FlexLink YOUTILIZE - Manual (Page 9)

Providing production efficiency
Page 9 of 125
Calculating Tracking Transactions per minute
Each time the location of a unit moving down the production line is tracked by the Youtilize system,
a tracking transaction is recorded in the Youtilize database. Tracking transactions are typically
generated by the workstations specified in your line definition. However, X45, X46, and other
functions may also be optionally configured to generate tracking transactions, so these must be
accounted for as well in your calculations.
The calculation itself is very straightforward. The goal is to determine how many transactions per
minute will be recorded across the entire line. This is done by multiplying the total number (N) of
workstations and/or tracking functions with the line production rate in units per minute.
For example, consider a line with 10 workstations and 3 tracking functions. The line operates at 600
units per hour, or 10 units per minute. The transaction rate would be calculated as follows:
(10 workstations + 3 tracking functions) * 10 units per minute = 130 Transactions per minute
Parallel Processing Workstations Treated as Single Workstation
One very important consideration is that parallel processing workstations may be treated as one
single
workstation in your calculation. This is because the transaction rate of workstations in this
configuration is slower than the actual line rate. Only as a whole do they generate tracking
transactions as the line production rate. Consider the following example:
In this example, the 3 workstations in parallel configuration have a total effective throughput equal
to the line production rate. Therefore, they may be treated as one (1) single workstation in your
load calculation. So, for this line, rather than using 5 total stations, you would use 3 instead (Station
1 + (Station 2-4 cluster) + Station 5 = 3 effective stations). Therefore, the transaction rate would be
as follows: