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FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator

Article  in  European Journal of Operational Research · February 1991

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European Journal of Operational Research 53 (1991) 149 165 149
North-Holland

Theory and Methodology

FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system

simulator
Erol Gelenbe and Hatim Guennouni
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en lnformatique, UniversitO RenO Descartes, 45 rue des Saints POres, 75006 Paris,
France

Abstract: We present a general portable simulation tool called FLEXSIM which is designed to evaluate
certain classes of flexible manufacturing systems. The originality of our tool is that it achieves the
independence between the data model which represents the whole FMS and the simulation model itself by
using a relational database management system to define the system being simulated. Thus, the tool has a
user interface which is composed of a database management system geared specifically to handle the FMS
simulator. This approach has two major advantages: the database interface can be coupled directely to the
manufacturing database of a real FMS system, and the user of the tool can address it directly using the
terminology and the data representation related to the real FMS being simulated. Furthermore, the use of
a relational database system provides automatic verification of the consistency and completeness of the
system model which is being simulated. FLEXSIM runs under the Unix Sys V and Unix Bsd4.3 operating
systems; it is therefore a portable tool.

Keywords: Manufacturing systems, simulations, performance evaluation

1. Introduction Each workstation is able to perform several auto-

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are
highly computerized and automated production
systems. Flexibility implies the system's capability
of processing different types of parts. Conse-
quently a flexible manufacturing system can react
quickly to market changes, and should be able to
meet different goals such as minimizing
turnaround times, optimizing machine utilization,
improving part quality and lowering intermediate
stock levels.
A flexible manufacturing system consists of a
set of workstations and of a material, tool and
part transport system linking the workstations.
Received July 1988: revised September 1989
mated operations with the help of computer com-
mands which control the machine-tools at the
workstation and the automatic tool-changing
mechanism. The computer-controlled transporta-
tion system organizes the movement of parts by
using automated guided-vehicles or some other
system (conveyors, etc.). All decisions concerning
transport, manufacturing and the entering of parts
into the system are made by the flexible manufac-
turing system controller.
In Sections 1.1 and 1.2 we describe briefly the
class of FMS which are considered in this paper
and which can be simulated using FLEXSIM.
Such systems have been described extensively in
the literature [6,8,17].
Simulation is central to the design and oper-
ation of flexible manufacturing systems. Therefore

0377-2217/91/$03.50 ,i!3 1991 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

