Sequences and Conveyors

By Dr. Jason Merrick

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/2

Sequences

• Open the Arena File “BankNoSequences.doe” from course website

• This file contains all the arrivals and departures, but the ATM customers who then need help from a teller are just leaving

• Add a SEQUENCE module– Add the first sequence– Call it ATMtoTellertoTellerExit– Press the TAB key– Add the first step: Station = ATM, Press OK– Add the second step: Station = TELLER, Press OK– Add the third step: Station = TELLER EXIT, Press OK

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/3

Sequences

• We must now tell the entities arriving at “ATM Teller ENTRY” that they will follow this sequence– Go to the ARRIVE modules “ATM Teller ENTRY”– Click ASSIGN then ADD– Choose Assignment Type = Other– Under the drop down box Other, choose Sequence– Enter Value = ATMtoTellertoTellerExit

• Next we must add the flow logic so that the entities follow this sequence– Go to the ARRIVE modules “ATM Teller ENTRY”– Under the Leave Data, the Route option is selected with StNm– Choose Seq instead and it will follow the assigned sequence– Do the same for the STATION module ATM and TELLERS

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/4

Sequences

• The entities coming from “ATM Teller ENTRY” are following a sequence through the ATM and TELLER modules

• But entities from “ATM Entry” and “TELLER ENTRY” are also using these modules

• Define Sequences – ATMtoATMExit– TELLERtoTELLERExit

• In the ATM ENTRY module– Assign the sequence ATMtoATMExit

• In the TELLER ENTRY module– Assign the sequence TELLERtoTELLERExit

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/5

Sequences

• Run the simulation

• The entities now move around the various resources

• Can you see the entities moving from the ATM to the Tellers?

• There is no route, so no animation

• The STATION markers are already there (marked in red)

• So just click on the ROUTE button on the ANIMATE toolbar– Add the route between the ATM and the Teller Queue

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/6

Sequences

• To distinguish these irate customers, click on the picture above the SIMULATE module– Click on the ADD button on the left hand side– An empty slot appears– Enter IRATE as the value– Click on a picture on the right hand side and hit the << button– This moves the picture into the empty slot

• To change the picture when the entity leaves the ATM– Open the SEQUENCES module– Choose the ATMtoTellertoTellerExit sequence– Click EDIT and then ADD assignment– Choose Assignment Type = Picture– Choose the irate picture

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/7

Conveyors

• We are going to replace the routes that the people follow in the bank with conveyors

• Attach the Transfer panel

• Add 3 Conveyor Objects– Call the first conveyor ATMConveyor– Call the second conveyer TellerConveyor– Call the third conveyor ATMtoTellerTransfer– Leave the other options as they are for now

• Velocity is the speed of the conveyor

• Cell size and Max Cells Occupied are used to manage space on the conveyor

• Conveyors can be turned on and off

• There are two types of conveyors: accumulating and non-accumulating

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/8

Conveyors

• Conveyors are animated using segments– Replace each route with a segment– For each segment, click on the S module attached– Specify the source and destination stations – Specify the Conveyor segment set it belongs to: ATMConveyor_Seg,

TellerConveyor_Seg or ATMtoTellerTransfer_Seg– Choose a length for the conveyor (based on the distance?)

• Conveyors are a resource which must be Accessed and Exited– At the source station, choose Tran Out, then Access and specify the

conveyor name– At the destination station, choose Tran In, then Exit Conveyor– Do this for each segment of the conveyor

Simulation with Arena — Further Statistical IssuesC11/9

Transporters

• Transporters are another type of entity transfer resource

• You must add transporters from the transfer panel

• Specify the number of transporter units, there initial positions and the distance sets

• Distances are the equivalent of segments for conveyors– Replace all routes with distances

• Transporters must be Requested in the Tran Out data and Freed under the Tran In data

• As there are limited numbers of transporters, rules must be specified and a queue can form while waiting