Rockwell Automation Arena Packaging Users Guide - Manual (Page 49)

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The Operator State is assigned to all operators listed in the Operators repeat group. Refer
to the “Operator module” on page 28 for more information on operator states.
Skill factors for operators are defined in the Operator module. If the Skill Adjustment
check box is checked, then the inverse of the mean skill factors of these operators is
multiplied by the delay time of the activity (e.g., the set-up time of a changeover, the
repair time for a failure, etc.). Thus, the higher the skill factor, the shorter time it takes an
operator to complete an activity. If multiple operators are specified in the Operators repeat
group, and Skill Adjustment is checked, the average skill factor is used.
For example, suppose the operator Bill has a skill factor of 1.2, and the operator Tom has
a skill factor of 0.8. If Bill were to do a task that nominally required 10 minutes, and Skill
Adjustment is checked, it would take Bill (10 / 1.2) = 8.33 minutes. If Tom were to do that
task instead, it would take him (10 / 0.8) = 12.5 minutes. If both Bill and Tom were
required for the activity, and Skill Adjustment is checked, then the average skill factor
would be (1.2 + 0.8 /2) = 1.0 and the activity would take (10 / 1.0) = 10 minutes.
Operator groups may be specified in the Operators repeat group. A member of an operator
group may be specified for an activity in one of two ways. The member of the group may
be selected using a selection rule, such as Cyclical, Random, or Preferred Order. With this
method, when an operator is required for an activity, the rule is used to select among avail-
able operators. If only one member of the group is available at the time, the rule is irrele-
vant. Cyclical means that the activity load between members of the group will try to be
balanced. For example, if three operators are specified in a group, they will be allocated in
the following order. First, Operator 1 will be utilized; then Operator 2; and then Operator
3; then 1, 2, 3 and so on. With the Random selection rule, the operator in the group is
selected randomly among those available operators. Using the Preferred Order rule, the
first operator in the group is always allocated before any other operators.
For example, in a group of three operators, Operator 1 will be allocated if available. If
Operator 1 is not available, Operator 2 will be allocated. If both Operators 1 and 2 are not
available, Operator 3 will be allocated to the activity.
When selecting from an operator set, a Specific Member may be utilized. Utilizing this
method, the member index (or number) within the set is specified. This value is based on
the order that the operators in the group are specified in the Operator Group module. The
set member may be specified as an expression, which will be evaluated to an integer.
Production and Changeovers dialog
D ESCRIPTION
The Production and Changeovers dialog box allows you to specify the parameters for
product changeovers. Changeovers can be specified according to a production plan or in