Creating groups and analyzing the model with new states

Dear all,

I've created a new model, and to analyze it I created a new "states" (example: "waiting_to_load", "waiting_to_unload", "time in 'x' area") but I can't analyze this states in FlexSim Chart, only in object dynamically graph. I tried to do this through "User Define Attributes" in "Reports and Statistics", but I could not do, I don't know why. If this is possible, someone could help me please??

Taking the opportunity, I would like to know if there are any way to create groups, for example, group of persons, group of trucks, etc...to after that analyze this groups as one??

Thanks,

Flavio,

Flexsim Chart is only capable of reporting on the standard Flexsim states. We would like to improve the reporting capabilities, and custom states is one of the features that has been requested.

You can create create groups of objects for reporting purposes by selecting the objects that you would like in a group and using the Groups tool window. This window is opened by selecting View|Modeling Utilities|Groups from the main menu.

A.J.

Hello Flavio,

It is possible to use userdefined statistics in your model. You have to add your states to the state profile of your object, as numeric nodes. You can find the state profile node at >stats/state/state_profile on your object. Objects have a default of 50 states, so your state numbers will start at 51. Then you can use the setstate( Object, 51 ), to change the state of your object to the first user defined state. These states will show in your Flesxim chart.
Note that this doesn't work for flowitems, because their states are set automatically. But if you want to change a default flexsim state to a user defined state see thread: http://www.flexsim.com/community/for...ead.php?t=1099. This works for flowitems as well. I am not sure that the OnStateChange trigger has been added in version 5 for the basic FR and TE objects.

Esther

Dear Esther,

Thanks for your help. Ok, I've made this, and states was showed in dynamic chart into the object, but I would like to see this variables in FlexSimChart, which unfortunatly, according with AJ, are not possible yet. In this case, I will try to analyze this by "Perform Measures" in Experimenter, but for that, I need to use a label, and I don't know how input the reference by the new state in tree to get the time that the object was in "x" state. The follow coding is my logic to set the labelnum:

double timestateload = getvarnum(current, "????");

setlabelnum(current,"Time waiting to load", timestateload);


Where the "????" represent the tree structure to arrive in state 51("waiting_to_load"), created for me.

Thanks in advance

Use the following code to arrive at state 51


treenode State51 = rank( state_profile( current ), 51 );

( state_profile is an attribute (a direct pointer to a node in the tree), usually recognizable because the name is blue)

and to get the nr of seconds:

double StateTime = getnodenum( State51 );

Hi Steven, thanks,

Now I'm facing another problem:

Originally, when TE stop behind another, the assumed state is BLOCKED, but in this case, I could not identify when the queue is in Queue2 or when is in Queue3, that's why, I made a logic that when TE is loaded, the trucks in Queue3 assumed state "waiting_to_unload" and when they are in Queue2 the assumed state is "waiting_to_load".

When the "Run Speed" is slow this work perfectly, but if I accelerate that, the BLOCKED state appear in chart in a big percentage. I've made some tests, and I figured out that this state is assumed seconds before the logic to change the state to be executed. Probably the programming have not be executed when the simulation is very fast, I don't know the reason of that, if the logic is heavy (I don't belive that) or if there is a technical problem. In attached file, I saved three states:

- First (Run speed_50):
Run simulation = 50000 seconds
Run Speed = 50
Percentage state BLOCKED = about 0.5%

-Second (Run speed_1000):
Run simulation = 50000 seconds
Run speed = 1000
Percentage state BLOCKED = 11.4%

- Third (Run speed_100000):
Run simulation = 50000
Run speed = 100000
Percentage state BLOCKED = 43.8%

Note that, wich faster the simulation time lower the state waiting_to_load", ie lower the implementation of programming.

Why??

Thanks,

Hello Flavio,

You will have to use the OnStateChange trigger (in the eventfunctions of a TE) to change the state. Furthermore you have to use the eventcode to determine the state of an object. In stead of comparing the state of the object to STATE_BLOCKED, you have to compare the eventcode to STATE_BLOCKED and depending on the status return the newstate you want the TE to have.
This all may sound a little cryptic, so I have changed your model (TE11) with the correct way to change the state.

Esther

Dear Esther,

First of all thanks again.

I did not know this trigger function. There is any material for me understand this better?? I did not find anything in forum, only some examples, this helped me a little, but I did not understand perfectly, principally about the new node "Flexscript byte code", from where this come from? Is programmed manually or already there any template?

About the model above, the logic is right, but when the model is running, the graph is wrong because the bottleneck is in Queue2 (State = "waiting_to_load"), and graph indicates "waiting_to_unload". I've tryed change the logic, change the assigned method, change the state, make everything again, but unsuccessfully. I only realized that independent of item there or not, the state assumed was always the first quoted in programming(in this case, state 52 = "waiting_to_unload)". What is wrong?

When you build a Flexscript node (right click menu in the tree) it generates the byte code and node for you. You don't need to consider it at all.

Hi Flavio,

Try to change the code

treenode current=ownerobject(c); 
to 
treenode current=c;

in the OnStateChange trigger.

Lars-Olof

Hi Lars-Olof,

Perfect, problem solved. But why this happen?? Do you know???

Hi,

The c references to the object that calls OnStateChange in your case the object that OnStateChange belongs to.

ownerobject is used to get the node/object that c belongs to in your model that would be the model.

When using ownerobject(c) you get a reference to the model and not the object you want check the state change on. Because of this you will always get a references to a node that exist when executing first(current), the Tools node.

If I missed something, hopefully someone else can fill in the missing parts.

Lars-Olof