 150 E. Gelenbe, 14. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator
there is a large body of literature on the subject,
including [2,3,5,9-12,15,16,18-20,22]. In [18,20]
the use of existing simulation languages is de-
scribed. In [11,15] general principles for FMS
simulation are described, while [2] outlines some
desirable features of such simulators and discusses
the systems which were available at the time that
paper was written. An earlier paper [3] comes
close to the topic of our paper; it indicates that
having a database system in conjunction with a
simulator can enhance the flexibility of the simu-
lation tool, in particular with respect to processing
the data collected during simulation. This a fea-
ture which is available in FLEXSIM, the system
described in our paper, but which is just one
aspect of the use of a database system for FMS
simulation as we understand and propose it. In
[5,16,22] various specific FMS simulation tools are
described. In [16] a menu oriented graphical inter-
face is proposed to the simulator. In [22] a per-
sonal computer oriented simulation system using
graphical input and output is described. In [5] a
system which uses a user-friendly menu driven
interface to a model written in SLAM is de-
scribed.
Our approach differs from these preceding ap-
proaches in several respects as indicated below.
The purpose of this paper is to present a model-
ing and simulation tool for FMS systems. This
modeling system, called FLEXSIM, has been con-
ceived as a computer aided design and evaluation
tool for FMS systems, and is based on a novel
idea which is the interdependence between the
database representation model for an FMS system
and its simulation model. We have interfaced a
manufacturing database with a simulator so that
the designer of an FMS can change the configura-
tion of its configuration without knowledge of the
structure of the simulator. The manufacturing
database, which is represented and implemented
by FLEXSIM in a relational database manage-
ment system. The simulation model allows the
designer to investigate the FMS in detail and
predicts its performance with high precision.
FLEXSIM does not make use of existing simu-
lation packages (such as SLAM, M A P / 1 or GPSS)
so as to maintain the highest possible degree of
flexibility. Though a menu-driven interface could
be added our system, our main objective in the use
of a relational database as the user interface is to
(a) provide a formal and logical scheme for the
description of the FMS being simulated, with all
that this implies for consistency verification, com-
pleteness, etc., and (b) to provide an interface
representation as close as possible to the view the
user would have of a real FMS information sys-
tem. Thus FLEXSIM can be also used to help the
designer of the real FMS database system in mak-
ing proper database choices in conjunction with
performance considerations; furthermore, if the
real FMS database already exists, the information
it contains may be transposed into F L E X S I M ' s
database.
The following functions are carried out by
FLEXSIM:
• Verifying the completeness and consistency
of the FMS specification provided by the designer
of the FMS system and introduced into FLEX-
SIM by the user; the FMS designer and the user
of F L E X S I M may of course be the same person or
the same group of people
• Providing quantitative data such as produc-
tion rates, machine utilization, manufacturing bot-
tlenecks, buffer storage, as a function of system
parameters.
• Identifying and reporting undesirable situa-
tions such as buffer blocking, deadlocks, etc.
• Analyzing the effects of modifying physical
system and workload parameters.
• Testing and optimizing different manufactur-
ing strategies.
Various simulated scenarios can be investigated
using FLEXSIM by acting on the storage space at
the workstations, the number of machines, the
distances between the workstations, the part and
type combination, the service disciplines of the
input and output buffer queues at the worksta-
tions, the routing sequence of part types and so
on.
1.1. The physical system
The class of considered FMS systems are com-
posed of a set of workstations and a transporta-
tion system, designed to process a set of workpieces
or parts. In this section we shall describe the
assumptions which are made by F L E X S I M con-
cerning the various components of the FMS sys-
tems considered. These restrictions are not funda-
mental with respect to our general approach. They
are merely restrictions concerning the particular
 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing ~vstem simulator
implementation of FLEXSIM which is being de-
scribed.
Workstations. The stations consist of computer
controlled machine-tools with local tool storage
and a part handling mechanism or robot which
moves parts and tools between local resources.
Each workstation has an input buffer and an
output buffer with finite capacity. The first re-
ceives parts for processing, while the latter stores
parts waiting for another destination. There are
also other types of stations such as loading/
unloading (LU) stations, washing stations, or in-
spection stations.
Material transportation system. This system
transports parts and tools from one station to
another. In the present version of FLEXSIM we
assume that all tools necessary to manufacture
parts on machines are stored locally so that we do
not need a tool transportation system. The part
transportation system considered is a unidirec-
tional closed loop which uses pallets to support
parts and move them between workstations (see
Figure 1). Pallets can be of different types accord-
ing to the parts they handle.
Properties of the parts. At the LU station, each
entering part is mounted on a pallet. Then the
part attached to the pallet circulates in the system
and a variety of operations are carried out on it.
In order to process the different of the part, it may
have to be rotated during its processing within the
system. This is carried out only at the LU station
Machining~
Station ~ I Machining
Station
Inspection
Station
Washing Machining
Station Station
Loading/Unloading
Station
Figure 1. An example of a FMS with a unidirectional closed
loop part transportation system
151
and therefore several different types of pallets can
be used by a part during the manufacturing pro-
cess. After a part is rotated we assume that we are
dealing with a new type of part. Each pallet type
is assigned to only one part type.
Each part type is processed in a hypothetically
uniform sequence of principal phases. Each phase
needs one pallet type, is assigned to one worksta-
tion, and uses a sequence of operations. An oper-
ation requires a tool and uses a part program
module defined as a set of program macro calls
which are stored in computer controlled machine-
tools. In summary, each part type is processed
during a fixed number of principal phases. We
assume that the first and last phases are always
the loading and unloading phases, respectively.
Any part which enters the system must respect
the order of these phases. The dynamic aspect
which exists in this manufacturing strategy is the
possibility of replacing one principal phase by its
alternate phase when a part cannot be admitted to
the principal one, or when the principal phase is
not considered to be the most appropriate course
of action when the decision has to be taken. This
may occur for reasons related to the load of the
system, or for performance optimization. The op-
eration sequence carried out on the alternate
workstation is not necessarily the same as the one
which belongs to the principal workstation but the
manufactured parts which result are identical in
both cases.
1.2. The control system
The essential core of the flexible manufacturing
system software is the control system. In general,
it is implemented as a collection of distributed
controllers. It controls the release of parts to the
system at the LU station, routes parts through the
required workstations, redirects them to the alter-
nate workstation when some problems, such as a
temporary bottleneck, occur at specific stations
and finally sends the parts to the LU station for
subsequent departure from the system. All of the
system's controllers are integrated through a local
communication network.
2. The simulation tool F L E X S I M
In this section we shall describe the main con-
siderations which have led to the design decisions
152 E. Gelenbe, 11. Guennouni / FLEXS1M: A flexible manufacturing system simulator

Manufacturin~ constructing a relational database representing this

Database --- Pepin DBMS information. Secondly, we link the database with
(MDB) ] the simulator using an interpreter module, called
PEAL [13], specifically designed in relation to the
PEPIN system, which translates the macro-state-
ments of the database into the different proce-
l Interpreter _ dures and function calls which compose the run-
Module [- -- Peal interpreter time code of the PEPIN relational database
management system.
FLEXSIM is thus constructed from the follow-

I
SIMULATOR -- Pascal language
ing components: a relational database (MDB)
which is a close representation of a real manufac-
turing database, an interpreter which maps the
database contents into simulation control data
and finally the discrete event simulator itself (Fig-
Figure 2. The structure of the simulation tool FLEXSIM ure 2).

in FLEXSIM. Because large quantities of data are
manipulated by a comprehensive simulation
model, we have chosen to organize most of this
data in the form of a relational database [21]. The
particular database system used in the PEPIN
system described in [14]. Thus the users of
FLEXSIM can change the FMS configuration very
easily without affecting the code of the simulation
program.
To describe all entities which must be in-
tegrated in an FMS simulator, our approach con-
sists in first examining its information system and
2.1. The manufacturing database of F L E X S I M
The manufacturing database (MDB) used in
FLEXSIM includes only static information which
is available to the FMS designer. It is a relational
database implemented using the PEPIN relational
database management system. The MDB includes
the following information:
• The characteristics of part types and the
quantities of parts to be handled by the system.
• The sequence of machining phases and basic
operations.

TYPE_PIECE(codtypi,nmtypi,txctl,qte}
PHASE_TYPAL (codphase,phiprec,phisuiv,co dtypal)
TYPAL (codtypal,codtypi)
ALTPHASE(codphase,altcodphase)
PHASE(codphase,numst,prior,txdech}
OPSVT(codop,codphase,adrpgmop,rang)
OPERATION (codop,duree)
OP_OUT(codop,codtyout }
PGMOP(adrpgmop,nmpgmop,txpgm)
STATION (numst,idnoe,nomst,typst,kpamont,kpaval)
MACHINE (codmach,numst,tpspospal,tpspivpal,tpschgout)
ORIGINE(idnoe,idtrc}
DESTINATION(idnoe,idtrc)
TRONCON (idtrc,tparcours)
Figure 3. The relational schema of the manufacturing database
 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM." A flexible manufacturing ,~vstem simulator
• The timing characteristics of the machine-
tools, including their setup time.
• The capacities of different workstations to
store and to manufacture parts.
• The topology of the part transportation sys-
tem.
We integrate the system's dynamic information
such as the stage reached by a part, the machine-
tool in use and so on, directly in the simulator
data structure to achieve faster access and to
avoid interaction with the relational MDB during
simulation. All the components of the physical
system are described via relations. A simplified
version of a relevant FLEXSIM database schema
is shown in Figure 3 where we list all of the
relational schema. The meaning and use of this
schema is explained below.
To set the quantity of parts (called the qte
attribute) to be manufactured for each part type
we define the T Y P E P I E C E relation. In certain
cases, it may be desirable to stop the simulation
only when a desired level of confidence has been
obtained from the simulation results, and this
cannot be known until the simulation run us actu-
ally taking place; if the user of FLEXSIM request
this option, then this quantity is simply used to
calculate the proportion of each part type rather
than the total number of items of this part type
which must be produced before the simulation can
stop. The TYPE PIECE relation also includes the
name which designates the part type (nmtypi). For
quality inspection, we must fix the percentage of
parts which pass through the control station; this
information is specified by the txctl attribute.
It also may include more general information
about a part such as:
the nature of the raw material used,
roughness of the surface of the part,
tolerances concerning the position of the part,
its shape; the quality of the parts clearly depends
on these tolerances.
For each part type, its phase routing sequences
are identified in the PHASE T Y P A L relation
using two pointers which indicate the preceding
phase and the next phase (phiprec, phisuiu). Since
each part may be fixed on a distinct pallet, a pallet
code codtypal has been introduced as an attribute
of the PHASE T Y P A L relation. This field also
links the PHASE relation to the T Y P A L relation
which describe the types of pallets.
An alternative phase, i.e. one which a piece will
153
use if for some reasons the principal phase cannot
be adopted, is found in the A L T P H A S E relation.
In the PHASE relation a phase is associated to a
station (numst) and has a priority (prior). A
wastage rate (txdech) measured for each part type
and depending on the machining phase is intro-
duced. The rank (rang) of operations which be-
long to each phase is defined in the OPSVT rela-
tion, whereas the duration of each operation
(duree) is included in the O P E R A T I O N relation.
With the help of the codtyout and adrpgmop at-
tributes found in the OP O U T and P G M rela-
tion, respectively, FLEXSIM provides the possi-
bility to specify both the tool type and the mac-
hining program necessary for each basic oper-
ation. The txpgm attribute indicates whether the
machine-tool will spend time in pallet positioning
before performing the operation.
The S T A T I O N and M A C H I N E relations de-
scribe the workstations and the machine-tools,
respectively. The buffer capacities of workstations
are represented by the kpamont and kpaval attri-
butes which designate respectively the maximum
capacities to store parts at the input and the
output of each workstation (i.e. the input and
output buffer). The typst attribute specifies the
type of the station (i.e. machining, washing, con-
trol . . . . ). We notice that the M A C H I N E relation
indicates different characteristics of machine-tools
such as tool changing time (tpschgout) or pallet
positioning time (tpspospal) on the machining ta-
ble.
We use three relations to represent the part
transportation system when it is represented as a
unidirectional closed loop. The O R I G I N E and
D E S T I N A T I O N relation give the successive seg-
ments (idtrc)joining the origin mode to the de-
stination node. Each node (idnoe) designates the
unique input-output point for each station on the
closed loop as indicated in the S T A T I O N relation.
The third relation, called T R O N C O N , specifies
for each segment which joins two successive origin
and destination nodes, the transit time on the loop
(tpspar-cours) of the segment. Other relations such
as TOOL, can be defined for further extensions of
the simulation model to take into account tool
characteristics such as wear or aging.
Once the designer has specified all of these
relations and entered the corresponding data, the
relational database management system incorpo-
rated into FLEXSIM will automatically verify the
154 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator
data for completeness, and identify inconsistencies
in the relations or in the data which have been
introduced.
2.2. The simulator user interface
Initially the simulator extracts the information
necessary for a simulation run from the database.
Its queries are formulated in algebraic relational
language, using the PEAL preprocessor [13], in
terms of relational operations such as selection,
join, projection, union, intersection, etc. This ini-
tial information concerns:
• The resources of the FMS being simulated
such as stations, machine-tools and the transport
system.
• The objects which are being acted upon,
especially the parts, their principal routing se-
quence and the different alternate manufacturing
sequences.
For instance, to obtain the sequence of the
principal phases for part type P1, we use the two
following operations:
1. Selection operation in T Y P A L relation with
codtypi = ' PI'.
2. Join operation between the resulting relation
from the first step and the P H A S E _ T Y P A L rela-
tion using the codtypal attribute.
FLEXSIM is called using appropriate U N I X
commands. There are different options which per-
mit some additional facilities introduced to help
the user of the system. The principal facility con-
cerns the 'debug option' which allows the user of
FLEXSIM to enter lower level representations
and obtain more detailed information. The simu-
lator FLEXSIM requires that the deterministic
policy or random process used to release parts
into the system be specified. The name of the
manufacturing database as well as the names of
the result files have to be specified at this time,
otherwise default names are taken [9]. At the end
of the simulation run, FLEXSIM provides reports
on the performance of the FMS being modeled.
The simulator provides two possibilities for
modelling a flexible manufacturing system, either
as an open system or as a closed system. These
terms are used in the usual sense: an open system
receives parts from the outside world and the
finished parts are returned to the outside world
without being able to determine a priori the num-
ber of parts which will be present in the system at
a given time instant, while a closed system oper-
ates with a fixed number of parts.
A. The F M S modeled as an open system
In this operating mode the user must define the
flow of arrivals of parts into the system. The user
can choose an arrival process which is either de-
terministic by specifying the length of the time
interval between successive arrivals, or stochastic
(Poisson arrival process or Erlang interarrival
times). FLEXSIM examines the blocking prob-
lems due to the load on the system and the capac-
ity of workstations [4,7]. F L E X S I M indicates if
the arrival rate causes blocking of the system; it
provides the 'blocking rate' defined as the smallest
arrival rate, in number of parts per unit time,
which causes blocking at some workstation.
FLEXSIM automatically varies the arrival rate of
pieces into the system and plots a curve which
represents the evolution of the blocking rate as a
function of the arrival rate. It also measures the
turnaround time which is the mean time spent by
a part in the system and the throughput which is
simply the number of finished parts per unit time
departing from the simulated system. Two curves
which represents the behavior of these rates as a
function of the arrival rate are plotted automati-
cally. In all cases reports provide information
about the utilization rate of machines, average
queue lengths and the rate at which parts may be
rejected at stations which are full. This rate is the
number of parts per unit time which were forced
to use the alternate phase. The statistical confi-
dence intervals are computed for all the measures.
B. The F M S modeled as a closed system
In this case the number of parts in the system is
kept constant during a simulation run by intro-
ducing a new part each time a part leaves the
system after having been completely processed.
FLEXSIM asks the user to specify the number of
parts to be kept constant for a particular simula-
tion run. As described before, F L E X S I M mea-
sures the blocking problems and outputs the rate
of blocking at each workstation for each trial
which is performed with a fixed numbers of parts.
An appropriate curve is plotted. F L E X S I M calcu-
lates and reports the turnaround time and
throughout. Two other curves are also plotted
with this model representing both the turnaround
time and the throughput as a function of the
 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXS1M: A flexible manufacturing system simulator
number of parts. The statistical confidence inter-
vals of the simulation are also given.
Remark
FLEXSIM has the capability of storing the
results of simulation runs into files. This is a
useful feature in relation to some existing U N I X
utility programs such as PLOT and G R A P H which
can be used to produce graphical output informa-
tion.
2.3. The simulator kernel
The simulator kernel implements an accurate
simulation model which represents detailed real-
world system behavior of the FMS as specified in
the MDB. Nevertheless, problems of reliability
and system failure resulting from tool and mac-
hine breakdowns are ignored.
The simulation kernel is based on three mod-
ules and a scheduler (Figure 4). The supervisor
module is linked to the two other modules: the
transport and machining modules; it also manages
the activities and resources of the simulator.
The simulator is programmed in PASCAL using
the well known discrete event simulation tech-
nique [1]. The events which cause the transition
between two real world system states are listed
and the state reached by the system is specified in
the future event list scheduler which maintains a
chronological order of events generated by the
machining/palletizing (we use the term 'palletiz-
~upervis -~imulator/
/'Maehining/~
I Palletizing [
Future Event List F E L~
,ill I,,, Sch;a l
Figure 4. Simulator Architecture
155
ing' to mean placing a piece on a pallet after its
processing or machining is completed), and trans-
port modules. The event list provides the super-
visor with the information necessary to activate
the different tasks which correspond to each event.
The simulator is driven by three types of events:
1. Arrival-of-part to the station.
2. End-of-machining of a part.
3. Entering-of-part in the system.
When the first type of event occurs the trans-
port module is activated, and the part is stored in
the input buffer of the station. If there is an idle
machine at the station, the part is immediately
processed by it and its future end-of-machining
event is scheduled. The output buffer is scanned
and the sending condition is verified for each part
located in this buffer to transfer it to its destina-
tion station and to schedule the corresponding
future arrival event. This condition must take into
account the following parameters:
1. The storage capacity of the input buffer of
the station.
2. The end-of-machining times on the ma-
chines belonging to the station.
3. The number of parts moving on the trans-
port system to the station.
The occurrence of the end-of-machining event
activates the machining program. The processed
part is stored in the output buffer and if there are
waiting parts in the input buffer, the part which
has the highest priority is processed and the end-
of-machining event is scheduled for the selected
part. Then the output buffer is also scanned and
processed.
In the case of the palletizing operation it is
assumed that the number of pallets is unlimited.
The entering part event has the same effect as
the part arrival event, except that it is an external
event.
Blocking can occur in two cases:
• The input buffer of the loading/unloading
station is saturated.
• The output buffer of the workstation cannot
receive the part which has just been processed.
3. A case study
In this section we illustrate the external behav-
ior of F L E X S I M by using a simple example based
on the system shown in Figure 1.
156 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator

We present in Table l a - e the complete manu-
facturing database of the system shown in Figure
1. The FMS configuration consists of three mac-
hining stations (S1, $2 and $4) where the
processing of parts is carried out, one LU station
(SP), one inspection station (SC) and finally one
washing station (SL). Each station has an input
and an output buffer; buffer sizes are shown in
the STATION relation.
The nodes assigned to the stations also appear
in the STATION relation. From the M A C H I N E
relation we can deduce all machines which corre-
spond to a given station. For instance, station 1
(i.e. S1) contains the TUS1 and FRS1 machines.
The time to change tools and the time to set up
the pallet and part on the machining table are
given.
In this example, the set of pallets and parts
move in a unidirectional closed loop which serves
all stations. The transit time necessary to traverse
the segment which connects two workstations is
given in the T R O N C O N relation using the
O R I G I N and D E S T I N A T I O N relations.
In this example, three part types P1, P2 and P3

Table l a

STATION relation M A C H I N E relation

NUMST IDNOE NOMST TYPST KPA- KPA- COD- NUMST TPSPO- TPSCHG- TPSPIV-
MONT VAL MACH SPAL OUT PAL
0 0 SP PAL 3 3 TUS1 1 2.0 3.0 1.2
1 1 S1 US1 2 2 FRS1 1 2.0 4.0 1.3
2 2 $2 US1 3 4 FHS2 2 3.0 4.0 1.6
3 3 SC CT1 2 2 TOS2 2 1.5 3.4 2.0
4 4 $4 US1 2 2 ALS2 2 2.4 3.6 2.2
5 5 SL LAV 2 2 CTRL 3 3.2 2.7 1.4
FHS4 4 2 3.0 1.8
PES4 4 2.7 2.7 2.0
LAVA 5 2.0 3.0 1.5
PAL1 0 1.0 1.0 0.5
PAL2 0 1.0 1.0 0.3

Table l b

T R O N C O N relation O R I G I N E relation D E S T I N A T I O N relation

IDTRC T P A R C O U RS IDNOE IDTRC 1DNOE I D TR C

T01 1.0 0 T01 0 T50
TI 2 2.0 1 T12 1 T01
T24 2.0 2 T24 2 T12
T43 1.0 4 T43 4 T24
T35 1.0 5 T35 3 T43
T50 1.0 5 T50 5 T35

Table l c

T Y P E _ PIECE relation TYPA L relation A L T P H A S E relation

CODTYPI NMT YPI TXCTL QTE CODTYPAL C O D TY P I CODPHASE ALTCODPHASE
1 PI 0.1 100000 1 1 PHIS2 PHIPS4
2 P2 0.1 100000 2 3 PH1S1 PH1PS2
3 P3 0.1 100000 3 2 PH2S2 PH2PS4
4 2 PH2S2 PH2PS4
PH3S2 PH3PS1
Table l d

P H A S E _ T Y P A L relation OPSVT relation P H A S E relation

CODPHASE PHIPREC PHISU1V CODTYPAL CODOP CODPHASE ADRPGMOP RANG CODPHASE NUMST PRIOR TXDECH
PH ! SP FFFF PH 1$2 1 OPAL/ PH1SP 00000EEA 0 PH1S2 2 1 0.05
PH1S2 PH1SP PH1S1 1 OP1 $2 PH1 $2 00010000 0 P H I S1 1 1 0.05
PH1S1 PH1S2 PH1S4 1 OP1S1 PH1S1 00010A02 0 PH1S4 4 1 0.05
PH1S4 PH1S1 PH1SC 1 OP1S4 PH1S4 00010BD3 0 PH1SC 3 1 0.0
PH1Sc PH1S4 PH1PSP 1 OP1SC PH1SC 0001AFB0 0 PH1PS4 4 1 0.05
PH1PSP PH1SC FFFF 1 OP3S4 PH1PS4 0001F000 0 PH1PS2 2 1 0.05
PH3SP FFFF PH2S1 3 OP33S2 PH1PS2 0001000A 0 PH2S1 1 1 0.05
5.
PH2S1 PH3SP PH2SC 3 OP12PS2 PH1PS2 000AF000 1 PH2S2 2 1 0.05
PH2SC PH2S1 PH4SP 3 DEPAL1 PH1PSP 00001E00 0 PH2SC 3 1 0.0
PH4SP PH2SC PH2S2 4 OPAL3 PH3SP 0000FDA9 0 PH2SL 5 1 0.05 r~
PH2S2 PH4SP PH2SL 4 OP2S1 PH2S1 000F1000 0 PH2PS2 2 1 0.05
PH2SL PH2S2 PHdSP 4 OP2S2 PH2S2 000F000A 0 PH2PS4 4 1 0.05
PH4PSP PH2SL FFFF 4 OP2SC PH2SC 000BFOA1 0 PH3S2 2 1 0.05
PH2SP FFFF PH3S2 2 OP2SL PH2SL 000AFFFF 0 PH3S4 4 1 0.05
PH3S2 PH2SP PH3S4 2 D EP A L3 PH4SP 00001F00 0 PH2SC 3 1 0.0
PH3S4 PH3S2 PH2SC 2 O P A L4 PH4SP 0000120F 1 PH3SL 5 1 0.05
PH3SC PH3S4 PH3SL 2 OP2S2 PH2PS2 000DF000 0 PH3PS1 1 1 0.05
PH3SL PH3SC PH2PSP 2 OP2PS4 PH2PS4 00AOF000 0 PH1PSP 0 2 0.0
PH2PSP PH3SL FFFF 2 DEPAL4 PH4PSP 000032E0 0 PH1SP 0 0 0.0
OPAL2 PH2SP 0000F060 0 PH2SP 0 0 0.0
OP1S1 PH3S2 010000FA 0 PH3SP 0 0 0.0 0~

OP32S2 PH3S2 00000FFF 1 PH4SP 0 1 0.05

0P33S2 PH3S2 00000BA0 2 PH2PSP 0 2 0.0
OP3S4 PH3S4 0001F000 0 PH4PSP 0 2 0.0
OP3SC PH3SC 00124A00 0
OP3SL PH3SL 00200000 0
OP31PS] PH3PS1 003A0000 0
OP32PS1 PH3PS1 003AC00D 1
DEPAL2 PH2PSP 00003B00 0
158 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator

Table le
OPERATION relation OP_ OUT relation PGM _ OP relation
CODOP DUREE CODOP CODTYOUT ADRPGMOP NMPGMOP TXPGM
OPAL1 0.5 OP1$2 391.05.16-50-030 00010000 TOURNER1 0.5
OPIS2 0.62 OP1S1 391.05-23-50-030 00010A02 PERCER_ 2 0.5
OPIS1 1.04 OPI $4 391.05-23-50-020 00010BD3 TARAUDER 0.5
OP1S4 0.6 OP1SC 491.05-40-50-030 0001AFB0 CONTROL1 0.5
OP1SC 0.28 OP12PS2 391.05-22-63-040 0001F000 TOURNER2 0.5
OPI PS4 1.02 OP2S1 391.05-27-63-030 0001000A ALESER_ 1 0.5
OP11PS2 1.24 OP2S2 391.05-32-63-030 000AF000 PERCER_ 1 0.5
OP12PS2 0.87 OP2SC 491.05-40-63-030 000F1000 FRAISER1 0.5
DEPAL1 0.25 OP2SL 800.0.5-22-80-030 000F000A FRAISER2 0.5
OPAL3 0.20 OP2PS4 391.05-32-80-030 000BFOA1 CONTROL1 0.5
OP2S1 0.64 OP32S2 391.05-60-80-030 000AFFFF LAVER 2 0.5
OP2S2 0.71 OP33S2 391.05-70-80-030 000DF000 FRAISER2 0.5
OP2SC 0.25 OP3S4 391.05-40-50-025 00AOF000 FRAISER4 0.5
OP2SL 0.32 OP3SC 491.05-70-63-030 010000FA PERCER 2 0.5
DEPAL3 0.15 OP3SL 800.05-70-50-025 00000FFF ALESER_ 2 0.5
OPAL4 0.45 OP31PS1 391.05-32-50-025 00000BA0 ALESER _ 1 0.5
OP2PS2 0.69 OP32PS1 391.05-32-63-025 00124A00 CONTROL3 0.5
OP2PS4 0.83 OPAL1 SPECIAL1 00200000 LAVER 3 0.5
DEPAL4 0.2 OPAL2 SPECIAL2 0001F 0 0 0 TOURNER2 0.5
OPAL2 0.34 OPAL3 SPECIAL3 003A0000 PERCER 6 0.5
OP31 $2 1.18 OPAL4 SPECIAL4 003AC00D ALESER 3 0.5
OP32S2 0.47 DEPAL1 SPECIAL1 00000EEA PALET 1 0.5
OP33S2 0.43 DEPAL2 SPECIAL2 0000F050 PALET_ 2 0.5
OP3S4 0.70 DEPAL3 SPECIAL3 0000FDA9 PALET 3 0.5
OP2SC 0.27 DEPAL4 SPECIAL4 0000120F PALET_4 0.5
OP3SL 0.30 00001F00 DEPALET3 0.5
OP31PS1 0.82 00001E00 DEPALET1 0.5
OP32PS1 0.79 00003B00 DEPALET2 0.5
DEPAL2 0.18 000032E0 DEPALET4 0.5

( T Y P E _ P I E C E relation) are m a n u f a c t u r e d . The to 0) to d i s a d v a n t a g e the e n t e r i n g parts, a n d is

T Y P A L relation indicates that two pallet types, 3
a n d 4, are used by the part type P2, whereas the
pallet type 1 is used by part type P1, a n d the
pallet type 2 by the part type P3. F L E X S I M is
asked to simulate the p r o d u c t i o n of three part
types in equal n u m b e r s . All sequences of phases
are shown in the P H A S E _ T Y P A L relation which
also represents the c o r r e s p o n d i n g pallet types. Six
phases (PH1SP, P H I S 2 , PH1S1, PH1S4, PH1SC,
P H I P S P ) , seven phases (PH3SP, PH2S1, PH2SC,
PH4SP, PH2S2, PH2SL, P H 4 P S P ) a n d five phases
(PH2SP, PH3S2, PH3S4, PH3SL, PH2PSP) are
associated to part types P1, P2 a n d P3, respec-
tively. The special F F F F code m e a n s that the
phase is undefined.
I n the P H A S E relation, the wastage rates are
specified. We notice that the priority ( P R I O R
equal to 1) is always the same for the m a c h i n i n g
phases whereas the priority is lower ( P R I O R equal
higher ( P R I O R equal to 2) to u n l o a d i m m e d i a t e l y
completed parts; thus, the queues at stations m a y
be m a n a g e d with different disciplines. W i t h regard
to the alternative phases ( A L T P H A S E relation)
a n d in particular in the case of Part T y p e 1, we
should m e n t i o n that two alternative PH1PS2 a n d
PH1PS1 exist to replace the principal phases
P H I S 2 a n d P H I S 1 . The O P S V T relation describes
the sequence of operations for each phase; i n this
relation a selection, for instance, to the PH3S2
phase gives the sequence of o p e r a t i o n s (OP1S1,
OP32S2, OP33S2). F o r each o p e r a t i o n we specify
its d u r a t i o n ( O P E R A T I O N relation), the tool nec-
essary to perform it ( O P _ O U T relation) a n d the
p r o g r a m ( P G M _ O P relation) which carries out
the operation.
Once the m a n u f a c t u r i n g d a t a b a s e has been
completely specified in F L E X S I M , the resources
of the F M S a n d the r o u t i n g sequence of the part
 159
I ENVIRONMENT I
I Open queueing network I
I Polsson arrivals I
I Arrival rate : 0.8 I
[ Real m a n u f a c t u r i n g time : 167d 22h 50m l
...........................................
###############################
Report 1 (Rate = 0.8 )
###############################

>> Performance Measures

******************************************************
* Produced parts : 64600 *
* Throughput : 0.259[ 0.236, 0.288] *
* Blocking rate : 0.063[ 0.057, 0.07 } *
* Wastage rate : 0.05 [ 0.046, 0.056] *
* Turnaround time 63.873[ 60.787, 66.957] *
******************************************************

###############################
Report 2 (Rate = 0.8 )
###############################
Parts

Average number of parts in the system = 20.99 [ 20.587, 21.392]

>> Parts distribution

Part types Manufactured Discarded Blocked

1 23615 4131 2692
2 21998 4082 4512
3 18987 3078 8032

Total 64600 12092 15236

Pallets

>> Pallets Distribution

Pallet types Used

1 13
3 9
4 I0
2 14

Total 46

###############################
Report 3 (Rate = 0.8 )
###############################

Workstations

>> Input and Output Buffer Average Lengths

Stations Input Output

Sl 0.304 [ 0.274, 0.335] 0.434 [ 0.391, 0.477]
S2 1.218 [ 1.124, 1.313] 0.849 [ 0.764, 0.934]
S4 0.479 [ 0.431, 0.527] 0.759 [ 0.683, 0.835]
SP 1.288 [ 1.206, 1.37 ] 1.149 I 1.096, 1.202]
SL 0.543 [ 0.489, 0.598] 0.825 [ 0.743, 0.907]
SC 0. [ 0. , 0. ] 0.895 [ 0.809, 0.981]

>> Rejection rates

Stations Rejection rate

SI 0.479 [ 0.464, 0.495]
$2 0.545 [ 0.532, 0.557}
$4 0.665 [ 0.653, 0.676}
SP 0.407 [ 0.403, 0.412]
SL 0.708 [ 0.703, 0.714]
SC 0. l 0. , 0. ]

Machine-tools

Machines Utilisation rate Service time

TUSI 0.779 [ 0.746, 0.811] 6.206 5.902, 6.509]
FRSI 0.786 [ 0.755, 0.818] 6.939 6.57 , 7.307]
FHS2 0.94 [ 0.919, 0.96 ] 11.089 10.382, 11.796]
ALS2 0.92 [ 0.897, 0.943] 10.027 9.375, 10.68 ]
TOS2 0.924 [ 0.9 , 0.947] 9.273 8.625, 9.921]
FHS4 0.823 [ 0.793, 0.853] 5.497 5.302, 5. 692]
PES4 0.831 [ 0.802, 0.861] 6.115 5.934, 6.296]
PAL2 0.91 [ 0.885, 0.934] 2.507 2.426, 2.588]
PAL1 0.895 [ 0.869, 0.921] 2.554 2.469, 2.639]
LAVA 0.849 [ 0.819, 0.879] 4.661 4.469, 4.854]
CTRL 0.251 [ 0.234, 0.267] 5.942 5.772, 6.112]

