Rockwell Automation Arena User Manual

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Arena

USER’S GUIDE

PUBLICATION ARENA-UM001D-EN-P–November 2007

Supersedes Publication ARENA-UM001C-EN-P

Contact Rockwell

Trademark Notices

Customer Support Telephone — 1.440.646.3434 Online Support — http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support/

This document and any accompanying Rockwell Software products are copyrighted by Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Any reproduction and/or distribution without prior written consent from Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. is strictly prohibited. Please refer to the license agreement for details.

Arena and Rockwell Automation are registered trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc.

Other Trademarks

Warran ty

ActiveX, Microsoft, Microsoft Access, SQL Server, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual SourceSafe, Windows, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Adobe, Acrobat, and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

ControlNet is a registered trademark of ControlNet International.

DeviceNet is a trademark of the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association, Inc. (ODVA) Ethernet is a registered trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel, and Xerox Corporation

OLE for Process Control (OPC) is a registered trademark of the OPC Foundation.

Oracle, SQL*Net, and SQL*Plus are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.

This product is warranted in accordance with the product license. The product’s performance may be affected by system configuration, the application being performed, operator control, maintenance and other related factors. Rockwell Automation is not responsible for these intervening factors. The instructions in this document do not cover all the details or variations in the equipment, procedure, or process described, nor do they provide directions for meeting every possible contingency during installation, operation, or maintenance. This product’s implementation may vary among users.

This document is current as of the time of release of the product; however, the accompanying software may have changed since the release. Rockwell Automation, Inc. reserves the right to change any information contained in this document or the software at anytime without prior notice. It is your responsibility to obtain the most current information available from Rockwell when installing or using this product.

Version: 12.00.00 (CPR9) Modified: October 8, 2007 1:24 pm

Contents

1 • Welcome 1

What is Arena software? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intended audience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Where can I go for help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Reference the user’s guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Explore our examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Get help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Use the SMARTs library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Access the Arena Symbol Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Get phone support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Get Web support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Get training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Get consulting services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Contact us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 • Getting Started 5

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Our task: Analyze a home mortgage application process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Arena modeling environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Map your process in a flowchart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Create the mortgage application entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Process the applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Decide whether applications are complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Dispose the applications to terminate the process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

What is a module? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Define model data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Initiate mortgage application (Create module). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Review application (Process module) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

What are entities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Complete? (Decide module). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Accepted, Returned (Dispose module). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Mortgage review clerk (Resource module) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Prepare for the simulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Save the simulation model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Simulate the process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

View simulation reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Enhance the visualization process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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• • • • •

Animate the mortgage review clerk resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Plot the number of applications in-process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

What is a model thumbnail? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Rerun the simulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Next steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3 • The Basic Process Panel 29

Flowchart modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Create module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Dispose module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Process module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Process module — Resource dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Decide module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Batch module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Separate module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Assign module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Record module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Data modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Entity module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Queue module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Resource module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Variable module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Schedule module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Set module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Calendar schedule information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Time Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Calendar Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Calendar States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

4 • The Advanced Process Panel 51

Flowchart modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Delay module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Dropoff module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Hold module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Match module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Pickup module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

ReadWrite module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Release module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Remove module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Seize module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Search module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

CONTENTS

Signal module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Store module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Unstore module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Adjust Variable module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Data modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Advanced Set module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Expression module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Failure module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

File module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

StateSet module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Statistic module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Storage module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

5 • The Advanced Transfer Panel 73

General flowchart modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Enter module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Leave module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

PickStation module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

PickStation module — Stations dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Route module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Station module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Conveyor flowchart modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Access module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Convey module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Exit module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Start module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Stop module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Transporter flowchart modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Activate module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Allocate module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Free module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Halt module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Move module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Request module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Transport module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Data modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Sequence module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Conveyor module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Segment module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Transporter module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Distance module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

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ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Network module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Network Link module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Activity Area module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

6 • The Flow Process Panel 101

Flowchart modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Tank module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Sensor module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Flow module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Regulate module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Seize Regulator module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Release Regulator module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Data module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Regulator Set module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

A • Statistical Distributions 111

Beta(b, a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BETA(Beta, Alpha) 113

Continuous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CONTINUOUS(CumP1, Val1, . . ., CumPn, Valn)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(c1, x1,. . ., cn,xn) 114

Discrete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DISCRETE(CumP1, Val1, . . ., CumPn, Valn)

(c1, x1, . . ., cn, xn). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Erlang(b, k). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ERLANG(ExpMean, k) or ERLA(ExpMean, k) 117

Exponential(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EXPONENTIAL(Mean) or EXPO(Mean) 118

Gamma(b, a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GAMMA(Beta, Alpha) or GAMM(Beta, Alpha) 119

Johnson. . JOHNSON(Gamma, Delta, Lambda, Xi) or JOHN(Gamma, Delta, Lambda,

Xi). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Lognormal(m, s). . .LOGNORMAL(LogMean, LogStd) or LOGN(LogMean, LogStd)

121

Normal(m, s) . . . . . . . . . . . NORMAL(Mean, StdDev) or NORM(Mean, StdDev) 123

Poisson(l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . POISSON(Mean) or POIS(Mean) 124

Triangular(a, m, b) TRIANGULAR(Min, Mode, Max) or TRIA(Min, Mode, Max) 125

Uniform(a, b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UNIFORM(Min, Max) or UNIF(Min, Max) 126

Weibull(b, a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .WEIBULL(Beta, Alpha) or WEIB(Beta, Alpha) 127

B • Library Shapes and Symbols 129

Arena .plb picture files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Arena .plb libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Arena Symbol Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

The Symbol Factory application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

CONTENTS

C • Using Visio and Arena 133

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

The Visio Process Simulation add-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Start a drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Place and connect shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Enter custom properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Add data shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Simulate the process map in Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Check the drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Transfer the drawing to Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Simulate other Visio drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Use Visio and Arena in your organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Distribute the Process Simulation add-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Publish process maps on a Web page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Index 141

• • • • •

vii

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

viii

Welcome

What is Arena software?

Arena software enables you to bring the power of modeling and simulation to your business. It is designed for analyzing the impact of changes involving significant and complex redesigns associated with supply chain, manufacturing, processes, logistics, distribution and warehousing, and service systems. Arena software provides the maximum flexibility and breadth of application coverage to model any desired level of detail and complexity.

Typical scenarios include:

 Detailed analysis of any type of manufacturing system, including material-handling

components

 Analysis of complex customer service and customer management systems

 Analysis of global supply chains that include warehousing, transportation, and

logistics systems

 Predicting system performance based on key metrics such as costs, throughput, cycle

times, and utilizations

 Identifying process bottlenecks such as queue build ups and over-utilization of

resources

 Planning staff, equipment, or material requirements.

1 • Welcome

In addition to the Arena Professional Edition, Rockwell Automation offers a full suite of products to provide enterprise-wide simulation, optimization, and 3D model animation.

Intended audience

Arena software is designed for manufacturing or business process consultants and analysts and industrial or systems engineers. It is typically deployed as an enterprise business analysis and productivity tool.

We assume that you are familiar with the basic concepts and terms used in these types of systems. You are interested in improving business or manufacturing productivity and are responsible for evaluating and predicting the impact of proposed strategic and tactical changes to help improve performance. A familiarity with computers and the Microsoft Windows in simulation is also helpful.

operating system is assumed. A familiarity with the concepts and terms used

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Where can I go for help?

Our commitment to your success starts with the suite of learning aids and assistance we provide for Arena. Whether you’re new to simulation or a seasoned veteran putting a new tool to use, you’ll quickly feel at home with the Arena software.

Reference the user’s guides

The documentation set for this package is comprised of user manuals for the software and template components, as well as a separate Variables Guide reference that provides complete descriptions of Arena variables found in the Arena product templates.

OCUMENT CONVENTIONS

Throughout the guides, a number of style conventions are used to help identify material. New terms and concepts may be emphasized by use of italics or bold; file menu paths are in bold with a (>) separating the entries (e.g., go to Help > Arena Help); text you are asked to type is shown in Courier Bold (e.g., in this field, type Work Week), and dialog box and window button names are shown in bold (e.g., click OK).

Explore our examples

Arena is accompanied by a number of sample models that illustrate many of the commonly used approaches for capturing the essence of manufacturing processes. Examples are provided for both job shop and flow shop environments. For a description of and list of Arena’s examples, go to Help > Arena Help. On the Contents tab, choose Model Building Basics, and then select Viewing Arena Example Models.

Get help

Online help is always at your fingertips! Arena incorporates the latest in help features, including What’s This? help that displays a brief description of fields in dialogs, context- sensitive help on menu and toolbar buttons, and a help button on each of Arena’s modules. Just refer to the Arena help table of contents and index for a list of all help topics.

Use the SMARTs library

As you craft models of your own manufacturing processes, use our SMARTs library to explore how to best use Arena. This suite of tutorial models covers topics ranging from modeling resources to animation techniques. The library is organized into categories to help you find the right model with ease. When you’re wondering how to take the next step in your model, browse the SMARTs library for a ready-made solution. For a list of categories and their related SMARTS, go to Help > Arena Help. On the Contents tab, first click Model Building Basics, and then Learning Arena with SMART Files.

1 • WELCOME

Access the Arena Symbol Factory

Arena animations can be enhanced using Arena Symbol Factory’s extensive library of symbols. These symbols can be used for entity, resource, transporter or global pictures; or as graphic symbols within a model window. You can copy these symbols directly to the Arena model window, add them to your own libraries (.plb files), or add them to any of the Arena picture library files.

Get phone support

Rockwell Automation provides full support for the entire Arena family of products. Questions concerning installation, how modules work, the use of the model editor, and the use of the software are handled by technical support.

RENA TECHNICAL SUPPORT INCLUDES

 (for users on active maintenance) a technical support hotline and e-mail address

staffed by full-time, experienced professionals

 help with installation problems or questions related to the software’s requirements  troubleshooting  limited support regarding the interaction of Arena with other programs  support of the Arena Object Model, which is used in Microsoft Visual Basic for

Applications

• • • • •

1 • Welcome

If you call the support line (1.440.646.3434 for calls originating in the U.S/Canada), you should be at your computer and be prepared to give the following information:

 the product serial number  the product version number  the operating system you are using  the exact wording of any messages that appeared on your screen  a description of what happened and what you were doing when the problem occurred  a description of how you tried to solve the problem

Get Web support

In addition to phone support, the Rockwell Automation Customer Support Center offers extensive online knowledgebases of tech notes and frequently asked questions for support of non-urgent issues. These databases are updated daily by our support specialists.

To receive regular e-mail messages with links to the latest tech notes, software updates, and firmware updates for the products that are of interest to you or to submit an online support request, go to support.rockwellautomation.com

And be sure to check the Arena User Zone section of our Web site at www.ArenaSimulation.com. The User Zone links to a peer-to-peer forum on Arena topics and has a link to a

and select the Online link.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

download page where you can check for possible software updates (patches). If you can’t find the answer you need, contact your local representative or Arena technical support.

Get training

Do you need training? Rockwell Automation offers a standard training course comprised of lecture and hands-on workshops designed to introduce you to the fundamental concepts of modeling with Arena.

We also offer customized training courses designed to meet your specific needs. These courses can be held in our offices or yours, and we can accommodate one person or twenty. You design the course that’s right for you! Simply contact our consulting services group to discuss how we can help you achieve success in your simulation efforts.

Get consulting services

Rockwell Automation provides expert consulting and turnkey implementation of the entire Arena product suite. Please contact our offices for more information.

Contact us

We strive to help all of our customers become successful in their manufacturing improvement efforts. Toward this objective, we invite you to contact your local representative or Rockwell Automation at any time that we may be of service to you.

Support E-mail: Arena-Support@ra.rockwell.com

Corporate E-mail: Arena-Info@ra.rockwell.com

Support phone: 1.440.646.3434

URL: www.ArenaSimulation.com

URL: www.rockwellautomation.com

Getting Started

Introduction

While you may not realize it quite yet, you now have the power to transform your business. Whenever you and others in your organization are wondering “what if…?,” you can look into the future to find the answer.

With Arena, you can:

 Model your processes to define, document, and communicate.

 Simulate the future performance of your system to understand complex relationships

and identify opportunities for improvement.

 Visualize your operations with dynamic animation graphics.

 Analyze how your system will perform in its “as-is” configuration and under a myriad

of possible “to-be” alternatives so that you can confidently choose the best way to run your business.

Our task: Analyze a home mortgage application process

In this chapter, we will examine a simple mortgage application process to illustrate how you can model, simulate, visualize, and analyze with Arena. To begin, we’ll look at the process of receiving and reviewing a home mortgage application. We will build the flowchart shown below, introducing you to the process of modeling and simulating with Arena.

2 • Getting Started

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

The Arena modeling environment

Project Bar

If Arena is not already running, start it from the Windows Start menu and navigate to Programs > Rockwell Software > Arena. The Arena modeling environment will open with a new model window, as shown below.

Model window

flowchart view

The Project Bar usually is docked at the left of the Arena

application window,

but can tear off or

dock at another

position like any

toolbar.

Model window

spreadsheet view

To model your process in Arena, you’ll work in three main regions of the application window. The Project Bar hosts panels with the primary types of objects that you will work with:

 Basic Process, Advanced Process, and Advanced Transfer panels: Contain the

modeling shapes, called modules, that you’ll use to define your process.

 Reports panel: Contains the reports that are available for displaying results of simula-

tion runs.

 Navigate panel: Allows you to display different views of your model, including

navigating through hierarchical submodels and displaying a model thumbnail view.

In the model window, there are two main regions. The flowchart view will contain all of your model graphics, including the process flowchart, animation, and other drawing

elements. The lower, spreadsheet view displays model data, such as times, costs, and other parameters.

As we model the mortgage application process, we’ll work in all three of these regions of Arena.

Map your process in a flowchart

Let’s start by examining what we’re going to do: Build a flowchart. The word itself— flowchart—suggests two of the main concepts behind modeling and simulation. We’ll be building a chart—also referred to as a process map or a model—that describes a flow.

This raises a key question in process modeling: What exactly is it that will flow through

the chart?

We’re modeling the process of reviewing mortgage applications. These mortgage applications are the items, referred to as entities, that will move through the process steps in our model. They are the data, whether on paper or in electronic form, that are associated with our client’s request for a mortgage. As we build the flowchart, it’s helpful to think of the process from the perspective of the entity (the mortgage application), asking questions like:

• • • • •

2 • GETTING STARTED

2 • Getting Started

 Where do the mortgage applications enter the process?  What happens to them at each step?  What resources are needed to complete work?

First, we’ll draw the flowchart representing the mortgage application process. Refer to the Mortgage Application Process Flowchart (shown previously) so you’ll know what we’ll be creating.

Create the mortgage application entities

We’ll start the flowchart using a Create module, from the Basic Process panel. This is the starting point for the flow of entities through the model.

1. Drag the Create module from the Basic Process panel into the model window.

A default name, Create 1, is given to the module when it’s placed. We’ll return later to provide a more meaningful description as well as some data to support the simulation.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Every process flow

starts with a

Create module.

When you simulate

the flowchart,

individual entities

will be created

according to timing

information you

supply in the

Create module

properties. After it’s

created, each entity

moves from the Create module to the next shape in

the process flow.

If your Create and

Process weren’t connected auto-

matically when you

placed the Process,

check the Object >

Auto-Connect menu

to verify that it’s

checked. If it’s not,

select it to turn on

this option.

Process the applications

Next in our flowchart is a Process module, from the Basic Process panel, representing the Review Application step.

1. So that Arena will automatically connect the Process to the Create module, be sure that the Create module is selected.

2. Drag a Process module from the Basic Process panel into the model window, placing it to the right of the Create. Arena will automatically connect the two modules.

As with the Create, the Process module has a default name that we’ll replace later.

2 • GETTING STARTED

• • • • •

2 • Getting Started

Note: If no connection appears between Create and Process, click the Object > Connect menu item or the Connect toolbar button to draw a connection. Your cursor will change to a cross hair. Start the connection by clicking the exit point ( ) of the Create module, then click the entry point ( ) of the Process module to complete the connection. If you need to make multiple connections, simply double-click the Connect button or select Object > Connect twice (the Connect button will remain depressed to indicate it is in multi-connect mode). Then draw as many connections as desired. A valid connection target (e.g., entry point, exit point, or operand object) is now highlighted during a connection session if the pointer is hovered over it. To end the multi-connection session, click again on the Connect option, press Esc, or right-click.

How do I use Snap and Grid?

If your flowchart shapes aren’t lining up properly, you can use Arena’s snap and grid features to straighten them out. First, check the Snap option on the View menu so that newly placed shapes will be positioned at regular snap points. To realign the shapes you’ve already placed, select the main module shapes (the yellow boxes) by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on each shape. Then, click the Arrange > Snap to Grid menu option to adjust their positions to align with grid points.

You can display the grid by checking the Grid option on the View menu. Both snap and grid are turned off by clicking on the menu option again, turning off the check box.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Decide whether applications are complete

After the Process, we have a Decide module, from the Basic Process panel, which determines whether the mortgage application is complete.

1. If you’re using the Auto-Connect feature (i.e., it’s checked on the Object > Auto- Connect menu), be sure that the Process module is selected so that the Decide will be connected to it.

2. Drag a Decide module to the right of the Process module.

If the mortgage application has a complete set of information, it will leave the Decide module from the right side of the diamond shape, representing the True condition. Incomplete applications (False result to the Decide test) will leave via the bottom connection.

Dispose the applications to terminate the process

Next we’ll place the Dispose module, from the Basic Process panel, representing accepted applications, connecting to the True (right) output from the Decide shape. Then, we’ll complete the flowchart with another Dispose for returned applications.

1. Select the Decide shape so that our first Dispose will be connected automatically.

2 • GETTING STARTED

• • • • •

Entity flow always

begins with a Create

module and termi-

nates with a Dispose

module. You may

have as many of each

of these modules as

you need to generate

entities into the model

and to remove them

when their process-

ing is complete.

2. Drag a Dispose module to the right of the Decide module. Arena will connect it to the primary (True) exit point of the Decide module. (We won’t include a graphic display since you’re now familiar with the drag-and-drop sequence.)

3. To add the second Dispose module, once again select the Decide module, so that Arena will automatically connect its False exit point to the new Dispose module, and drag another Dispose module below and to the right of the Decide module.

4. Drag and drop another Dispose module, placing it below and to the right of the Decide shape, completing the process flowchart.

2 • Getting Started

What is a module?

In Arena, modules are the flowchart and data objects that define the process to be simulated. All information required to simulate a process is stored in modules.

For now, we’re working with flowchart modules—those that are placed in the model window to describe the process. In the Basic Process panel, these are the first eight shapes:

 Create: The start of process flow. Entities enter the simulation here.

 Dispose: The end of process flow. Entities are removed from the simulation here.

 Process: An activity, usually performed by one or more resources and requiring some

time to complete.

 Decide: A branch in process flow. Only one branch is taken.

 Batch: Collect a number of entities before they can continue processing.

 Separate: Duplicate entities for concurrent or parallel processing, or separating a

previously established batch of entities.

 Assign: Change the value of some parameter (during the simulation), such as the

entity’s type or a model variable.

 Record: Collect a statistic, such as an entity count or cycle time.

Simulation settings are defined in the Run > Setup > Replication Parameters dialog box. There is also a set of data modules for defining the characteristics of various process elements, such as resources and queues.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Define model data

Now that we’ve drawn the basic flowchart for our mortgage application process, let’s define the data associated with the modules, including the name of the module and information that will be used when we simulate the process.

Initiate mortgage application (Create module)

First, let’s visit the Create module, which will be named Initiate Mortgage Application. Its data will include the type of entity to be created—in our case, a mortgage Application. We also need to define how often mortgage applications are initiated. We’ll use an average of 2 hours between applicants as a starting point for our model, and we’ll make this a random activity to represent the natural variation in the timing of mortgage applications being submitted.

1. Double-click the Create module to open its property dialog box.

2. In the Name field, type

3. For the Entity Type, name our entities by typing

4. Type

5. Click OK to close the dialog box.

For now, we’ll leave the default values for the other Create module properties. Feel free to explore their purposes through online help or the Entity Arrivals models in the SMARTs library.

in the Value field of the Time Between Arrivals section.

Initiate Mortgage Application

Application

2 • GETTING STARTED

What are entities?

Entities are the items—customers, documents, parts—that are being served, produced, or otherwise acted on by your process. In business processes, they often are documents or electronic records (checks, contracts, applications, purchase orders). In service systems, entities usually are people (the customers being served in a restaurant, hospital, airport, etc.). Manufacturing models typically have some kind of part running through the process, whether it’s raw material, a subcomponent, or finished product. Other models might have different types of entities, such as data packets in network analysis or letters and boxes in package-handling facilities.

You may have different types of entities in the same model. For example, customers moving through a check-in counter at an airport might be separated into regular, firstclass, and priority entity types. In some cases, entity types might be of an altogether different form rather than classifications of some basic type. For instance, in a pharmacy, prescriptions would be modeled as entities, running through the process of being filled. At the same time, customers might be competing for the pharmacist’s attention with medical inquiries; they would also be modeled as entities.

Review application (Process module)

Remember that as we create the flowchart, we’re looking at the process from the perspective of the entity. The Create module is a starting point for an entity’s flow through the system being modeled. Next, in our case, the application will be reviewed for completeness by a Mortgage Review Clerk. Because this will take some amount of time, holding the entity at this point in the flowchart for a delay and requiring a resource to perform the activity, we use a Process module. We’ll call this process Review Application.

• • • • •

2 • Getting Started

Appendix A

describes the

distributions

available in Arena.

For the time delay, we also want to capture the natural variability that exists in most processes. Very often, for work done by people or equipment, a triangular distribution provides a good approximation. You specify the minimum time in which the work could be done, the most likely value for the time delay, and the maximum duration of the process.

During the simulation run, each time an entity enters the process, Arena will calculate a sample from the distribution information you’ve provided—in our case, a triangular distribution. Over the course of a long simulation run where thousands of individual samples are taken, the times will follow the profile illustrated next.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

For our Review Application process, we’ll use a minimum time of 1 hour, most likely value of 1.75 hours, and a maximum of 3 hours. We will assign a resource, the Mortgage Review Clerk, to perform this process.

If more than one

resource is required

for a process to be

performed, add as

many as are necessary in the Process dialog’s

Resources list. An

entity won’t

commence its process delay until all listed resources

are available.

1. Double-click the Process module to open its property dialog box.

2. In the Name field, type Review Application.

3. To define a resource to perform this process, pull down the Action list and select Seize Delay Release.

Arriving entities will wait their turn for the resource to be available. When its turn comes, the entity will seize the resource, delay for the process time, and then release the resource to do other work.

4. A list of resources will appear in the center of the dialog box. To add a resource for this process, click Add.

2 • GETTING STARTED

• • • • •

5. In the Resource Name field of the Resource dialog box, type

Clerk

Mortgage Review

6. Click OK to close the Resource dialog box.

7. Define the process delay parameters in the Minimum, Most Likely Value, and Maximum fields as

1, 1.75

, and 3. (Note that the default delay type is Triangular and the

default time units are in hours.)

8. Click OK to close the dialog box.

For now, we’ll leave the default values for the other Process module properties. Feel free to explore their purposes through online help or the “Modeling Concepts” and “Resources” models in the SMARTs library.

Complete? (Decide module)

After the mortgage application has been reviewed, we determine whether to accept or return the application. In Arena, whenever an entity selects among branches in the process logic, taking just one of the alternatives, a Decide module is used.

2 • Getting Started

When you use a

2-way Decide

module, the entity

that enters the

module leaves via

one of the two exit

points. If you want to

make copies of an

entity to model

parallel processes,

use a Separate

module.

For the mortgage application process, we’ll use a simple probability to determine the outcome of the decision, with 88% of applications accepted as complete.

1. Double-click the Decide module to open its property dialog box.

2. In the Name field, type

Complete?

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

3. For the Percent True field, type 88 to define the percent of entities that will be treated with a “True” decision (i.e., will depart through the exit point at the right of the Decide module).

4. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Accepted, Returned (Dispose module)

In our simple process for reviewing mortgage applications, all the work that we’re interested in is done. Now, we’ll remove the mortgage applications from the model, terminating the process with a Dispose module. Because there are two possible outcomes of the mortgage application process—applications can be accepted or returned—we’re using two Dispose modules that will count the number of applications under each outcome.

1. Double-click the first Dispose module (connected to the True condition branch of the Decide module) to open its property dialog box, and in the Name field, type

Accepted

2. Click OK to close the dialog box.

3. Double-click the other Dispose module to open its property dialog box. In the Name field, type

Returned

4. Click OK to close the dialog box.

• • • • •

2 • GETTING STARTED

2 • Getting Started

You can edit the

fields for any

module using

Arena’s spread-

sheet, including

flowchart modules.

Just click on the

icon in the Basic

Process panel to

display its

spreadsheet.

Mortgage review clerk (Resource module)

Along with our flowchart, we also can define parameters associated with other elements of our model, such as resources, entities, queues, etc. For the mortgage process, we’ll simply define the cost rate for the Mortgage Review Clerk so that our simulation results will report the cost associated with performing this process. The clerk’s costs are fixed at $12 per hour.

To provide these parameters to the Arena model, you’ll enter them in the Resources spreadsheet.

1. In the Basic Process panel, click the Resource icon to display the Resources spreadsheet.

2. Because we defined the Mortgage Review Clerk as the resource in the Review Application process, Arena has automatically added a resource with this name in the Resources spreadsheet. Click in the Busy/Hour cell and define the cost rate when the

clerk is busy by typing

typing

. Click in the Idle/Hour cell and assign the idle cost rate by

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prepare for the simulation

To make the model ready for simulation, we’ll specify general project information and the duration of the simulation run. Since we’re just testing our first-cut model, we’ll perform a short, 20-day run.

1. Open the Project Parameters dialog box by using the Run > Setup menu item and clicking the Project Parameters tab. In the Project Title field, type Mortgage Review Analysis; we’ll leave the Statistics Collection check boxes as the defaults, with Entities, Queues, Resources, and Processes checked and also check the costing box.

2. Next, click the Replication Parameters tab within the same Run Setup dialog box. In the Replication Length field, type 20; and in the Time Units field directly to the right of Replication Length, select days from the drop-down list. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Save the simulation model

Now that you’ve done some work on your model, it seems like a good time to save it. Click Save on the Standard toolbar or select the File > Save menu item. Arena will prompt you for a destination folder and file name. Browse to the target folder in which you want to save the model (e.g., C:\My Documents) and type a name (e.g., Mortgage Review) in the file name field.

Arena’s model files store all of the model definition, including the flowchart, other graphics you’ve drawn, and the module data you entered. When you perform a simulation run, the results are stored in a database using the same name as the model file.

Simulate the process

With these few, short steps, we are ready to predict the future! The mortgage application model contains all of the information needed to run the simulation.

Start the simulation run by clicking the Go button or clicking the Run > Go menu item. Arena first will check to determine whether you’ve defined a valid model, then will launch the simulation.

If Arena displays an

error message, you

can use the Find

button in the error

window to locate the

source of the

problem. You can

change between the

error and model

windows by

selecting them from

the Window menu.

• • • • •

2 • GETTING STARTED

As the simulation progresses, you’ll see small entity pictures resembling pages moving among the flowchart shapes. Also, a variety of variables change values as entities are created and processed, as illustrated below.

Create: Number of Decide: Number of entities created entities out each branch

2 • Getting Started

Process: Number of entities currently in process

Dispose: Number of entities disposed

The animation scale

factor is the amount

of simulated time

between successive

screen updates.

Smaller values

provide smoother,

slower animation.

If the run finishes

before you have a

chance to explore

these controls,

answer No when

you’re asked if you

want to view the

results. Then click

Start Over on the

Run toolbar to begn

the run again.

If the animation is moving too fast, you can slow it down by adjusting the animation scale factor. For this, you have two choices:

 Open the Run Setup dialog box via the Run > Speed > Animation Speed Factor

menu item and enter a smaller value (e.g., 0.005) for the scale factor; or

 Use the less-than (<) key during the run to decrease the scale factor by 20%. Be sure

that the model window is active—not the Navigate panel—or > and < won’t take effect. Pressing < repeatedly is an easy way to fine tune the animation speed. The greater-than (>) key speeds up animation by 20%.

 Use the slider bar in the main toolbar. Move the slider to the left to slow down the ani-

mation; move the slider to the right to speed up the animation..

To pause the simulation, click the Pause button or press the Esc key. With the automatic flowchart animation, you can see how many entities have been created, are currently in the Review Application process, have left each branch of our Decide module, and have left the model at each of our terminating Dispose modules. These variables can be helpful in verifying the model. For example, if the probability in the Decide shape was entered incorrectly (e.g., if you typed 12—the rejection probability—instead of 88), the variables would show that many more applications were leaving the Returned branch.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

View simulation reports

Each of Arena’s

reports is

displayed in its

own window within

the Arena

application. You

can use the

standard

window options

(maximize,

minimize, etc.) by

clicking on the

window control

buttons or by

pulling down the

window menu.

You also can step through the simulation one event at a time. Pause the simulation, then click the Step button or press the F10 key. Each time you step the simulation, an entity is moved through the flowchart. Usually, you’ll see animation of the entity’s movement, though sometimes no visual change will take place (e.g., when the next event is creating a new entity). When this occurs, just step again to move forward to the next event.

After you’ve watched some of the animated flowchart, you can quickly run to the end of the simulation to view reports. Pause the simulation, then click the Fast Forward button to run the simulation without updating the animation.

At the end of the run, Arena will ask whether you’d like to view reports. Click Ye s, and the default report (the Category Overview Report) will be displayed in a report window, as shown below.

On the left side of each report window is a tree listing the types of information available in the report. The project name (in our case, Mortgage Review) is listed at the top of the tree, followed by an entry for each category of data. This report summarizes the results across all replications (although, in this model, we have only one replication). Other reports provide detail for each replication.

