items? This would pull the closest item first.

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Pietro Turrin Jason Lightfoot ♦♦ commented · Sep 20 at 03:58 PM

I tried in both "Resorce: Operators" and "Resorce: ScanItem" but this don't give the wanted result

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Answer 1 · 2024-09-20T17:00:54Z

Jason Lightfoot answered Sep 20, '24 Pietro Turrin commented Sep 23, '24

You'll not be able to use the distance field of resources without editing the code (and you've entered the name of the picklist option directly rather than selecting Item->Shortest distance , so you'll probably find it easier to use list where you can define the puller at token.Operator.

Attached is the changed model.

tu5-conditional-task-tutorial-v4_jl.fsm

tu5-conditional-task-tutorial-v4-jl.fsm (97.6 KiB)

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Pietro Turrin commented · Sep 23 at 08:21 AM

So using the list for "Operators" and "ScanItems" let me use the Pull from List command and modify the Query, understood. Do you if this is also possible using resource and not list?

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Felix Möhlmann Pietro Turrin commented · Sep 23 at 08:36 AM

A Resource that is linked to an object/group is already using a list in the background. Just with fewer options in the Acquire activity than in Pull from List. Instead of letting you set the puller in the activity the token is always used as the puller. You'd have to edit the code of the "distance" field to shift the reference from the token to the relevant label.

The Resource activity let's you define a default query which is not possible in a List activity. And to enable the list to have initial content at the start of the model it needs to be linked to a global list.

As far as I would say, the tradeoff between Resource and List is just ease of use for simple logic vs. more options to customize.

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1727080297654.png (74.1 KiB)

Pietro Turrin Felix Möhlmann commented · Sep 23 at 08:44 AM

Thank you for the clear answer

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Pietro Turrin Pietro Turrin commented · Sep 23 at 08:36 AM

Also i notice that you add in the List Operators ad expression field "utilization", that check if the operator is free to pick a new batch of box or if he is currently dispatching and order?

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