Send one operator to pick up a batch of items?

Question

question

Tyler Morrison asked May 18 2018 at 6:44 PM Jason Lightfoot commented Nov 03 2023 at 10:56 AM

Send one operator to pick up a batch of items?

Hi,

I need to transport items from queues 1, 2, and 3 to queues 4, 5, and 6 respectively using 6 operators and a dispatcher. The batch needs to be moved by one operator in one trip and any of the 6 operators can move any of the batches. The queues are batching the items and the operators are trying to load a full batch, but one operator is getting called per item not one per batch, so the operators don't carry a full batch because multiple operators go to pick up the batch at the same time. How do I send one operator to pick up a batch instead of sending one operator to pick up each item? Eventually I will have lots of these paired queues so I would like to use tasksequences so I can copy the queues when I need more without changing much. I have attached a model of what I have.

Thank you in advance.

Software Version:

FlexSim 18.1.1

processflow operators batch processing dispatchers task sequences

· 6

Tyler Morrison commented · May 18 2018 at 6:46 PM

send-one-operator-per-batch-instead-of-one-operato.fsm Here is the model, I forgot to attach it the first time.

0 ·

send-one-operator-per-batch-instead-of-one-operato.fsm (48.3 KiB)

Tyler Morrison commented · May 29 2018 at 8:55 PM

@Joshua S

This process flow works in the model already posted which was a model I built to test the logic for a project I'm working on. I copied it to the model for my project and now I get an error that a label doesn't exist on a token id. I copied the process flow and queue over exactly, but now I will need to be going to a mix of sinks and queues as my destinations. I have attached screen shots of the error messages I'm getting when I try to run my model. Can you tell me what these errors mean and what the cause might be? I can't post this model as it's confidential.

0 ·

shxva.png (61.0 KiB)

Joshua S Tyler Morrison commented · May 29 2018 at 9:14 PM

As it fails, can you exit out of the error message, then click on the token in the travel activity and take a screen shot of the side panel to show the labels for the tokens, like this?

0 ·

pic1.png (45.3 KiB)

Tyler Morrison Joshua S commented · May 29 2018 at 9:19 PM

Here are the screen shots.

0 ·

thl90.png (73.0 KiB)

oys1y.png (18.1 KiB)

Show more comments

______

Cookie preferences

Your privacy is important to us and so is an optimal experience. To help us customize information and build applications, we collect data about your use of this site.

May we collect and use your data?

Learn more about the Third Party Services we use and our Privacy Statement.

Strictly necessary – required for our site to work and to provide services to you

These cookies allow us to record your preferences or login information, respond to your requests or fulfill items in your shopping cart.

YES

Improve your experience – allows us to show you what is relevant to you

These cookies enable us to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we use to deliver information and experiences tailored to you. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not be available for you.

YES

NO

Customize your advertising – permits us to offer targeted advertising to you

These cookies collect data about you based on your activities and interests in order to show you relevant ads and to track effectiveness. By collecting this data, the ads you see will be more tailored to your interests. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

YES

NO

Are you sure you want a less customized experience?

We can access your data only if you select "yes" for the categories on the previous screen. This lets us tailor our marketing so that it's more relevant for you. You can change your settings at any time by visiting our privacy statement

Your experience. Your choice.

We care about your privacy. The data we collect helps us understand how you use our products, what information you might be interested in, and what we can improve to make your engagement with Autodesk more rewarding.

May we collect and use your data to tailor your experience?

Explore the benefits of a customized experience by managing your privacy settings for this site or visit our Privacy Statement to learn more about your options.

Answer 1 · 2018-05-21T17:08:53Z

Joshua S answered May 21 2018 at 5:08 PM Jason Lightfoot commented Nov 03 2023 at 10:56 AM

I used process flow to do what you are suggesting. Here's your model with process flow incorporated. for every queue you add, increment its label "Queue" to match the number of pickup queues, and increment the quantity of tokens created in the "EntrySource" to match the number of pickup queues.11989-send-one-operator-per-batch-changed.fsm

There is still an issue with the visuals that I am looking into where the objects hover several feet above the operator. Let me know if the model design is what you are looking for and I'll look into fixing this hovering issue. Hope this helps.

11989-send-one-operator-per-batch-changed.fsm (61.0 KiB)

· 7

Tyler Morrison commented · May 21 2018 at 5:58 PM

send-one-operator-per-batch-instead-of-one-operato.fsm

Joshua,

That is not exactly what I need. My apologies but the model I originally posted was not showing my issue, I must have posted the wrong version. Here is the correct version that shows the issue I'm having . When queues 1, 2, or 3 release a batch of items to be transported, multiple operators go to load the batch and some operators don't end up loading a full batch of items before unloading what they have loaded. For my model, I need one operator to be go load a full batch from queues 1, 2, or 3 and then unload the full batch to the connected queue (4, 5, or 6 depending which queue the items are loaded from) every time a batch of items is released from queues 1, 2, or 3.

Thank you,

Tyler

0 ·

send-one-operator-per-batch-instead-of-one-operato.fsm (46.0 KiB)

Joshua S commented · May 21 2018 at 6:07 PM

@Tyler Morrison

my apologies, I uploaded a completely unrelated file. I edited my post with the correct file, here is the correct file 11989-send-one-operator-per-batch-changed.fsm

0 ·

Adrian M Joshua S commented · Oct 31 2023 at 10:50 PM

What's the point of this? Why are we only creating 3 when the batch size requested is 5?

0 ·

1698792651954.png (10.3 KiB)

Jason Lightfoot ♦♦ Adrian M commented · Nov 03 2023 at 10:56 AM

One token for each queue. The pull quantity is 5 and the the list is partitioned by the queueID.

0 ·

Tyler Morrison commented · May 21 2018 at 6:44 PM

That works exactly how I need it to and will be simple enough to copy to a larger scale. Thanks!

0 ·

Tyler Morrison commented · May 21 2018 at 7:23 PM

@Joshua S

As I was looking into it farther I noticed that all the batches have to be the same size (5) right now. How can I make it so that an operator carries different quantities of items depending which queue it comes from. I tried making the pull from list request and require numbers to quantities by case and could not get it to work. It would be nice if the quantity of items that are batched and carried by the operators were controlled by the lot size column in the global table "production schedule."

0 ·

Joshua S Tyler Morrison commented · May 21 2018 at 7:48 PM

To do this there are 3 areas you need to edit. Go to your process flow and make changes to your "source activity" by adding another label

Then edit the "Pull from List activity"

The last thing you need to do is unselect batching from all of your queues or it will still wait till there are 5 items before it will let any operators pull from them. Hope this works for you.

0 ·

pic3.png (10.5 KiB)

pic2.png (20.9 KiB)

pic1.png (16.7 KiB)

question