What times are relevant to the simulation?

Wait time, orientation time, and processing time are relevant times in Simulation. These times are specified in the Simulation attribute type group and add up to the time required to carry out a function.

Dynamic wait time

Occurs when a function is ready to be processed, but the required human or technical resources are not available for processing the function.

Static wait time

Occurs when a certain wait time must be observed between the execution of two functions, for example, if a work piece has been painted and must dry first before being packaged. The format is dddd:hh:mm:ss, where d=day, h=hour, m=minute and s=second. For example, if the required static wait time for a function is 1 hour and 15 minutes, enter (0000:01:15:00). To apply the same static wait time to all process instances generated during simulation, specify the corresponding period of time for the constant distribution. Obtain information on the input format of the other types of distribution to issue a static wait time for each process instance according to a specific distribution.

Orientation time

Indicates the time the resource needs to become familiar with carrying out the function. If several employees jointly carry out the function, the orientation time is calculated for each employee. If the attribute has been specified and sufficient resources are available, orientation time starts as soon as the process folder is received. Processing does not start until the orientation time has elapsed.

To prevent orientation time from being incurred for each process instance when a human resource carries out the same function several times in succession, select the appropriate value for the Orientation necessary attribute and specify the Processes to be processed attribute (Function object > Simulation attribute type group). Orientation time is then counted only once for the specified number of processes to be processed, that is, for the first procedure only. The format is dddd:hh:mm:ss, where d=day, h=hour, m=minute and s=second. For example, if the orientation time for a function is to be 17 minutes, enter (0000:00:17:00). To apply the specified orientation time to all process instances generated during simulation, specify the corresponding period of time for the constant distribution.

Orientation necessary

Use the Orientation necessary attribute (Function object > Simulation attribute type group) to specify how often orientation is required:

Example

If 7 processes are waiting to be processed at a function in the current simulation run and you entered 7 for the Processes to be processed attribute, the orientation time is counted for the first processing operation only (and not for the remaining 6) in case the option was set to Once per simulation run.

The Times attribute type group of functions contains the Wait time, Processing time and Orientation time groups, where you can specify minimum, average and maximum times. If you have not specified the control attributes (time values) in the Simulation attribute type group, the average wait, orientation or processing time is included in the simulation.

Processing time

Indicates the time the resource needs to carry out a function. For example, if several employees jointly carry out the function, the processing time is calculated for each employee. The format is dddd:hh:mm:ss, where d=day, h=hour, m=minute and s=second. For example, if the processing time for a function is to be 2 hours and 35 minutes, enter (0000:02:35:00). To apply the specified processing time to all process instances generated during simulation, specify the corresponding period of time for the constant distribution.

Interruptible

Specifies whether a function is interruptible or not. If the function is not interruptible (Interruptible attribute disabled, the execution of a function is completed even though the resource is no longer available according to the schedule. For example, a human resource is no longer available to execute a function if a break or the end of work has been defined according to the schedule. The time that this entails in excess of the planned time is recorded in the Accumulated overtime attribute of a human resource/technical resource (Simulation > Results attribute type group). The execution of the function is interrupted if the Interruptible attribute is enabled. If the attribute has not been specified, the execution of the function is not interrupted.

Alternative times

These times come into play if the times described above have not been specified. Alternative times may be considered as a sort of default setting used when no simulation-relevant times are available. To simulate processes as realistically as possible, you can specify distributions for times in control flows. If no simulation-relevant times have been specified in the Simulation attribute type group, the simulation is based on the average values of the attributes Avg. wait time, Average orientation time, and Average processing time (Times attribute type group). These attributes do not allow for any randomly distributed values.

Special features of BPMN diagrams

Behavior of different task types