2 • GETTING STARTED

By clicking on the entries inside the category sections, you can view various types of results from the simulation run. The following table illustrates some of the questions you could answer from the Category Overview Report on our simple mortgage application process simulation.

Question Report Section Answer

• • • • •

On average, how long did mortgage applications spend in the modeled process?

What was the average cost of reviewing a mortgage application?

What was the longest time an application spent in review?

What was the maximum number of applications waiting for review?

What proportion of time was the Mortgage Review Clerk busy?

After you’ve browsed the Category Overview Report, you can close it by clicking on the window icon to the left of the File menu and clicking Close. You can look at other reports by clicking on their icons in the Project Bar. Each report will be displayed in its own window. To return to the model window, close all of the report windows or select the model file from the Window menu.

After you have viewed the reports and returned to the model window, end the Arena run session by clicking the End button.

Enhance the visualization process

Now that we’ve completed the basic steps for analyzing the mortgage application process, we can return to our model and embellish the graphical animation to gain further insight into the process dynamics. Animation also can be of great benefit in enticing others in the organization to be interested in process improvement.

Total Time (Entity), Average column

Total Cost (Entity), Average column

Total Time (Process), Maximum column

Number Waiting (Queue), Maximum column

Utilization (Resource), Average column

16.51 hrs

2 • Getting Started

$22.99

33.45 hrs

21 applications

97%

We’ll add two animation components to the mortgage model. First, we’ll show our Mortgage Review Clerk working at a desk, either busy or idle. To gain a better sense of how many applications are waiting in the Review Application process over time, we’ll also add a dynamic plot of the work-in-process (WIP) simulation variable. Our Arena model will appear as shown below after we add these two objects.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Note: You can toggle between the split view (flowchart and spreadsheet) and a full-screen view of either area by clicking the Split Screen toolbar button or selecting the View > Split Screen menu item. When in full-screen view, clicking the icons on the Basic Process panel displays the appropriate view (flowchart for flowchart modules and spreadsheet for data-only modules).

2 • GETTING STARTED

Animate the mortgage review clerk resource

During the simulation run, our Mortgage Review Clerk resource can be in one of two states. If no mortgage application entity is in-process, then the resource is idle. We’ll use a picture of a person sitting at a desk to depict idleness. When an entity seizes the resource, the Mortgage Review Clerk’s state is changed to busy, in which case our picture will show the person reviewing a document.

1. Click the Resource button on the Animate toolbar.

• • • • •

2. The Resource Placement dialog box appears. Select the Mortgage Review Clerk from the drop-down list in the Identifier field so that this object animates the Mortgage Review Clerk.

3. Open the Workers picture library by clicking the Open button, then browsing to the Workers.plb file in the Arena application folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\Arena) and double-clicking on it.

4. To change the idle picture:

 Click the Idle button in the table on the left.

 Select from the picture library table on the right the picture of the worker sitting

down.

 Click the Transfer button between the tables to use the worker picture for the Idle

resource state.

5. To change the busy picture:

 Click the Busy button in the table on the left.

 Select from the picture library table on the right the picture of the worker reading a

document.

 Click the Transfer button between the tables to use the selected picture when the

Mortgage Review Clerk is busy.

6. Click

to close the dialog box. (All other fields can be left with their default values.)

7. The cursor will appear as a cross hair. Move it to the model window and click to place the Mortgage Review Clerk resource animation picture.

2 • Getting Started

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

8. If you’d like to have the clerk appear a bit larger, select the picture and use the resize handles to enlarge it.

How do I use Rulers and Guides?

Rulers

Guides

Glue to Guides

Selecting the Rulers command on the View menu toggles horizontal and vertical rulers at the top and left edges of each drawing window. The ruler labels display the (+/-) distance from the origin in Arena world units. The spacing between the ruler labels is based on the snap spacing, with the labels rounded to the nearest snap point if Snap to Grid is enabled.

When the Guides command (View menu) is activated, you may add guides into the application window to aid in positioning shapes precisely. You may either drag them from the horizontal or vertical ruler edges independently or drag them simultaneously from the origin corner. If you select a guide, you may drag it to a new position, or you may remove it by pressing Delete.

Activating the Glue to Guides command (View menu) allows you to drag a shape (module or drawing object) to a guide until the shape selection handle turns red (as shown in the circled callout of the example), which indicates that the shape is “glued” to the guide. The guide may then be dragged to a new location and all shapes glued to the guide will maintain their alignment and will move with the guide.

You can plot many

expressions on the

same set of axes by

adding multiple

expressions in the

Plot dialog. Each can

be color-coded so

that you can readily

compare data such

as workloads in

processes, waiting

customers, etc.

2 • GETTING STARTED

Plot the number of applications in-process

Our second animation enhancement is a plot of how many mortgage applications are under review as the simulation progresses. This will give us a sense of the dynamics of the workload, which can vary quite a bit when the random nature of processes is incorporated into a simulated model.

1. Click the Plot button on the Animate toolbar.

2. The Plot dialog box appears. We’ll plot a single expression, the work-in-process (WIP) at the Review Application process. To add a data series to plot, go to the Data Series tab page and then click the Add button.

3. In the properties grid for the data series (by default it will be named ‘Series1’) go to the Source Data\Expression property. This property defines the simulation expression to monitor and plot. Type in the expression ‘Review Application.WIP’.

4. Now go to the Axes tab page and select the Left (Y) Value axis. Change the scalerelated properties for that axis to be as listed below (leaving the default for any property not specifically mentioned).

Specify the value ‘5’ for the Scale\MajorIncrement property, so that major tick marks on the y-axis are displayed every 5 units.

• • • • •

2 • Getting Started

5. Now select the horizontal Time (X) axis. Change the scale-related properties for that axis to be as listed below (leaving the default for any property not specifically mentioned).

Specify the value ‘480’ for the Scale\Maximum property. This sets the horizontal time axis of the plot to be 480 hours of simulated time, matching our run length. Specify the value ‘48’ for the Scale\MajorIncrement property, so that major tick marks on the x-axis are displayed every 48 hours (or 2 days).

6. Click OK to close the Plot dialog.

7. The cursor changes to a cross hair. Draw the plot in the model window by clicking to locate each of the two opposite corners (e.g., the top-left and bottom-right corners), placing the plot below the flowchart and to the right of the resource.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

With the edits complete, you may want to save them by clicking Save or pressing Ctrl+S.

What is a model thumbnail?

The Navigate panel on the Project Bar provides a model navigation tree for maneuvering through the different named views and hierarchical levels defined in the model. Included as part of the Navigate panel is a model thumbnail that helps users orient and change the current view within the active drawing window.

The thumbnail displays the world space of the current drawing window. A colored, translucent rectangle represents the current view's boundaries. Dragging the rectangle in the thumbnail moves the drawing window's current view left, right, up, or down; however, the rectangle may not be dragged outside the boundaries of the world space.

You may also re-center the rectangle, and thus the world space, or change the level of zoom. For details on model thumbnail, see the Navigate Panel topic in online help.

Rerun the simulation

Now that we’ve made our animation more interesting and valuable, let’s run the simulation again. Because we didn’t change any of the process parameters (i.e., data in the modules), the simulation will provide the same results.

Click Run (or press the F5 key) to start the simulation. As the simulation progresses, you’ll notice the Mortgage Review Clerk’s picture change from idle (sitting at the desk) to busy (reading a document) and back again, as mortgage application entities move through the Review Application process.

The plot shows some significant peaks in the number of applications that are under review, caused by the combination of the variation in the time between arrivals of applications (defined in the Create module) and the time to process applications (Process module).

Next steps

You’ve succeeded in modeling, simulating, visualizing, and analyzing a simple mortgage application process. To further explore Arena’s capabilities, try solving a few of these extensions to the process.

1. Add a screening process before the application is reviewed.

Applications can be screened in as little as 15 minutes. Most often, it takes about 25 minutes for the screening, though sometimes it can require as much as 45 minutes. Assign a Receptionist (rate of $6.75/hour) to perform the screening. What proportion of the Receptionist’s time will be used in this task?

2. Return some applications to the mortgage applicants after the screening process.

On completion of the screening, 8% of the applications are returned. Also, because many of the deficient applications are caught in the new screening, the percentage of applications that are accepted in the formal review is raised from 88% to 94%, and the Mortgage Review process time is reduced by 10%. By how much did the cost of reviewing an application change? How about the total time to review applications?

To view completed Arena models for the main tutorial and these two extensions, browse to the Examples folder and open Mortgage Applications.doe, Mortgage Extension 1.doe, and Mortgage Extension 2.doe.

• • • • •

2 • GETTING STARTED

2 • Getting Started

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

The Basic Process Panel

Flowchart modules

Number of entities created

This chapter describes the flowchart and data modules that you’ll use to model your process. Additionally, this chapter includes example uses of each module.

Flowchart modules are the set of objects that are placed in the model window to describe the simulation process.

Create module

ESCRIPTION

This module is intended as the starting point for entities in a simulation model. Entities are created using a schedule or based on a time between arrivals. Entities then leave the module to begin processing through the system. The entity type is specified in this module.

YPICAL USES

 The start of a part’s production in a manufacturing line  A document’s arrival (e.g., order, check, application) into a business process  A customer’s arrival at a service process (e.g., retail store, restaurant, information

desk)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

3 • Basic Process

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Entity Type Name of the entity type to be generated.

Type Type of arrival stream to be generated. Types include Random (uses an

exponential distribution, user specifies mean), Schedule (uses an exponential distribution, mean determined from the specified Schedule module), Constant (user specifies constant value; e.g., 100), or Expression (drop-down list of various distributions).

Value Determines the mean of the exponential distribution (if Random is used)

or the constant value (if Constant is used) for the time between arrivals. Applies only when Type is Random or Constant.

Schedule Name Identifies the name of the schedule to be used. The schedule defines the

arrival pattern for entities arriving to the system. Applies only when Type is Schedule.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Expression Any distribution or value specifying the time between arrivals. Applies

only when Type is Expression.

Units Time units used for interarrival and first creation times. Does not apply

when Type is Schedule.

Entities per Arrival Number of entities that will enter the system at a given time with each

arrival.

Max Arrivals Maximum number of entities that this module will generate. When this

value is reached, the creation of new entities by this module ceases.

First Creation Starting time for the first entity to arrive into the system. Does not apply

when Type is Schedule.

Dispose module

ESCRIPTION

This module is intended as the ending point for entities in a simulation model. Entity statistics may be recorded before the entity is disposed.

Number of entities that have been disposed

YPICAL USES

 Parts leaving the modeled facility  The termination of a business process  Customers departing the store

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Record Entity Statistics Determines whether or not the incoming entity’s statistics will be

recorded. Statistics include value-added time, non-value-added time, wait time, transfer time, other time, total time, value-added cost, nonvalue-added cost, wait cost, transfer cost, other cost, and total cost.

Indicator of a submodel process

Number of entities currently in process

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Process module

ESCRIPTION

This module is intended as the main processing method in the simulation. Options for seizing and releasing resource constraints are available. Additionally, there is the option to use a “submodel” and specify hierarchical user-defined logic. The process time is allocated to the entity and may be considered to be value added, non-value added, transfer, wait, or other. The associated cost will be added to the appropriate category.

YPICAL USES

 Machining a part  Reviewing a document for completeness  Fulfilling orders  Serving a customer

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

• • • • •

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Method of specifying logic within the module. Standard processing

signifies that all logic will be stored within the Process module and defined by a particular Action. Submodel indicates that the logic will be hierarchically defined in a “submodel” that can include any number of logic modules.

Action Type of processing that will occur within the module. Delay simply

indicates that a process delay will be incurred with no resource constraints. Seize Delay indicates that a resource(s) will be allocated in this module and delay will occur, but that resource release will occur at a later time. Seize Delay Release indicates that a resource(s) will be allocated followed by a process delay and then the allocated resource(s) will be released. Delay Release indicates that a resource(s) has previously been allocated and that the entity will simply delay and release the specified resource(s). Applies only when Type is Standard.

Priority Priority value of the entity waiting at this module for the resource(s)

specified if one or more entities are waiting for the same resource(s) anywhere in the model. Not visible when Action is Delay or Delay Release or when Type is Submodel.

Resources Lists the resources or resource sets used for entity processing. Does not

apply when Action is Delay, or when Type is Submodel.

3 • Basic Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Delay Type Type of distribution or method of specifying the delay parameters.

Constant and Expression require single values, while Normal, Uniform, and Triangular require several parameters.

Units Time units for delay parameters.

Allocation Determines how the processing time and process costs will be allocated

to the entity. The process may be considered to be Val u e A dd e d , NonValu e A d d e d , Tra nsf er, Wait, or Other and the associated cost will be added to the appropriate category for the entity and process.

Minimum Parameter field for specifying the minimum value for either a uniform or

triangular distribution.

Value Parameter field for specifying the mean for a normal distribution, the

value for a constant time delay, or the mode for a triangular distribution.

Maximum Parameter field for specifying the maximum value for either a uniform

or triangular distribution.

Std Dev Parameter field for specifying the standard deviation for a normal

distribution.

Expression Parameter field for specifying an expression whose value is evaluated

and used for the processing time delay.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will be automatically collected and

stored in the report database for this process.

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Process module — Resource dialog

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Type Specification of a particular resource, or selecting from a pool of

resources (i.e., a resource set).

Resource Name Name of the resource that will be seized and/or released. Applies only

when Type is Resource.

Set Name Name of the resource set from which a member will be seized and/or

released. Applies only when Type is Set

Quantity Number of resources of a given name or from a given set that will be

seized/released. For sets, this value specifies only the number of a selected resource that will be seized/released (based on the resource’s capacity), not the number of members of a set to be seized/released.

Selection Rule Method of selecting among available resources in a set. Cyclical will

cycle through available members (e.g., 1st member–2nd member–3rd member–1st member–2nd member–3rd member). Random will randomly select a member. Preferred Order will always select the first available member (1st member, if available; then 2nd member, if available; then 3rd member, etc.). Specific Member requires an input attribute value to specify which member of the set (previously saved in the Save Attribute field). Largest Remaining Capacity and Smallest Number Busy are used for resources with multiple capacity. Applies only when Type is Set.

Save Attribute Attribute name used to save the index number into the set of the member

that is selected. This attribute can later be referenced with the Specific Member selection rule. Does not apply when Selection Rule is Specific Member. If Action is specified as Delay Release, the value specified defines which member (the index number) of the set to be released. If no attribute is specified, the entity will release the member of the set that was last seized.

Set Index The index number into the set of the member requested. Applies only

when Selection Rule is Specific Member. If Action is specified as Delay Release, the value specified defines which member (the index number) of the set is to be released.

• • • • •

3 • Basic Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Number of entities that have taken the True branch

Number of entities that have taken the False branch

Decide module

ESCRIPTION

This module allows for decision-making processes in the system. It includes options to make decisions based on one or more conditions (e.g., if entity type is Gold Card) or based on one or more probabilities (e.g., 75%, true; 25%, false). Conditions can be based on attribute values (e.g., Priority), variable values (e.g., Number Denied), the entity type, or an expression (e.g., NQ(ProcessA.Queue)).

There are two exit points out of the Decide module when its specified type is either 2-way by Chance or 2-way by Condition. There is one exit point for “true” entities and one for “false” entities. When the N-way by Chance or by Condition type is specified, multiple exit points are shown for each condition or probability and a single “else” exit. The number of entities that exit from each type (true/false) is displayed for 2-way by Chance or by Condition modules only.

YPICAL USES

 Dispatching a faulty part for rework  Branching accepted vs. rejected checks  Sending priority customers to a dedicated process

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Indicates whether the decision is based on a condition (if X>Y) or by

chance/percentage (e.g., 60%, yes; 40%, no). The type can be specified as either 2-way or N-way. 2-way allows for one condition or probability (plus the “false” exit). N-way allows for any number of conditions or probabilities to be specified as well as an “else” exit.

Conditions Defines one or more conditions used to direct entities to different

modules. Applies only when Type is N-way by Condition.

Percentages Defines one or more percentages used to direct entities to different

modules. Applies only when Type is N-way by Chance.

Percent True Value that will be checked to determine the percentage of entities sent

out a given True exit.

If Types of conditions that are available for evaluation: Variable, Variable

Array (1D), Variable Array (2D), Attribute, Entity Type, Expression.

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Named Specifies either the name of the variable, attribute, orentity type that will

be evaluated when an entity enters the module. Does not apply when Type is Expression.

Is Evaluator for the condition. Applies only to Attribute and Variable

conditions.

Row Specifies the row index for a variable array. Applies only when Type is

N-way by Condition or 2-way by Condition and Variable is Array 1-D or Array 2-D.

Column Specifies the column index for a variable array. Applies only when Type

is N-way by Condition or 2-way by Condition and Variable is Array 1-D or Array 2-D.

Value Expression that will be either compared to an attribute or variable or that

will be evaluated as a single expression to determine if it is true or false. Does not apply to Entity Type condition. If Type is Expression, this value must also include the evaluator (e.g., Color<>Red).

• • • • •

3 • Basic Process

Number of entities waiting to be batched

Batch module

ESCRIPTION

This module is intended as the grouping mechanism within the simulation model. Batches can be permanently or temporarily grouped. Temporary batches must later be split using the Separate module.

Batches may be made with any specified number of entering entities or may be matched together based on an attribute. Entities arriving at the Batch module are placed in a queue until the required number of entities has accumulated. Once accumulated, a new representative entity is created.

YPICAL USES

 Collect a number of parts before starting processing  Reassemble previously separated copies of a form  Bring together a patient and his record before commencing an appointment

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Method of batching entities together.

Batch Size Number of entities to be batched.

Save Criterion Method for assigning representative entity’s user-defined attribute

values.

Rule Determines how incoming entities will be batched. Any Entity will take

the first “Batch Size” number of entities and put them together. By Attribute signifies that the values of the specified attribute must match for entities to be grouped. For example, if Attribute Name is Color, all entities must have the same Color value to be grouped; otherwise, they will wait at the module for additional incoming entities.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute whose value must match the value of the other

incoming entities in order for a group to be made. Applies only when Rule is By Attribute.

Representative Entity The entity type for the representative entity.

The original leaves on this branch

Duplicates leave on this branch

Separate module

ESCRIPTION

This module can be used to either copy an incoming entity into multiple entities or to split a previously batched entity. Rules for allocating costs and times to the duplicate are also specified. Rules for attribute assignment to member entities are specified as well.

When splitting existing batches, the temporary representative entity that was formed is disposed and the original entities that formed the group are recovered. The entities proceed sequentially from the module in the same order in which they originally were added to the batch.

When duplicating entities, the specified number of copies is made and sent from the module. The original incoming entity also leaves the module.

YPICAL USES

 Send individual entities to represent boxes removed from a container  Send an order both to fulfillment and billing for parallel processing  Separate a previously batched set of documents

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Method of separating the incoming entity. Duplicate Original will

simply take the original entity and make some number of identical duplicates. Split Existing Batch requires that the incoming entity be a temporarily batched entity using the Batch module. The original entities from the batch will be split.

Percent Cost to Duplicates

Allocation of costs and times of the incoming entity to the outgoing duplicates. This value is specified as a percentage of the original entity’s costs and times (between 0-100). The percentage specified will be split evenly between the duplicates, while the original entity will retain any remaining cost/time percentage. Visible only when Type is Duplicate Original.

# of Duplicates Number of outgoing entities that will leave the module, in addition to the

original incoming entity. Applies only when Type is Duplicate Original.

Member Attributes Method of determining how to assign the representative entity attribute

values to the original entities.These options relate to six of the specialpurpose attributes (Entity.Type, Entity.Picture, Entity.Sequence, Entity.Station, Entity.Jobstep, and Entity.HoldCostRate) and all userdefined attributes. Applies only when Type is Split Existing Batch.

Attribute Name Name of representative entity attribute(s) that are assigned to original

entities of the group. Applies only when Member Attributes is Take Specific Representative Values.

• • • • •

3 • Basic Process

Assign module

ESCRIPTION

This module is used for assigning new values to variables, entity attributes, entity types, entity pictures, or other system variables. Multiple assignments can be made with a single Assign module.

YPICAL USES

 Accumulate the number of subassemblies added to a part  Change an entity’s type to represent the customer copy of a multi-page form  Establish a customer’s priority

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Assignments Specifies the one or more assignments that will be made when an entity

executes the module.

Type Type of assignment to be made. Other can include system variables,

such as resource capacity or simulation end time.

Variable Name Name of the variable that will be assigned a new value when an entity

enters the module. Applies only when Type is Variable, Variable Array (1D), or Variable Array (2D).

Row Specifies the row index for a variable array.

Column Specifies the column index for a variable array.

Attribute Name Name of the entity attribute that will be assigned a new value when the

entity enters the module. Applies only when Type is Attribute.

Entity Type New entity type that will be assigned to the entity when the entity enters

the module. Applies only when Type is Entity Type.

Entity Picture New entity picture that will be assigned to the entity when the entity

enters the module. Applies only when Type is Entity Picture.

Other Identifies the special system variable that will be assigned a new value

when an entity enters the module. Applies only when Type is Other.

New Value Assignment value of the attribute, variable, or other system variable.

Does not apply when Type is Entity Type or Entity Picture.

Record module

ESCRIPTION

This module is used to collect statistics in the simulation model. Various types of observational statistics are available, including time between exits through the module, entity statistics (time, costing, etc.), general observations, and interval statistics (from some time stamp to the current simulation time). A count type of statistic is available as well. Tally and Counter sets can also be specified.

YPICAL USES

 Collect the number of jobs completed each hour  Count how many orders have been late being fulfilled  Record the time spent by priority customers in the main check-out line

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Type of observational (tally) or count statistic to be generated. Count

will increase or decrease the value of the named statistic by the specified value. Entity Statistics will generate general entity statistics, such as time and costing/duration information. Time Interval will calculate and record the difference between a specified attribute’s value and current simulation time. Time Between will track and record the time between entities entering the module. Expression will record the value of the specified expression.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute whose value will be used for the interval statistics.

Applies only when Type is Interval.

Value Value that will be recorded to the observational statistic when Type is

Expression or added to the counter when Type is Count.

Tally Name This field defines the symbol name of the tally into which the

observation is to be recorded. Applies only when Type is Time Interval, Time Between, or Expression.

Counter This field defines the symbol name of the counter to Name

increment/decrement. Applies only when Type is Counter.

Record into Set Check box to specify whether or not a tally or counter set will be used.

Tally Set Name Name of the tally set that will be used to record the observational-type

statistic. Applies only when Type is Time Interval, Time Between, or Expression.

Counter Set Name Name of the counter set that will be used to record the count-type

statistic. Applies only when Type is Count.

Set Index Index into the tally or counter set.

• • • • •

3 • Basic Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Data modules

Data modules are the set of objects in the spreadsheet view of the model that define the characteristics of various process elements, such as resources and queues.

Entity module

ESCRIPTION

This data module defines the various entity types and their initial picture values in a simulation. Initial costing information and holding costs are also defined for the entity.

YPICAL USES

 Items being produced or assembled (parts, pallets)  Documents (forms, e-mails, faxes, reports)  People moving through a process (customers, callers)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Entity Type The name of the entity type being defined. This name must be unique.

Initial Picture Graphical representation of the entity at the start of the simulation. This

value can be changed during the simulation using the Assign module.

Holding Cost/Hour Hourly cost of processing the entity through the system. This cost is

incurred when the entity is anywhere in the system.

Initial VA Cost Initial cost value that will be assigned to the value-added cost attribute

of the entity. This attribute accrues the costs incurred when an entity is spending time in a value-added activity.

Initial NVA Cost Initial cost value that will be assigned to the non-value-added cost

attribute of the entity. This attribute accrues the costs incurred when an entity is spending time in a non-value-added activity.

Initial Waiting Cost Initial cost value that will be assigned to the waiting-cost attribute of the

entity. This attribute accrues the costs incurred when an entity is spending time in a wait activity; e.g., waiting to be batched or waiting for resource(s) at a Process module.

Initial Transfer Cost Initial cost value that will be assigned to the transfer cost attribute of the

entity. This attribute accrues the costs incurred when an entity is spending time in a transfer activity.

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Initial Other Cost Initial cost value that will be assigned to the other cost attribute of the

entity. This attribute accrues the costs incurred when an entity is spending time in another activity.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will be collected automatically and

stored in the report database for this entity type.

Queue module

ESCRIPTION

This data module may be utilized to change the ranking rule for a specified queue. The default ranking rule for all queues is First In, First Out unless otherwise specified in this module. There is an additional field that allows the queue to be defined as shared.

YPICAL USES

 Stack of work waiting for a resource at a Process module  Holding area for documents waiting to be collated at a Batch module

• • • • •

3 • Basic Process

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the queue whose characteristics are being defined. This

name must be unique.

Type Ranking rule for the queue, which can be based on an attribute. Types

include First In, First Out; Last In, First Out; Lowest Attribute Va lu e (first); and Highest Attribute Value (first). A low attribute value would be 0 or 1, while a high value may be 200 or 300.

Attribute Name Attribute that will be evaluated for the Lowest Attribute Value or High-

est Attribute Value types. Entities with lowest or highest values of the attribute will be ranked first in the queue, with ties being broken using the First In, First Out rule.

Shared Check box that determines whether a specific queue is used in multiple

places within the simulation model. Shared queues can only be used for seizing resources (e.g., with the Seize module from the Advanced Process panel).

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will be collected automatically and

stored in the report database for this queue.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Resource module

ESCRIPTION

This data module defines the resources in the simulation system, including costing information and resource availability. Resources may have a fixed capacity that does not vary over the simulation run or may operate based on a schedule. Resource failures and states can also be specified in this module.

YPICAL USES

 Equipment (machinery, cash register, phone line)  People (clerical, order processing, sales clerks, operators)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the resource whose characteristics are being defined. This

name must be unique.

Type Method for determining the capacity for a resource. Fixed Capacity will

not change during the simulation run. Based on Schedule signifies that a Schedule module is used to specify the capacity and duration information for the resource.

Capacity Number of resource units of a given name that are available to the

system for processing. Applies only when Type is Fixed Capacity.

Schedule Name Identifies the name of the schedule to be used by the resource. The

schedule defines the capacity of a resource for a given period of time. Applies only when type is Schedule.

Schedule Rule Dictates when the actual capacity change is to occur when a decrease in

capacity is required for a busy resource unit. Applies only when Type is Schedule.

Busy/Hour Cost per hour of a resource that is processing an entity. The resource

becomes busy when it is originally allocated to an entity and becomes idle when it is released. During the time when it is busy, cost will accumulate based on the busy/hour cost. The busy cost per hour is automatically converted to the appropriate base time unit specified within the Replication Parameters page of the Run > Setup menu item.

Idle/Hour Cost per hour of a resource that is idle. The resource is idle while it is not

processing an entity. During the time when it is idle, cost will accumulate based on the idle/hour cost. The idle cost per hour is automatically converted to the appropriate base time unit specified within the Replication Parameters page of the Run > Setup menu item.

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Per Use Cost of a resource on a usage basis, regardless of the time for which it is

used. Each time the resource is allocated to an entity, it will incur a peruse cost.

StateSet Name Name of states that the resource may be assigned during the simulation

run.

Initial State Initial state of a resource. If specified, the name must be defined within

the repeat group of state names. This field is shown only when a StateSet Name is defined.

Failures Lists all failures that will be associated with the resource.

 Failure Name–Name of the failure associated with the resource.

 Failure Rule–Behavior that should occur when a failure is to occur for

a busy resource unit.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will be collected automatically and

stored in the report database for this resource.

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3 • Basic Process

Variable module

ESCRIPTION

This data module is used to define a variable’s dimension and initial value(s). Variables can be referenced in other modules (e.g., the Decide module), can be reassigned a new value with the Assign module, and can be used in any expression.

There are three methods for manually editing the Initial Values of a Variable module:

 Via the standard spreadsheet interface. In the module spreadsheet, right-click on

the Initial Values cell and select the Edit via spreadsheet menu item. The values for two-dimensional arrays should be entered one column at a time. Array elements not explicitly assigned are assumed to have the last entered value.

 Via the module dialog box. In the module spreadsheet, right-click on any cell and

select the Edit via dialog menu item. The values for two-dimensional arrays should be entered one column at a time. Array elements not explicitly assigned are assumed to have the last entered value.

 Via the two-dimensional (2-D) spreadsheet interface. In the module spreadsheet,

click on the Initial Values cell.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

YPICAL USES

 Number of documents processed per hour  Serial number to assign to parts for unique identification  Space available in a facility

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The unique name of the variable being defined.

Rows Number of rows in a dimensional variable.

Columns Number of columns in a dimensional variable.

Data Type The data type of the values stored in the variable. Valid types are Real

and String. The default type is Real.

Statistics Check box for determining whether or not statistics will be collected.

This field is visible when the rows and columns are not specified (single variables).

Clear Option Defines the time (if at all) when the value(s) of the variable is reset to the

initial value(s) specified. Specifying Stat is tics indicates to reset this variable to its initial value(s) whenever statistics are cleared. Specifying System indicates to reset this variable to its initial value(s) whenever the system is cleared. None indicates to never reset this variable to its initial value(s), except prior to the first replication.

Initial Values Lists the initial value(s) of the variable. This value(s) may be changed

with the Assign module.

Initial Value Variable value at the start of the simulation.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will be collected automatically and

stored in the report database for this variable.

Schedule module

ESCRIPTION

This data module may be used in conjunction with the Resource module to define an operating schedule for a resource or with the Create module to define an arrival schedule. Additionally, a schedule may be used and referenced to factor time delays based on the simulation time. Duration-formatted schedules are defined within this module. Calendarformatted schedules are defined by selecting Edit > Calendar Schedules > Time

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Patterns. (For more details, refer to the section entitled “Calendar schedule information” on page 47.)

YPICAL USES

 Work schedule for staff, including breaks  Breakdown patterns for equipment  Volume of customers arriving at a store  Learning-curve factors for new workers

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the schedule being defined. This name must be unique.

