Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Scheduler Users Guide - Manual (Page 30)

F ACTORY T ALK S CHEDULER U SER ’ S G UIDE
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also restrict what operations can be processed at the same time by requiring that certain
operation attributes match before they can be processed together.
Tutorial : We will not use this resource type in our tutorial system.
The Adjustable Pooled resource type is most often used to represent pools of like
resources, any one of which fulfills the requirement of the task or operation being
performed. Typical examples are labor pools, totes, fixtures, or space. The number of
units of an Adjustable Pooled resource can vary during the operation span. We will
elaborate on this difference shortly.
Tutorial : The labor pool in our tutorial will be modeled as an Adjustable Pooled resource.
Primary and additional resources
Each operation to be scheduled must have a single primary resource for the entire duration
of the operation. Operation durations can be separated into three phases. Normally, these
are referred to as setup, process, and teardown. Additional resources can be specified for
the entire operation or for an individual phase of the operation. There is no limit on the
number of additional resources that an operation may require. However, as the number of
additional resources increases, the scheduling problem becomes more complex. This will
result in more time being required to develop a solution.
Shift patterns and efficiency
You can associate shift patterns, preventive maintenance, downtimes, etc., with any
resource. In addition to shift patterns, you can also associate an efficiency, expressed as a
fraction, with Singular, Infinite, and Simultaneous resources. Typically, this efficiency
would be defaulted to 1.0. By changing the efficiency, you can speed up or slow down
those operations that use the resource.
Resource sets
FactoryTalk Scheduler schedules to either a resource or a resource set. A resource set
contains one or more resources. When a resource set contains multiple resources, the
resources are typically of the same type, although it is not required. Likewise, it is not
required that the names used for resource sets differ from those of resources, but this is the
most common naming convention. Furthermore, a resource may be included in more than
one set.
Tutorial : In our tutorial system, we will have six resources: Bender, Cutter, Finisher,
Machiner, Welder, and Labor. You might note that although Labor is a single resource, it
will have a capacity greater than one. We also have two resource sets, Subassembly Areas
and Assembly and Pack Areas, each with two resources. The two subassembly resources
are called Subassembly Area 1 and Subassembly Area 2. The two assembly resources are