Describing Resource and Product Models
To perform a task instance, work resource instances, material resources and fixed costs are needed. As a result, products may be produced. Resource and product properties are described in the Properties Windows of the "Org units" and "Functional objects" repositories objects on the Simulation properties tab. These descriptions are used to create simulation resources and products.
There are 2 sections in the window. The first is called Material resource. Use it to describe properties of the material resource that will then be used to perform task instances. To set up the number of available material resource go to the Variables tab and use the Add system variables of material resource hyperlink. The Quantity variable will be added. Use the Start value property to define the number of available resources. For details see the System Variables of Material Resources article.
The second is called Fixed cost and is used to describe properties of resources that are in the form of fixed costs.
Properties of the work resources are described on the Shifts tab. Use the Add default shift hyperlink to create a default shift for the resource. The default shift gets the "Shift 1" name. The Calendar and Hourly rate currency properties get the data entered in the Main calendar and the Main currency properties (Main Menu → Process Analysis → Simulation Properties). They can be changed if necessary.
When you select the Calendar for the work resource, you set the time when the resource instances are available and can be used to perform task instances. This time is described in the Calendars repository (Main menu → Process Analysis → Calendars).
Calendar properties are described in Table 1.
| Calendar Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Calendar name. |
| Working time | Describes the template for generating time periods. These are the periods when work resource instances are available during the simulation period. They are repeated in accordance with the Recurrence pattern. |
| Recurrence pattern | Describes how often the template described in the previous property, should be repeated: every day, every month, etc. |
| Range of recurrence | Specifies the dates when templates will be generated with the set recurrence. |
Working days are colored white in the Calendar picture (see Figure 1), non-working days are grey.
You can add exceptions to each calendar. Use the Exceptions tab to do it. Holidays, short working days, etc. are examples of exceptions. Add a new row to the Exceptions tab or just select the day you want to become an exception in the calendar picture and click Add exception in the context menu.
Exception properties are the same as the calendar properties.
An exception day that is a day off, is colored blue. An exception day that is working with the changed working hours, is colored yellow.
Priority can be defined for each exception in the Priority property. It is used in case one day has 2 exceptions. The simulation engine considers the exception with the higher priority. If the priority values are the same, the simulation engine selects the exception randomly.