Format Type Format of schedule being defined. If format is duration, the schedule is

defined with a collection of value duration pairs. If format is calendar, the schedule is defined using the Time Pattern editor.

Type Type of schedule being defined. This may be Capacity related (for

resource schedules), Arrival related (for the Create module), or Other (miscellaneous time delays or factors).

Time Units Time units used for the time-duration information.

Scale Factor Method of scaling the schedule for increases or decreases in

Arrival/Other values. The specified Value fields will be multiplied by the scale factor to determine the new values. Not available for Capacitytype schedules.

Durations Lists the value and duration pairs for the schedule. Values can be

capacity, arrival, or other type values, while the duration is specified in time units. Schedule pairs will repeat after all durations have been completed, unless the last duration is left blank (infinite). Schedule data can be entered graphically using the graphical schedule editor or manually using the Value/Duration fields.

Value Represents either the capacity of a resource (if Type is Capacity), arrival

rate (if Type is Arrival), or some other value (if Type is Other). Examples of Other may be a factor that is used in a delay expression to scale a delay time during various parts of the day.

Duration Time duration for which a specified Value will be valid.

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3 • Basic Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Set module

ESCRIPTION

This data module defines various types of sets, including resource, counter, tally, entity type, and entity picture. Resource sets can be used in the Process modules (and Seize, Release, Enter, and Leave of the Advanced Process and Advanced Transfer panels). Counter and Tally sets can be used in the Record module. Queue sets can be used with the Seize, Hold, Access, Request, Leave, and Allocate modules of the Advanced Process and Advanced Transfer panels.

YPICAL USES

 Machines that can perform the same operations in a manufacturing facility  Supervisors, check-out clerks in a store  Shipping clerks, receptionists in an office  Set of pictures corresponding to a set of entity types

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The unique name of the set being defined.

Type Type of set being defined.

Members Repeat group that specifies the resource members with the set. The order

of listing the members within the repeat group is important when using selection rules such as Preferred Order and Cyclical.

Resource Name Name of the resource to include in the resource set. Applies only when

Type is Resource.

Tally Name Name of the tally within the tally set. Applies only when Type is Tally.

Counter Name Name of the counter within the counter set. Applies only when Type is

Counter.

Entity Type Name of the entity type within the entity type set. Applies only when

Type is Entity.

Picture Name Name of the picture within the picture set. Applies only when Type is

Entity Picture.

Calendar schedule information

Time Pattern

ESCRIPTION

A Time Pattern defines a series of values that change over time. For example, a worker might be on duty during a standard work shift from Monday through Friday. The availability of the worker could be represented as a value of 1 when he’s on duty, 0 when he’s off duty. The time pattern that defines this availability schedule would list the changes from on duty to off duty over the week.

Time patterns are saved in an Arena model in the Schedule module with a Type set to Calendar. Their data are edited via the Time Pattern window, which is opened from the Edit > Calendar Schedules > Time Patterns menu option.

YPICAL USES

 Weekly work schedules (e.g., 1-shift, 5-day weeks; 2-shift, 4-day weeks)  Daily work patterns (e.g., 8-hour day with 30-minute lunch break)  Arrival patterns (e.g., weekly customer arrivals, daily part orders)

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3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

3 • Basic Process

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Category The unique name of the category to which the time pattern belongs. A

category named Uncategorized is provided by default.

Name The unique name of this time pattern.

Time Pattern Type The type of data to be defined in this time pattern. Types include Arrival,

Capacity, Efficiency, and Other.

Default Value Type The data type defining the default value for this time pattern. Types

include Numeric, State, and Time Pattern.

Default Value The value to be used for all time periods where no other value has been

defined in this time pattern. The Default Value Type dictates the information supplied in this field:

 Numeric—a non-negative, real number (e.g., 1)

 State—the name of a State, defined via the States editor dialog box

(e.g., On Shift)

 Time Pattern—another time pattern of matching Time Pattern Type

(e.g., Standard Work Day)

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Duration The length of this time pattern, which establishes the period in which the

time pattern will repeat. For example, a time pattern of Duration equal to 1 day will repeat every 24 hours. This field is read-only, displaying the settings chosen in the Duration Edit dialog box for this time pattern.

Base Date The beginning calendar date of this time pattern. Applies only when the

time pattern type is Custom.

Scale Factor A multiplier to be applied to all values in the time pattern and specified

as a non-negative, real value.

Lock Times Indicates whether the times defined in this time pattern are absolute

clock times (when Lock Times is True), or are relative times from the beginning of the time pattern (when Lock Times is False). Time patterns with relative times are typically used as building blocks for other time patterns. For example, a shift time pattern (with Lock Times as False) might be created that establishes the timing of breaks relative to the start of the shift. A weekly pattern (with Lock Times as True) then could use that shift pattern repeatedly to establish the working schedule for first shift starting at 7:00, second shift starting at 15:00, etc.

Time Spans List Values to apply for this time pattern and the time periods during which

the values should apply. If any time spans overlap, those defined further down in the list supercede values defined above.

Value Type The data type defining the value for this time span. Types include

Numeric, State, and Time Pattern.

Value The value to be used during this time span. Valid entries are as described

for the Default Value.

Start Starting time for the time span, defined as a day, hour, minute, second,

and millisecond. Day values are specified as a day number (for custom durations) or a day-of-week (for 1-week durations). All times are specified in 24-hour format (e.g., 3:00

PM is 15 hours, 0 minutes).

End Ending time for the time span, specified as described for the Start time.

3 • THE BASIC PROCESS PANEL

Calendar Exceptions

ESCRIPTION

An Exception defines a value that is to be applied for a resource over some fixed period of time. The exception value overrides the base value defined for the resource. For example, if a machine’s capacity was scheduled to be available (value of 1) during second shift according to its base time pattern, you could add an exception to change it to unavailable for second shift on a particular day (e.g., December 30, 2005).

Exception data are edited via the Exception and Composite windows, which are opened from the Edit > Calendar Schedules > Exceptions and Display Composite menu options.

YPICAL USES

 Overtime  Holidays  Regularly scheduled meetings

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

• • • • •

3 • Basic Process

Description Optional description of the exception.

Value Type The data type defining the value for this exception. Types include

Numeric, State, and Time Pattern.

Value The value to be used during this exception period. The Value Type

dictates the information supplied in this field:

 Numeric—a non-negative, real number (e.g., 1)

 State—the name of a State, defined via the States editor dialog box

(e.g., On Shift)

 Time Pattern—a time pattern (e.g., Standard Work Day)

Start Date The calendar date on which this exception should start.

Start Time The time on the Start Date at which this exception should start.

End Date The calendar date on which this exception should stop being applied to

the resource. If the Value Type is Time Pattern, the values in the time pattern will repeat until this End Date.

End Time The time on the End Date at which this exception should start being

applied.

Exception Type The type of data to be defined in this time pattern. Types include

Capacity and Efficiency.

Application The list of resources to which this exception should apply.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Calendar States

ESCRIPTION

A Calendar State defines a name that can be used in place of a numeric value when defining time patterns and exceptions. This can be useful if a particular value (e.g., the number of workers in a pool of labor) needs to be entered in multiple places, but may need to be modified. By entering the state name in the time patterns/exceptions, you can modify the value associated with the state, which will apply the new value in all of those places.

States are defined by opening the States editor dialog box from within the time pattern and exceptions editors.

YPICAL USES

 Labor pool sizes  Standard efficiency values  Base arrival rates

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The unique name of the calendar state.

Value The non-negative, real value to be associated with this state.

Color The color associated with displaying this state.*

Hatch The hatch pattern associated with displaying this state.*

*Arena does not use the Color and Hatch values; they are utilized by other RSBizWare products.

The Advanced Process Panel

This chapter presents the modules included on the Advanced Process panel, where you’ll find additional functionality for modeling your process. Example uses of each module are included in this section.

Flowchart modules

Flowchart modules are the set of objects that are placed in the model window to describe the simulation process.

Delay module

ESCRIPTION

The Delay module delays an entity by a specified amount of time.

When an entity arrives at a Delay module, the time delay expression is evaluated and the entity remains in the module for the resulting time period. The time is then allocated to the entity’s value-added, non-value added, transfer, wait, or other time. Associated costs are calculated and allocated as well.

YPICAL USES

 Processing a check at a bank  Performing a setup on a machine  Transferring a document to another department

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Allocation Type of category to which the entity’s incurred delay time and cost will

be added.

Delay Time Determines the value of the delay for the entity.

Units Time units used for the delay time.

4 • Advanced Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Dropoff module

ESCRIPTION

The Dropoff module removes a specified number of entities from the entity’s group and sends them to another module, as specified by a graphical connection. Group user-defined attribute value and internal attributes may be given to the dropped-off entities based on a specified rule.

YPICAL USES

 Loading shelves with product  Separating a form for use in various departments

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Quantity Number of entities that will be dropped off from an incoming

representative grouped entity.

Starting Rank Starting rank of the entities to be dropped off, based on the entities in the

group.

Member Attributes Method of determining how to assign the representative entity attribute

values (other than costs/times) to the dropped-off original entities.

Attribute Name Name of representative entity attribute(s) assigned to dropped-off

original entities of the group.

Hold module

ESCRIPTION

This module will hold an entity in a queue to wait for a signal, wait for a specified condition to become true (scan), or be held infinitely (to be removed later with the Remove module).

If the entity is holding for a signal, the Signal module is used elsewhere in the model to allow the entity to move on to the next module. If the entity is holding for a given condition to be true, the entity will remain at the module (either in a defined or internal queue) until the condition(s) becomes true. When the entity is in an infinite hold, the Remove module is used elsewhere in the model to allow the entity to continue processing.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

YPICAL USES

 Waiting for a traffic light to turn green  Holding a part for authorization  Checking the status of a machine or operator to continue a process

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Indicates the reasoning for holding the entity within a specified or

internal queue. Wait for Signal will hold the entity until a signal of the same value is received. Scan for Condition will hold the entity until the specified condition becomes true. Infinite Hold will hold the entity until it is removed from the queue by a Remove module.

Wait for Value Signal code for the waiting entity. Applies only when Type is Wait for

Signal.

Limit Maximum number of waiting entities that will be released upon receipt

of a signal. Applies only when Type is Wait for Signal.

Condition Specifies the condition that will be evaluated to hold the entity at the

module. If the condition is evaluated to true, the entity leaves the module immediately. If the condition is false, the entity will wait in the associated queue until the condition becomes true. Applies only when Type is Scan for Condition.

Queue Type Determines the type of queue used to hold the entities. If Queue is

selected, the queue name is specified. If Set is selected, the queue set and member in the set are specified. If Internal is selected, an internal queue is used to hold all waiting entities. Attribute and Expression are additional methods for defining the queue to be used.

Queue Name This field is visible only if Queue Type is Queue, and it defines the

symbol name of the queue.

Set Name This field is visible only if Queue Type is Set, and it defines the queue

set that contains the queue being referenced.

Set Index This field is visible only if Queue Type is Set, and it defines the index

into the queue set. Note that this is the index into the set and not the name of the queue in the set. For example, the only valid entry for a queue set containing three members is an expression that evaluates to 1, 2, or 3.

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4 • Advanced Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Attribute This field is visible only if Queue Type is Attribute. The attribute

entered in this field will be evaluated to indicate which queue is to be used.

Expression This field is visible only if Queue Type is Expression. The expression

entered in this field will be evaluated to indicate which queue is to be used.

Match module

ESCRIPTION

The Match module brings together a specified number of entities waiting in different queues. The match may be accomplished when there is at least one entity in each of the desired queues. Additionally, an attribute may be specified such that the entities waiting in the queues must have the same attribute values before the match is initiated.

When an entity arrives at the Match module, it is placed in one of up to five associated queues, based on the entry point to which it is connected. Entities will remain in their respective queues until a match exists.

Once a match exists, one entity from each queue is released to be matched. The matched entities are then synchronized to depart from the module.

YPICAL USES

 Assembling a part  Gathering various products for a customer order  Synchronizing a customer exit with a filled order

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Number to Match Number of matching entities that must reside in different queues before

a match may be completed.

Type Method for matching the incoming entities. If Type is Any Entities, one

entity must reside in each queue for a match to be made. If Type is Based on Attribute, one entity must reside in each queue with the same attribute value.

Attribute Name Attribute name that is used for identifying an arriving entity’s match

value. Applies only when Type is Based on Attribute.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

Pickup module

ESCRIPTION

The Pickup module removes a number of consecutive entities from a given queue starting at a specified rank in the queue. The entities that are picked up are added to the end of the incoming entity’s group.

YPICAL USES

 Gathering an order from various queue locations  Gathering completed forms for an office order  Picking up students at a bus stop for school

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Quantity Number of entities to pick up.

Queue Name Name of the queue from which the entities will be picked up, starting at

the specified rank.

Starting Rank Starting rank of the entities to pick up from the queue, Queue Name.

• • • • •

ReadWrite module

ESCRIPTION

The ReadWrite module is used to read data from an input file or the keyboard and assign the data values to a list of variables or attributes (or other expression). This module is also used to write data to an output device, such as the screen or a file.

When reading from or writing to a file, the ReadWrite logic varies according to the Type of Arena File Name (the Access Type of a file is specified in the File module).

Sequential File or LOTUS Spreadsheet Access Types.

the ReadWrite module, the specified file is examined to see if it is open (active). If not, the file is automatically opened. The values of the attributes, variables, or expressions (other) listed are read or written according to the format specified.

If you plan to import Lotus (.wks) files into Excel, see Lotus 1-2-3 Release 1.x (WKS) Format for guidelines.

When an entity arrives at

4 • Advanced Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and ActiveX Data Objects Access Types.

When an entity arrives at the ReadWrite module, the specified file is examined to see if an ADO connection to the file is open (active). If the file is currently closed, then an ADO connection is automatically opened to the data source using either the Microsoft Jet OLE DB Provider (if the Access Type is Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access) or the specified connection string (if the Access Type is ActiveX Data Objects).

The Recordset ID is then examined to see if that recordset in the file is open. A recordset refers to a table of data in the data store that is organized in columns (i.e., fields) and rows (i.e., records).

If the recordset is currently closed, then it is automatically opened using the recordset definition specified in the File module (e.g., the specified named range or table name). The recordset then remains open until the file is closed.

The values of the attributes, variables, or expressions (other) listed in the Assignments repeat group are then read from or written to the specified Record Number (i.e., row) in the recordset. The first entry in Assignments is read from or written to the first field in the record, the second entry corresponds to the second field, and so on.

Extensible Markup Language Access Type.

When an entity arrives at the ReadWrite module, the specified file is examined to see if it is open (active). If not, the file is automatically opened into a single ADO recordset.

The values of the attributes, variables, or expressions (other) listed are then read from or written to the specified Record Number (i.e., row) in the recordset.

YPICAL USES

 Reading in airline arrival/departure information  Prompting an end user for model configuration data (menu)  Writing order information to a data file, such as order arrival, order fill time, order

completion time

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Method of reading or writing used. Data may be read from a file or from

the keyboard. Data may be written to a file or to the screen.

