topic Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase in FlexSim Forum

Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase

stella_m_mahakian_homedepot_co — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:10:31 GMT

[ FlexSim 24.0.2 ]

SAW Location Change Analysis_v4.fsmHello, I am comparing two scenarios in one model.

How do I convert travel distance reduction between queues to translate into throughput increase when comparing two scenarios in one file?

Here is my quick scenario if able to help.

I have two scenarios in one file and running a simulation side by side to look at the benefits in throughput when layouts are changed. The only difference between the two is the location of queues, s.t. There is travel distance reduction to the proposed layout.

I would like to see that travel distance reduction to equate to a throughput increase, but I could not with my model. Is this expected? If not, is there a feature I need to activate for my model to use that would convert distance savings to increase throughput by chance?

Re: Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase

joerg_vogel_HsH — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 06:47:05 GMT

Are there enough items being able going through your process. Otherwise you can only identify different state idle times in objects.

Re: Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase

moehlmann_fe — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:13:39 GMT

First I'd like to give some general advice: Do not build duplicate systems in your model. Trying out different placement options can be done by tying the position of objects to model parameters. You can then different scenarios with the experimenter and compare the results.

This is better because it makes the simulation runs more comparable. In your current model, both layouts are fed by their own source which uses a random distribution for the inter-arrival time. This means that items will arrive at different times in the two layouts. Sure, the effect is going to be small when the run time gets large enough, but it's nonetheless a potential pitfall.

The bottleneck in your model are the "RunnerALL" transporters (you can add them to the state charts to check this). With the given arrival time distribution they can still handle all the input though, hence you don't see a difference in the throughput. You do however already see a difference in the transport utilization. If you increase the input rate and the systems become limited by the "RunnerAll" transports, you will start to see a higher throughput in the proposed layout.

Re: Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase

jason_lightfoot_adsk — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:50:08 GMT

Also consider using the Model Layout tool to store the layouts and take a look a this 3D Flow Mapper example in case you find it useful.

Re: Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase

stella_m_mahakian_homedepot_co — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:41:15 GMT

Thank you for the tip and insights Felix. I am new to using FlexSim so will delve into experimenter soon. If you have any suggestions how to pick up the concept quickly, I am all ears too. Maybe an example application and file. I will leverage the chats as well for additional resources.

Re: Travel Distance Reduction Convert to Throughput Increase

stella_m_mahakian_homedepot_co — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:44:23 GMT

Thank you for the example Jason. I will try this out as an alternate. My leadership likes the view of the side by side comparison however, so I am trying to work with that expectations.