Arena File Name Name used to identify the file within the File module. Applies only

when reading from or writing to a file.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Overriding File Format Format for writing or reading the data. This format will override any

format specified in the structure field of the File module. A FORTRAN or C format (enclosed in double quotes) may be used to describe the type and location of each field.

Recordset ID Access Typ e

Record Number Access Typ e

Variable Type Type of information that will be read or written.

Attribute Name Defines the symbol name of the attribute to be written or read.

Variable Name Defines the symbol name of the variable to be read or written.

Row Specifies the row index for a variable array.

Column Specifies the column index for a variable array.

Other Defines the expression for reading or writing other types of information.

Identifies the recordset in Arena File Name that will be accessed. Applies only when the file (specified in the File module) is Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or ActiveX Data Objects.

Record number (i.e., row) in Recordset ID to read from or write to. Applies only when the file (specified in the File module) is Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, ActiveX Data Objects, or Extensible Markup Language.

• • • • •

Release module

ESCRIPTION

The Release module is used to release units of a resource that an entity previously has seized. This module may be used to release individual resources or may be used to release resources within a set. For each resource to be released, the name and quantity to release are specified.

When the entity enters the Release module, it gives up control of the specified resource(s). Any entities waiting in queues for those resources will gain control of the resources immediately.

YPICAL USES

 Finishing a customer order (release the operator)  Completing a tax return (release the accountant)  Leaving the hospital (release the doctor, nurse, hospital room)

4 • Advanced Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Type of resource for releasing, either specifying a particular resource, or

selecting from a pool of resources (i.e., a resource set). The resource name may also be specified by an expression or attribute value.

Resource Name Name of the resource that will be released.

Set Name Name of the resource set from which a member will be released.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute that specifies the resource name to be released.

Expression Name of the expression that specifies the name of the resource to be

released.

Quantity Number of resources of a given name or from a given set that will be

released. For sets, this value specifies only the number of a selected resource that will be released (based on the resource’s capacity), not the number of members to be released within the set.

Release Rule Method of determining which resource within a set to release. Last

Member Seized and First Member Seized will release the last/first member from within the set that was seized. Specific member indicates that a member number or attribute (with a member number value) will be used to specify the member to release.

Set Index Member index of the resource set that the entity will release.

Remove module

ESCRIPTION

The Remove module removes a single entity from a specified position in a queue and sends it to a designated module.

When an entity arrives at a Remove module, it removes the entity from the specified queue and sends it to the connected module. The rank of the entity signifies the location of the entity within the queue. The entity that caused the removal proceeds to the next module specified and is processed before the removed entity.

YPICAL USES

 Removing an order from a queue that is due to be completed next  Calling a patient from a waiting room for an examination  Retrieving the next order to be processed from a pile of documents

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Queue Name Name of the queue from which the entity will be removed.

Rank of Entity Rank of the entity to remove from within the queue.

Seize module

ESCRIPTION

The Seize module allocates units of one or more resources to an entity. The Seize module may be used to seize units of a particular resource, a member of a resource set, or a resource as defined by an alternative method, such as an attribute or expression.

When an entity enters this module, it waits in a queue (if specified) until all specified resources are available simultaneously. Allocation type for resource usage is also specified.

YPICAL USES

 Beginning a customer order (seize the operator)  Starting a tax return (seize the accountant)  Being admitted to hospital (seize the hospital room, nurse, doctor)

• • • • •

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Allocation Determines to which category the resource usage cost will be allocated

for an entity going through the Seize module.

Priority Priority value of the entity waiting at this module for the resource(s)

specified if one or more entities from other modules are waiting for the same resource(s).

Type Type of resource for seizing, either specifying a particular resource, or

selecting from a pool of resources (i.e., a resource set). The name of the resource may also be specified as an attribute value or within an expression.

Resource Name Name of the resource that will be seized.

Set Name Name of the resource set from which a member will be seized.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute that stores the resource name to be seized.

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Prompt Description

Expression Expression that evaluates to a resource name to be seized.

Quantity Number of resources of a given name or from a given set that will be

seized. For sets, this value specifies only the number of a selected resource that will be seized (based on the resource’s capacity), not the number of members to be seized within the set.

Selection Rule Method of selecting among available resources in a set. Cyclical will

cycle through available members (e.g., 1-2-3-1-2-3). Random will randomly select a member. Preferred Order will always select the first available member (e.g., 1, if available; then 2, if available; then 3). Specific Member requires an input attribute value to specify which member of the set (previously saved in the Save Attribute field). Largest Remaining Capacity and Smallest Number Busy are used for resources with multiple capacity.

Save Attribute Attribute name used to store the index number into the set of the

member that is chosen. This attribute can later be referenced with the Specific Member selection rule.

Set Index Index value into the set that identifies the number into the set of the

member requested. If an attribute name is used, the entity must have a value for the attribute before utilizing this option.

Resource State State of the resource that will be assigned after the resource is seized.

The resource state must be defined with the Resource module.

Queue Type Determines the type of queue used to hold the entities while waiting to

seize the resource(s). If Queue is selected, the queue name is specified. If Set is selected, the queue set and member in the set are specified. If Internal is selected, an internal queue is used to hold all waiting entities. Attribute and Expression are additional methods for defining the queue to be used.

Queue Name This field is visible only if Queue Type is Queue, and it defines the

symbol name of the queue.

Set Name This field is visible only if Queue Type is Set, and it defines the queue

set that contains the queue being referenced.

Set Index This field is visible only if Queue Type is Set, and it defines the index

into the queue set. Note that this is the index into the set and not the name of the queue in the set. For example, the only valid entries for a queue set containing three members is an expression that evaluates to 1, 2, or 3.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Attribute This field is visible only if Queue Type is Attribute. The attribute

entered in this field will be evaluated to indicate which queue is to be used.

Expression This field is visible only if Queue Type is Expression. The expression

entered in this field will be evaluated to indicate which queue is to be used.

Search module

ESCRIPTION

The Search module searches a queue, a group (batch), or an expression to find the entity rank (for entities in a queue or group) or the value of the global variable J that satisfies the specified search condition. When searching a queue or group, the value of the global system variable J is set to the rank of the first entity that satisfies Search Condition, or to 0 if Search Condition is not satisfied. When searching an expression, the global system variable J is set to the value of the first index value that satisfies the search condition or to zero if no value of J in the specified range satisfies the search condition.

• • • • •

When an entity arrives at a Search module, the index J is set to the starting index and the search condition is then checked. If the search condition is satisfied, the search ends and the current value of J is retained. Otherwise, the value of J is increased or decreased and the condition is rechecked. This process repeats until the search condition is satisfied or the ending value is reached. If the condition is not met or there are no entities in the queue or group, J is set equal to 0.

YPICAL USES

 Looking for a particular order number in a queue  Searching a group for a certain part type  Determining which process to enter based on availability of resources (search an

expression)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Determination of what will be searched. Search options include entities

in a queue, entities within a group (batch) or some expression(s).

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Prompt Description

Queue Name Name of the queue that will be searched. Applies only when the Type is

Search a Queue.

Starting Value Starting rank in the queue or group or starting value for J in an

expression.

Ending Value Ending rank in the queue or group or ending value for J in an expression.

Search Condition Condition containing the index J for searching expressions or containing

an attribute name(s) for searching queues or batches.

Signal module

ESCRIPTION

The Signal module sends a signal value to each Hold module in the model set to Wait for Signal and releases the maximum specified number of entities.

When an entity arrives at a Signal module, the signal is evaluated and the signal code is sent. At this time, entities at Hold modules that are waiting for the same signal are removed from their queues. The entity sending the signal continues processing until it encounters a delay, enters a queue, or is disposed.

YPICAL USES

 Analyzing traffic patterns at an intersection (signal when the light turns green)  Signaling an operator to complete an order that was waiting for a component part

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Signal Value Value of the signal to be sent to entities in Hold modules.

Limit Maximum number of entities that are to be released from any Hold

modules when the signal is received.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

Store module

ESCRIPTION

The Store module adds an entity to storage. The Unstore module may then be used to remove the entity from the storage.

When an entity arrives at the Store module, the storage specified is incremented, and the entity immediately moves to the next module in the model.

Storages are useful for displaying entity animation while an entity undergoes processing in other modules. Additionally, statistics may be kept on the number of entities in storage.

YPICAL USES

 Animating a part through a number of delay operations (load, setup, process, unload)  Tracking the number of customers within a grocery store (place in storage upon entry)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Method of specifying the storage name as a Storage, Set, Attribute, or

Expression.

Storage Name Name of the storage to which the entity will be added. Applies only

when the Type is Storage.

Set Name Name of the storage set from which the storage is to be selected. Applies

only when the Type is Set.

Set Index Index into the defined storage set that contains the desired storage name.

Applies only when the Type is Set.

Attribute Name of the attribute whose value contains the storage. Applies only

when the Type is Attribute.

Expression Expression that is evaluated to the storage into which the entity is

placed. Applies only when the Type is Expression.

• • • • •

4 • Advanced Process

Unstore module

ESCRIPTION

The Unstore module removes an entity from storage. When an entity arrives at the Unstore module, the storage specified is decreased and the entity immediately moves to the next module in the model.

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

YPICAL USES

 Removing the entity from an animation location when processing is complete  Tracking the number of customers within a grocery store (unstore upon exit)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier displayed on the module shape.

Type Method of specifying the storage name as a Storage, Set, Attribute, or

Expression. Default will remove an entity from the last storage that it entered.

Storage Name Name of the storage to which the entity will be added. Applies only

when the Type is Storage.

Set Name Name of the storage set from which the storage is to be selected. Applies

only when the Type is Set.

Set Index Index into the defined storage set that contains the desired storage name.

Applies only when the Type is Set.

Attribute Name of the attribute whose value contains the storage. Applies only

when the Type is Attribute.

Expression Expression that is evaluated to the storage into which the entity is

placed. Applies only when the Type is Expression.

Adjust Variable module

ESCRIPTION

The Adjust Variable module adjusts a variable to a target value at a specified rate. This module might be used with the

Rotate By Expression

to present smooth animated rotations of pictures. It might also be used to approximate/ animate a continuous increase or decrease to a variable value over time.

When an entity enters an Adjust Variable module, the Va r ia b le N am e is adjusted to the To Val u e at the specified Rate. The entity is held in the module until the adjustment is completed.

The Update Interval specifies the time interval between actual assignment updates of the variable value over the time period of the change. A smaller update interval produces smoother animation in plots or rotating pictures that reference the variable, as well as more accurate time-persistent statistics collected on the variable. A larger update interval produces faster run speeds.

option in Global and Resource pictures

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

YPICAL USES

 Rotate a resource picture to 180 degrees at a rate of 5 degrees per second

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique module identifier. This name is displayed on the module shape.

Variable Type Specifies the array characteristics of the variable being adjusted.

Row Specifies the row index if the variable is an array.

Column Specifies the column index if the variable is a 2-D array.

Variable Name Specifies the name of the variable to adjust.

To Value Specifies the target value that the variable will be adjusted to.

Rate Specifies the rate at which the adjustment will be made.

Units The time units of the rate.

Update Interval Specifies the interval between updates of the variable’s value as the

variable is adjusted at the specified rate.

Units The time units of the update interval.

Allocation Type of category to which the entity’s incurred delay time and cost in the

module will be added.

• • • • •

Data modules

Data modules are the set of objects in the spreadsheet view of the model that define the characteristics of various process elements, such as resources and queues.

Advanced Set module

ESCRIPTION

The Advanced Set module specifies queue sets, storage sets, and other sets and their respective members. A set defines a group of similar elements that may be referenced via a common name and a set index. The elements that make up the set are referred to as the members of the set.

Queue sets may be specified within a Seize or material-handling-type module. Storage sets may be used in the Store and Unstore module. Other sets may include sets of attributes or other miscellaneous elements.

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ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

YPICAL USES

 Various checkout queues in a grocery store (queues)  Animation locations for performing operations (storages)

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the advanced set whose members are being defined. This

name must be unique.

Set Type Type of set that is being defined, which may include Queue, Storage, or

Other types of sets.

Queue Name Name of the queues that are included within a queue set.

Storage Name Name of the storages that are included within a storage set.

Other Name of the members that are included within an “other” type set.

Expression module

ESCRIPTION

The Expression module defines expressions and their associated values. Expressions are referenced in the model by using their name. Expressions can optionally be specified as one- or two-dimensional arrays.

An expression value may be formed using combinations of integers, real numbers, symbol names, statistical distributions (e.g., NORM(10,2)), arithmetic operators (e.g., +, *), parentheses, logical operators, (e.g., .GT. or >), attributes, and variables.

An expression value may be referenced in another expression, but recursive calls to the same expression are not allowed.

YPICAL USES

 Distribution for an entity arrival  Entity picture values  Complex expression for order entry times

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the expression whose characteristics are being defined.

This name must be unique.

Row Maximum number of rows in the defined expression.

Column Maximum number of columns in the defined expression. Visible only

when the number of rows is specified.

Expression Value Expression value associated with the expression name.

Failure module

ESCRIPTION

The Failure module is designed for use with resources. When a failure occurs, the entire resource (regardless of its capacity) is failed. Failures are designed to be used with singlecapacity resources or with multiple-capacity resources whose individual resource units all fail at the same time.

• • • • •

YPICAL USES

 Breakdown information for a machine  Cash register tape refill every “x” customers  Random computer shutdowns or “reboots”

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the failure associated with one or more resources.

Type Determines if the failure is time-based or count-based.

Count Defines the number of resource releases for count-based failures. Valid

when the Type is Count.

Up Time Defines the time between failures for time-based failures. Valid when

the Type is Time.

Up Time Units Time units for the time between failures (Up Time) for time-based

failures.

Down Time Defines the duration of the failure.

Down Time Units Time units for the duration of the failure (Down Time).

4 • Advanced Process

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• • • • •

Prompt Description

Uptime in this State only

Defines the state that should be considered for the time between failures (only for time-based failures). If state is not specified, then all states are considered (i.e., the time between failures does not depend on the time spent in a specific state, but rather on the total simulation time). For example, you might want to define a failure to be based only on the state Busy, and therefore, the time between downtimes would be based on the amount of time that a resource is busy, not simulated clock time.

File module

ESCRIPTION

The File module must be included whenever external files are accessed using the ReadWrite module. This module identifies the system file name and defines the access method, formatting, and operational characteristics of the files.

YPICAL USES

 File containing predefined airline flight data  File specifying customer order times and relevant information  File to write user model configuration data from menu input

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the file whose characteristics are being defined. This name

must be unique.

Access Type The file type.

Operating System File Name

Connecting String Connection string used to open ADO connection to the data source.

Structure File structure, which can be unformatted, free format, or a specific C or

End of File Action Type of action to occur if an end of file condition is reached.

Initialize Option Action to be taken on file at beginning of each simulation replication.

Comment Character indicating comment record.

Name of the actual file that is being read from or to which it is being written.

FORTRAN format.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Recordset Name Name used to identify the recordset in ReadWrite module. This name

must be unique within the file.

Command Text Text of the command that will be used to open the recordset (e.g., SQL

statement, procedure name, table name.)

Command Type Type of command entered in the CommandText.

Named Range The named range in the Excel workbook to which the recordset refers.

Table Name The name of the table in the Access database to which the recordset

refers.

StateSet module

ESCRIPTION

The StateSet module is used to define states for a resource or number of resources. The states may be associated with an autostate or may be new states for the resource. The Resource module in the Basic Process panel references the stateset, if any, that a given resource will use.

• • • • •

YPICAL USES

 States for an operator, such as busy with customer, busy refilling shelves, busy on

phone

 States for a machine, such as random failure, scheduled failure, busy with setup, busy

with processing

 States for a doctor, such as scheduled appointments, hospital rounds, paperwork,

telephone calls

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

StateSet Name Name of set of states that the resource may be assigned during the

simulation run.

State Name Name of the user-defined state.

AutoState or Failure Used to associate the state name with an autostate (such as Idle, Busy,

Inactive, or Failed) or a particular Failure Name. If not used, the state must be assigned by using either the Assign module or the Resource State within the Seize or Process modules.

4 • Advanced Process

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Statistic module

ESCRIPTION

The Statistic module is used to define additional statistics that are to be collected during the simulation and also to specify output data files. While summary statistics (e.g., Average and Maximum) are automatically generated for each statistic, if you specify an output file, then each individual observation (e.g., each tally recorded) is written out to an output file. The types of statistics that may be defined in the Statistic module are timepersistent, tallies (observational data), count-based, outputs, and frequency-based.

YPICAL USES

 Gathering observational data to compare two simulation configurations (save data to

file for a tally)

 Collecting additional statistics information such as number in queue plus number

resources busy

 Generating statistics on various states of an operator or machine  Tracking the number of customers in a grocery store using NSTO function and

Store/Unstore modules

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the schedule being defined. This name must be unique.

Type Type of statistic being defined. Type may be Time-Persistent (Dstat),

observational Ta ll y- , Counter-, Output- or Frequency-based.

Tally Name Defines the symbol name for the tally. This name appears in the report as

the tally identifier. Applies only when Type is Tally.

Counter Name Defines the symbol name for the counter. This name appears in the

report as the counter identifier. Applies only when Type is Counter.

Expression Name of the time-persistent statistic, value of the output statistic or

expression for the frequency. For frequencies, if the Frequency Type is State, this field is a resource name indicating that statistics are to be collected on the state of a resource. If Frequency Type is Value, this field simply specifies the expression on which statistics are to be collected. Applies only when Type is Time-Persistent, Output, or Frequency.

Frequency Type Indicates whether statistics are being collected on the state of a resource

(State) or on an expression (Value). Applies only when Type is Frequency.

4 • THE ADVANCED PROCESS PANEL

Prompt Description

Report Label Defines the symbol name for the expression. This name appears as the

report label associated with the expression in the reports. If a statistic has already been defined through a different module, the Report Label field will automatically appear. Applies only when Type is Time-Persistent, Output, or Frequency.

Limit May be used to define the terminating condition for a simulation

replication. When the counter reaches or exceeds the specified limit, the simulation replication ends and the report is generated. Applies only when Type is Counter.

Initialization Option Indicates if the counter will be initialized (reset to zero) between

simulation replications. If the field is specified as No and multiple replications are performed, then the value of the counter at the end of a replication will be retained as the initial value at the beginning of the next replication. When specified as Ye s, the counter value is set to 0 at the beginning of each replication. When set to Replicate, the counter value will be cleared when the other statistics (e.g., tallies, timepersistent) are cleared as specified in Setup.

Tally Output File Specifies the system-specific file name to which the raw statistical data

are written. Applies only when Type is Tally.

Counter Output File Specifies the system-specific file name to which the raw statistical data

are written. Applies only when Type is Counter.

Output File Specifies the system-specific file name to which the raw statistical data

are written. Applies only when Type is Frequency, Output, or TimePersistent.

Constant or Range Specifies whether statistics are being collected based on the Expression

Value being a Constant value (or state of a resource) or a Range of values.

Value Specifies the value when collecting statistics for a Constant value.

Therefore, statistics will be collected against this category whenever the Expression Value equals this Value (or whenever the resource is in this state). If collecting statistics for a Range value, this field specifies the lowest value in the range. Therefore, statistics will be collected against this category whenever the Expression Value is greater than Value and less than or equal to High Value.

High Value Specifies the highest value in the range, if collecting statistics for a

Range value. Statistics will be collected against this category whenever the Expression Value is greater than Value and less than or equal to High Va lu e .

• • • • •

4 • Advanced Process

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Category Name Defines the symbol name for this category. This name appears in the

summary report as the category identifier. If left blank, the identifier will simply be the Value or Range.

Category Option This field indicates whether or not a particular category is to be excluded

from the Restricted Column in the summary report.

Storage module

ESCRIPTION

The Storage module defines the name of a storage. Storages are automatically created by any module that references the storage so that this module is seldom needed. The only time this module is needed is when a storage is defined as a member of a storage set or specified using an attribute or expression.

YPICAL USES

 Defining an animate storage for a set of storages

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name The name of the storage set being defined. This name must be unique.

The Advanced Transfer Panel

This chapter presents the modules from the Advanced Transfer panel, which includes the modules needed for modeling the movement of entities from one location to another. Example uses of each module are included in this section.

General flowchart modules

Flowchart modules are the set of objects that are placed in the model window to describe the simulation process.

Enter module

ESCRIPTION

The Enter module defines a station (or a set of stations) corresponding to a physical or logical location where processing occurs. When an entity arrives at an Enter module, an unloading delay may occur and any transfer device used to transfer the entity to the Enter module’s station may be released.

The station (or each station within the defined set) has a matching Activity Area that is used to report all times and costs accrued by the entities in this station. This Activity Area’s name is the same as the station. If a parent Activity Area is defined, then it also accrues any times and costs by the entities in this station.

YPICAL USES

 The start of a part’s production in a series of parallel processes where the part’s forklift

needs to be released

 The start of a document’s processing after the document has been created where the

mail clerk resource needs to be released

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Station Type Type of station, either a single Station or station Set.

Station Name Name of the individual station. A given station can only exist once

within a model.

Parent Activity Area Name of the Activity Area’s parent.

Associated Intersection Name of the intersection associated with this station in a guided

transporter network.

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• • • • •

Prompt Description

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will automatically be collected and

stored in the report database for this station and its corresponding activity area.

Set Name Name of the station set. A given station set can only exist once within a

model.

Save Attribute Specifies the attribute to be used to store the index into the station set for

an entity entering this module.

Set Members This repeat group permits you to define the individual stations that are to

be members of the specified station set. A station set must have at least one member station. Active when Station Type is Set.

Station Name This field indicates the name of a station that is to be a member of this

station set. A given station can only exist within a model once. Therefore, an individual station can only be the member of one station set, and that individual station may not be the name of a station in another module.

Parent Activity Area Name of the Activity Area’s parent for the station set member.

Associated Intersection Name of the intersection associated with this station set in a guided

transporter network.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will automatically be collected and

stored in the report database for this station set member and its corresponding activity area.

Allocation Type of category to which the entity’s incurred delay time and cost will

be added.

Delay This field defines the delay that will be experienced by entities

immediately upon arrival at the station.

Units Time units used for the delay time.

Transfer In If a resource, transporter, or conveyor was used to transfer the entity to

this station, this can be used to release, free, or exit the device. If

Release Resource is selected, the specified resource is released. If Free Transporter is selected, the specified transporter is freed. If Exit Conveyor is selected, the specified conveyor is exited.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to be freed upon arrival to the station. Active

when Transfer Name is Free Transporter.

Unit Number Unit number of the transporter if the transporter is multi-capacity.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor to exit upon arrival to the station.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

Prompt Description

Resource Type Type of allocation, either single Resource or resource Set.

Resource Name Name of the resource to release. Active when Transfer Name is Release

Resource.

Set Name Name of the resource set from which the resource is to be released.

Release Rule Determines which member of the set is to be released, either the Last

Member Seized, First Member Seized, or Specific Member.

Set Index Index into the set that determines which member of the set is to be

released.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute that determines the instance number of the

resource to release.

Expression Expression value that determines the instance number of the resource to

release.

Leave module

• • • • •

ESCRIPTION

The Leave module is used to transfer an entity to a station or module. An entity may be transferred in two ways. It can be transferred to a module that defines a station by referencing the station and routing, conveying, or transporting to that station, or a graphical connection can be used to transfer an entity to another module. When an entity arrives at a Leave module, it may wait to obtain a transfer device (resource, transporter, or conveyor). When the transfer device has been obtained, the entity may experience a loading delay. Finally, the entity is transferred from this module to a destination module or station.

YPICAL USES

 The end of a part’s production in a series of parallel processes where the part needs a

forklift to be transferred to shipping

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Allocation Type of category to which the entity’s incurred delay time and cost will

be added.

Delay Specifies a load time incurred after getting a transfer device.

5 • Advanced Transfer

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• • • • •

Prompt Description

Units Time units used for the delay time.

Transfer Out Determines whether a resource (Seize Resource), transporter (Request

Tra ns port er ), or conveyor (Access Conveyor) is required prior to transferring the entity out of this module.

Priority Indicates the priority of the module when either seizing a resource or

requesting a transporter when there are entities waiting for that resource/transporter from other modules. This field is not visible when the Transfer Type is None or Access Conveyor.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to request.

Queue Type Type of queue, either a single Queue, queue Set, Internal queue,

Attribute, or Expression.

Queue Name Name of the individual queue.

Queue Set Name Name of the queue set.

Set Index Defines the index into the queue set. Note that this is the index into the

set and not the name of the queue in the set.

Queue Attribute Name The attribute name that will be evaluated to indicate which queue is to

be used.

Queue Expression The expression that will be evaluated to indicate which queue is to be

used.

Selection Rule Method of selecting among available transporters in a set. Cyclical will

cycle through available members. Random will randomly select a member. Preferred Order will always select the first available member. Specific Member requires an input attribute value to specify which member of the set (previously saved in the Save Attribute field).

Largest Distance selects the transporter farthest away, and Smallest Distance selects the closest transporter.

Save Attribute Attribute name used to store the index number into the set of the

member that is chosen. This attribute can later be referenced with the Specific Member selection rule. Active when Transfer Out is Request Transporter.

Index Set Attribute name whose value identifies the index number into the set of

the member requested. The entity must have a value for the attribute before utilizing this option.

Resource Type Type of resource for seizing, either specifying a particular Resource,

selecting from a pool of resources (i.e., a resource Set), Attribute, or Expression.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

Prompt Description

Resource Name Name of the resource to seize.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor to access.

# of Cells Number of contiguous cells the entity requires.

Connect Type Determines if the entity is to Route, Convey, or Transport to another

station or Connect to another module.

Move Time Time to route from this module to the destination station.

Units Time units used for the move time.

Station Type The entity’s destination station type either an individual Station , a

station based on an Attribute or Expression value, or By Sequence.

Station Name Name of the individual destination station.

Attribute Name The attribute name that will be evaluated to indicate the station.

Expression The expression that will be evaluated to indicate the station.

• • • • •

PickStation module

ESCRIPTION

The PickStation module allows an entity to select a particular station from the multiple stations specified. This module picks among the group of stations based on the selection logic defined with the module. The entity may then route, transport, convey, or connect to the station specified. If the method chosen is connect, the selected station is assigned to an entity attribute. The station selection process is based on the minimum or maximum value of a variety of system variables and expressions.

YPICAL USES

 A part sent to a processing station based on machine’s availability at each station  A loan application sent to a set of loan officers based on the number sent to each

officer

 A customer selecting among cashier lines based on the least number waiting in each

line

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Test Condition Test condition to use for the station selection process, either Minimum

or Maximum.

Number En Route to Station

Number in Queue The number of entities in the queue at the station is considered in the

Number of Resources Busy

Expression Determines if an additional user-defined expression is considered in the

Transfer Type Determines how an entity will be transferred out of this module to its

Save Attribute Defines the name of the attribute that will store the station name that is

Route Time Move time of the entity from its current station to the station determined

Units Time units for route-time parameters.

The number of entities transferring to the station is considered in the station selection process.

station selection process.

The number of busy resources at the station is considered in the station selection process.

station selection process.

next destination station—either Route, Convey, Transport, or Connect.

selected, visible when the transfer method is Connect.

through this module.

PickStation module — Stations dialog

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Station Name Station name for the selection process. All potential station names are

required even though the Number En Route to station may not be a consideration in the PickStation evaluation.

Queue Name Visible only if Number in Queue is checked, it defines the name of the

queue corresponding to the station defined.

Resource Name Visible only if Number of Resources Busy is checked, it defines the

resource name corresponding to the station defined.

Expression Visible only if Expression is checked, it defines an additional expression

that will be considered in the station selection process.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

Route module

ESCRIPTION

The Route module transfers an entity to a specified station or the next station in the station visitation sequence defined for the entity. A delay time to transfer to the next station may be defined.

When an entity enters the Route module, its Station attribute (Entity.Station) is set to the destination station. The entity is then sent to the destination station, using the route time specified.

If the station destination is entered as By Sequence, the next station is determined by the entity’s sequence and step within the set (defined by special-purpose attributes Entity.Sequence and Entity.Jobstep, respectively).

YPICAL USES

 Send a part to its next processing station based on its routing slip  Send an account balance call to an account agent  Send restaurant customers to a specific table

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

• • • • •

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Route Time Travel time from the entity’s current location to the destination station.

Units Time units for route-time parameters.

Destination Type Method for determining the entity destination location. Selection of By

Sequence requires that the entity has been assigned a sequence name and that the sequence itself has been defined.

Station Name Name of the individual destination station.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute that stores the station name to which entities will

route.

Expression Expression that is evaluated to the station name where entities will route.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Station module

ESCRIPTION

The Station module defines a station (or a set of stations) corresponding to a physical or logical location where processing occurs. If the Station module defines a station set, it is effectively defining multiple processing locations.

YPICAL USES

 Defining a lathe area  Defining a set of toll booths  Defining a food preparation area

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Station Type Type of station being defined, either as an individual Station or a station

Set.

Station Name Name of the individual station.

Set Name Name of the station set.

Parent Activity Area Name of the Activity Area’s parent.

Associated Intersection Name of the intersection associated with this station in a guided

transporter network.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will automatically be collected and

stored in the report database for this station and its corresponding activity area.

Save Attribute Attribute name used to store the index number into the station set of the

member that is selected.

Station Set Members Names of the stations that are members of this station set.

Station Name A given station can only exist once within a model. Therefore, an

individual station can only be the member of one station set, and that individual station may not be the name of a station in another module.

Parent Activity Area Name of the Activity Area’s parent for the station set member.

Prompt Description

Associated Intersection Name of the intersection associated with this station set in a guided

transporter network.

Report Statistics Specifies whether or not statistics will automatically be collected and

stored in the report database for this station set member and its corresponding activity area.

Conveyor flowchart modules

Access module

ESCRIPTION

The Access module allocates one or more cells of a conveyor to an entity for movement from one station to another. Once the entity has control of the cells on the conveyor, it may then be conveyed to the next station.

When an entity arrives at an Access module, it will wait until the appropriate number of contiguous cells on the conveyor are empty and aligned with the entity’s station location.

• • • • •

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

YPICAL USES

 Parts accessing a conveyor to be sent to a paint booth  Glass accessing a conveyor to be transferred to a cutting station

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor that the entity desires.

# of Cells Number of contiguous conveyor cells the entity requires for movement

on the conveyor.

Queue Type Determines the type of queue used to hold the entities, either an

individual Queue, a queue Set, and Internal queue or an Attribute or Expression that evaluate to the queue name.

Queue Name Name of the queue that will hold the entity until it accesses the

conveyor.

Set Name Name of the set of queues.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Set Index Defines the index into the queue set. Note that this is the index into the

set and not the name of the queue in the set. For example, the only valid entries for a queue set containing three members is an expression that evaluates to 1, 2, or 3.

Attribute Name Defines the name of the attribute that stores the queue name to which

entities will reside.

Expression Defines the name of the expression that stores the queue name to which

entities will reside.

Convey module

ESCRIPTION

The Convey module moves an entity on a conveyor from its current station location to a specified destination station. The time delay to convey the entity from one station to the next is based on the velocity of the conveyor (specified in the Conveyor module) and the distance between the stations (specified in the Segment module).

When an entity enters a Convey module, its Station attribute (Entity.Station), is set to the destination station. The entity is then conveyed to the destination station. If the destination type is specified as By Sequence, the next station is determined by the entity’s Sequence and Jobstep within the sequence (special-purpose attributes Entity.Sequence and Entity.Jobstep, respectively).

YPICAL USES

 Convey bags from a location to the baggage claim area  Convey parts from a load station to processing station

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor on which the entity will convey. If left blank, the

previously accessed conveyor is assumed.

Destination Type Method for specifying the entity destination (By Sequence, Sta tion,

Attribute, or Expression). Selection of By Sequence requires that the entity has been assigned a sequence name and that the sequence itself has been defined.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

Prompt Description

Station Name Name of the individual station.

Attribute Name Attribute that stores the station name to which entities will route.

Expression Expression that is evaluated to the station name where entities will route.

Exit module

ESCRIPTION

The Exit module releases the entity’s cells on the specified conveyor. If another entity is waiting in queue for the conveyor at the same station when the cells are released, it will then access the conveyor.

YPICAL USES

 Cases exit a conveyor for packing  Bad parts are removed from the conveyor and disposed  Passengers remove luggage from the baggage claim conveyor

• • • • •

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor on which the entity will exit. If left blank, the

previously accessed conveyor is assumed.

# of Cells Number of contiguous conveyor cells the entity will relinquish.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Start module

ESCRIPTION

The Start module changes the status of a conveyor from inactive to active. The conveyor may have been deactivated from either the Stop module or by initially being set to inactive at the start of the simulation. The velocity of the conveyor may be changed permanently when the conveyor is started.

YPICAL USES

 Start a bottling conveyor after scheduled maintenance  Start a baggage claim conveyor when bags have arrived

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor to start.

Velocity Speed of the conveyor once it begins to operate. This value will change

the speed of the conveyor permanently, until it is changed in another module.

Units Velocity time units.

Stop module

ESCRIPTION

The Stop module sets the operational status of a conveyor to inactive. The conveyor may have been activated from either the Start module or by initially being set to active at the start of the simulation. When the entity enters the Stop module, the conveyor will stop immediately, regardless of the type of conveyor or the number of entities currently on the conveyor.

YPICAL USES

 Stop a baggage conveyor after a pre-determined amount of time  Stop a conveyor for scheduled maintenance

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Conveyor Name Name of the conveyor to stop.

Transporter flowchart modules

Activate module

ESCRIPTION

The Activate module increases the capacity of a previously halted transporter. The transporter unit that is activated will reside at the station location at which it was halted until it is moved or requested by an entity. If there is an entity(s) awaiting a transporter at the time the unit is activated, the entity will gain control of the transporter immediately.

YPICAL USES

 Activate a forklift that was down for scheduled maintenance  Activate gurneys in an emergency room after cleaning and restocking  Start additional wait staff at a restaurant

• • • • •

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to activate.

Unit Number Determines which of the transporter units in the transporter set to

activate.

Allocate module

ESCRIPTION

The Allocate module assigns a transporter to an entity without moving it to the entity’s station location. The entity then has control of the transporter to either move it to a particular location or to halt it for a breakdown or failure. A particular transporter unit may be allocated to the entity or a selection rule may be used to determine which of the transporters will be assigned to the entity.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

YPICAL USES

 A mechanic allocates a forklift for scheduled maintenance  Allocate a taxi to pick up waiting passengers

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to allocate.

Selection Rule Rule for determining which of the transporters to allocate to the entity.

The selection rule has the following options: Cyclical, Random,

Preferred Order, Specific Member, Largest Distance, and Smallest Distance.

Save Attribute The attribute name that will store the unit number of the selected

transporter.

Unit Number Determines the specific transporter in the transporter set to allocate to

the entity. It is only visible if selection rule is Specific Member.

Priority Priority value of the entity waiting at this module for the transporter

specified if one or more entities are waiting for the same transporter anywhere in the model.

Entity Location This field is used to determine the transporter closest to or farthest from

the requesting entity when using the Largest Distance or Smallest Distance transporter selection rules. For free-path transporters, the entity location must be specified as a station. For guided transporters, the entity location may be specified as a station, intersection, or network link.

Queue Type Type of queue used to hold the entities while waiting to allocate the

transporter, either an individual Queue, a queue Set, an Internal queue, or an Attribute or Expression that evaluate to the queue name.

Queue Name Name of the individual queue.

Queue Set Name Name of the queue set that contains the queue being referenced.

Set Index The index into the queue set. Note that this is the index into the set and

not the name of the queue in the set. For example, the only valid entries for a queue set containing three members is an expression that evaluates to 1, 2, or 3.

Attribute Name The attribute name that will be evaluated to the queue name.

Expression The expression that will be evaluated to the queue name.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

Free module

ESCRIPTION

The Free module releases the entity’s most recently allocated transporter unit. If another entity is waiting in a queue to request or allocate the transporter, the transporter will be given to that entity. If there are no waiting entities at the time the transporter unit is freed, the transporter will wait idle at the freeing entity’s station location, unless otherwise specified in the Transporter module.

YPICAL USES

 A part awaiting a shipping truck frees its forklift  An airport transfer cart completes its trip

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to free. A blank value assumes the most recently

allocated or requested transporter.

Unit Number Determines which of the transporter units in the transporter set to free.

• • • • •

Halt module

ESCRIPTION

The Halt module changes the status of a transporter unit to inactive. If the transporter is busy at the time when an entity enters the Halt module, the status is considered busy and inactive until the entity that controls the transporter frees the unit. If the transporter is idle at the time when an entity halts the transporter, it is set to inactive immediately. Once a transporter unit has been halted, no entities will get control of the transporter until it is activated.

YPICAL USES

 Stop a forklift for scheduled maintenance  Disable a broken gurney in an emergency room

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to halt.

Unit Number Determines which of the transporter units in the transporter set to halt.

Move module

ESCRIPTION

The Move module advances a transporter from one location to another without moving the controlling entity to the destination station. The controlling entity remains at its current module location until the transporter arrives at its destination. At that time, the entity will be able to move to another module or task in the model.

If the transporter being moved is a free-path transporter, then the time delay to move the transporter from one station to the next is based on the velocity of the transporter and the distance between the stations (specified in the Distance module). If the transporter being moved is a guided transporter, then the time delay to move the transporter depends not only on the velocity and distance to the destination, but also the transporter’s acceleration, deceleration, and any traffic it encounters on the way.

YPICAL USES

 Move a broken forklift to a service station  Move a worker to a break room  Move a waiter to the kitchen

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to move.

Unit Number Determines which of the transporter units in the transporter set to move.

Destination Type Determines the method for specifying the transporter destination. The

Intersection and Network Link options apply only to guided transporters.

Station Name Name of the individual destination station.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

Prompt Description

Attribute Name Name of the attribute that stores the destination station name to which

entities will route.

Expression Expression that is evaluated to the destination station name where

entities will route.

Intersection Name Defines the name of the intersection to which the guided transporter will

move.

Network Link Name Defines the name of the network link to which the guided transporter

will move.

Zone The specific zone number of the Network Link Name.

Velocity Specifies the temporary velocity at which the transporter is moved to the

destination station.

Units Velocity time units.

Request module

• • • • •

ESCRIPTION

The Request module assigns a transporter unit to an entity and moves the unit to the entity’s station location. A specific transporter unit may be specified or the selection may occur based on a rule.

When the entity arrives at the Request module, it is allocated a transporter when one is available. The entity remains at the Request module until the transporter unit has reached the entity’s station. The entity then moves out of the Request module.

YPICAL USES

 A sanded part requests a cart to take it to the paint shop  Customers in a restaurant are ready to order and thus request a waiter

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to allocate.

Selection Rule Rule for determining which of the transporters to allocate to the entity,

either Cyclical, Random, Preferred Order, Specific Member, Largest Distance, and Smallest Distance.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Prompt Description

Save Attribute Denotes the attribute name that will store the unit number of the selected

transporter.

Unit Number Determines the specific transporter unit in the transporter set to request.

Priority Priority value of the entity waiting at this module for the transporter

specified if one or more entities are waiting for the same transporter anywhere in the model.

Entity Location The location to which the transporter will move after being allocated.

For free-path transporters, the entity location must be specified as a station. For guided transporters, the entity location may be specified as a station, intersection, or network link.

Velocity Speed at which the transporter is moved to the entity location in length

units per unit time. The unit time is specified in the Units field.

Units Velocity time units.

Queue Type Type of queue used to hold the entities while waiting to access the

transporter, either an individual Queue, a queue Set, an Internal queue, or an Attribute or Expression that evaluate to the queue’s name.

Queue Name Name of the individual queue.

Set Name Name of the queue set.

Set Index The index into the queue set. Note that this is the index into the set and

not the name of the queue in the set. For example, the only valid entries for a queue set containing three members is an expression that evaluates to 1, 2, or 3.

Attribute Name The attribute name that will be evaluated to the queue name.

Expression Expression evaluated to the queue name.

Transport module

ESCRIPTION

The Transport module transfers the controlling entity to a destination station. After the time delay required for the transport, the entity reappears in the model at the Station module. Free-path transporters are always moved to the same station destination as the entity. Guided transporters may be moved to a different network location than the entity’s station destination using the Guided Tran Destination Type.

5 • THE ADVANCED TRANSFER PANEL

If a free-path transporter is being used, then the time delay to move the entity and transporter from one station to the next is based on the velocity of the transporter and the distance between the stations (specified in the Distance module). If a guided transporter is being used, then the time delay to transport the entity depends not only on the velocity and distance to the guided transporter’s destination, but also the transporter’s acceleration, deceleration, and any traffic it encounters on the way.

When an entity enters the Transport module, its Station attribute (Entity.Station) is set to the entity’s destination station. The entity is then transported to the destination station.

If the station destination is entered as By Sequence, the next station is determined by the entity’s Sequence and Jobstep within the set (special-purpose attributes Entity.Sequence and Entity.Jobstep, respectively).

YPICAL USES

 A forklift transports a pallet of parts to the next processing station  A mail cart transports packages from the mailroom to the order-processing station

ROMPTS

Prompt Description

• • • • •

Name Unique name of the module that will be displayed in the flowchart.

Transporter Name Name of the transporter to move. If blank, the most recently requested or

allocated transporter is assumed.

Unit Number Determines which of the transporter units in the transporter set to

transport.

Entity Destination Type Determines the method for specifying the entity destination station

logic. Selection of By Sequence requires that the entity has been assigned a sequence name and that the sequence itself has been defined.

Station Name Name of the individual station.

Attribute Name Name of the attribute that stores the station name to which entities will

route.

Expression Expression that is evaluated to the station where entities will route.

Velocity Specifies the temporary velocity at which the entity and transporter are

moved to the destination station.

Units Velocity time units.

Guided Tran Destination Typ e

Allows the specification of a guided transporter destination that is different from the entity’s destination. This field is ignored if Transporter Name is a free-path transporter.

5 • Advanced Transfer

ARENA USER’S GUIDE

• • • • •

Data modules

Prompt Description

Station Name Defines the name of the station with an associated intersection to which

the guided transporter will move.

Attribute Name Defines the name of the attribute that stores the station name with an

associated intersection to which the guided transporter will move.

Expression Defines an expression that evaluates to the network location

(intersection, station, network link) to which the guided transporter will move.

Intersection Name Defines the name of the intersection to which the guided transporter will

move.

Network Link Name Defines the name of the network link to which the guided transporter

will move.

Zone The specific zone number on Network Link Name.

Data modules are the set of objects in the spreadsheet view of the model that define the characteristics of various process elements, such as resources and queues.

Sequence module

ESCRIPTION

The Sequence module is used to define a sequence for entity flow through the model. A sequence consists of an ordered list of stations that an entity will visit. For each station in the visitation sequence, attributes and variables may be assigned values.

Each station in the visitation sequence is referred to as a step (or jobstep) in the sequence.

Three special-purpose attributes are provided for all entities. The Sequence attribute (Entity.Sequence) defines the sequence that an entity is to follow; a value of 0 indicates that the entity is not following any sequence. In order for an entity to follow a sequence, its Sequence attribute must be assigned a value (e.g., in the Assign module).

The Jobstep attribute (Entity.Jobstep) stores the entity’s current step number in the sequence. This value is updated automatically each time an entity is transferred. You typically do not need to assign explicitly a value to Jobstep in the model.

The PlannedStation attribute (Entity.PlannedStation) stores the number of the station associated with the next jobstep in the sequence. This attribute is not user-assignable. It is

Rockwell Automation Arena User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Welcome

What is Arena software?

Intended audience

Where can I go for help?

Reference the user’s guides

Explore our examples

Get help

Use the SMARTs library

Access the Arena Symbol Factory

Get phone support

Get Web support

Get training

Get consulting services

Contact us

Getting Started

Introduction

Our task: Analyze a home mortgage application process

The Arena modeling environment

Map your process in a flowchart

Create the mortgage application entities

Process the applications

Decide whether applications are complete

Dispose the applications to terminate the process

What is a module?

Define model data

Initiate mortgage application (Create module)

What are entities?

Review application (Process module)

Complete? (Decide module)

Accepted, Returned (Dispose module)

Mortgage review clerk (Resource module)

Prepare for the simulation

Save the simulation model

Simulate the process

View simulation reports

Enhance the visualization process

Animate the mortgage review clerk resource

Plot the number of applications in-process

What is a model thumbnail?

Rerun the simulation

Next steps

The Basic Process Panel

Flowchart modules

Create module

Dispose module

Process module

Decide module

Batch module

Separate module

Assign module

Record module

Data modules

Entity module

Queue module

Resource module

Variable module

Schedule module

Set module

Calendar schedule information

Time Pattern

Calendar Exceptions

Calendar States

The Advanced Process Panel

Flowchart modules

Delay module

Dropoff module

Hold module

Match module

Pickup module

ReadWrite module

Release module

Remove module

Seize module

Search module

Signal module

Store module