F i g u r e 5. S i m u l a t i o n r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d u s i n g F L E X S I M w i t h 90% c o n f i d e n c e i n t e r v a l s
160 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / F L E X S I M . " A flexible manufacturing system simulator

types can be visualized using the appropriate sys- the more recent (or more powerful) computer
tem call when starting FLEXSIM; an example of workstations can reduce this time by a factor of
the results of such a call (obtained from a FLEX- two or more.
SIM printout) are in Appendices 1 and 2. A F L E X S I M simulation report consists of three
parts:
Simulation results
The version of F L E X S I M which we have used
Report 1. It concerns the three fundamental
to illustrate these results is installed on an Apollo
p a r a m e t e r s which are the t h r o u g h p u t the
computer workstation operating under the Unix
turnaround time and the blocking rate. They are
Bsd. 4.3 operating system. On this machine, the
expressed in parts per minute.
computer run time for the example given in Figure
1 is very close to 15 minutes for a simulated time
of five and one half months of FMS time, assum- Report 2. It gives the number of pallets used
ing that the FMS system is running 24 hours per during the simulation and their distribution. The
day. Although this simulation run is relatively mean number of parts in the system and the
long, since 15 minutes may be a very long time for distribution of parts among finished, discarded
the user to wait for a report, we can expect that and blocked parts is also given.

Sl.ation : SUr Station : St

I.O PESff 1.0 FRSt
FHS½ TUS[
0J
¢I] .75
jl. Q;
¢0 .75 /
n," c¢

t- t-
o O
•~ . r~O
"~ .50 ,.a
tl] tO
Ul t~
.r.-~ . r,i

'"~ .25
-,t .25

0.0 O.O
.40 1o I;2 116 2.o .40 .~o i;2 i;6 2.0

Arrival Ra~.e Arrival Rate

Station : $2 FHS~ Stat ion : SP

1.0 L~ _ _ ~..~ ~ ,~- "~--''-- ALS2 i .0 PAL2
TOS2 -- --=- --~- "~'~ ~ "- "-- ~ PALl
OJ
P .75
•75
tY n,

t- C
O 0
.rl "~ .58
•5 0

O'l bl
..4

..4 .25
•2 5

'
1.'2 0 .O
1.'6
0.0
.8o 1;6 2.0 .4o .~o ,;2 2.0
• 40
Arriua[ Rate ArFival Rate

F i g u r e 6. U t i l i s a t i o n r a t e f o r t h e m a c h i n e - t o o l s i n e a c h s t a t i o n
 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator 161

Report 3. It contains statistical data concerning
the queues in the system being simulated, such as:
• The mean length of queues upstream and
downstream of workstations.
• The blocking rate discussed above.
• The utilization or occupancy rate for each
machine-tool.
In Figure 5 we present these three reports, as
they are produced in the result file, for the FMS
system described above, and shown in Figure 1.
In this configuration, for example, the machine
utilization rates are high and so is the blocking
rate; this implies that the system load is very high.
Other simulation runs have to be carried out, with
other input rates, to compare various parameters.
The curves plotted by F L E X S I M can be very
useful at this stage. Two examples of curves are
shown in Figures 6 and 7 concerning the utiliza-
tion rates of the machine-tools of the station S1
and the performance measures of the system.
4. Conclusions
We have constructed a novel FMS simulation
tool called F L E X S I M which is both a computer
aided design and a performance evaluation tool.
The simulator stores in a relational database de-
tailed information concerning the capacities of the
stations, the number of machine-tools at each
workstation, the phases and alternate phases, setup

Par~s in She system

25.0

22.5

A
IA
u
20.0

17.5

15.0 | i i

,40 .80 1.2 1,6 2.0

Art iva] Rate

Turnaround Time
•50 80.0

A
• 38 72.5

t-
.r4
E
\ .25 65.0
bl hroughput c
U ~Blocking E
Q~
.,--I
n .13 I 57.5
v
~__~__ ~ / N a s t acje

0.0 J" 50,0

• 40 •0 1.2
' 1.'6 2.0 .40 .80
' .1 2 1.6
' 2.0

Arrival Rate ArrJua] Rate

F i g u r e 7. P e r f o r m a n c e m e a s u r e s o f the s y s t e m
162 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / F L E X S I M : A flexible manufacturing system simulator

times, transport system characteristics, processing
times, etc.
Thus FLEXSIM uses a database management
system which allows the user to construct a simu-
lation model in a manner very similar if not
identical to the one in which he would construct
the manufacturing database. The user is relieved
of any modeling work and can concentrate on the
description of the system and then on the analysis
of the simulation results. Furthermore the user
does not actually write any portions of the simula-
tor. Before a simulation run actually takes place,
F L E X S I M will verify the user's description for
consistency and completeness and the relational
database will automatically refuse incomplete and
inconsistent data. F L E X S I M will also provide the
user with a summary description of the FMS
system being studied as indicated in the computer
printouts shown in Appendices 1 and 2.
FLEXSIM is based on two main software mod-
ules: a database system and a simulator. The
database system itself is a 'simulator' of a FMS
manufacturing database since it mimics closely the
manner in which information would be repre-
sented there. Thus the user specifies the FMS he
wishes to simulate, much as he would specify a
real FMS within the framework of its information
system. Once the specification is complete, the
simulator will interact directly with the database
without intervention from the user. At the end of
the simulation run, F L E X S I M provides a set of
reports usable by the FMS designer and evaluator.
This original approach to FMS design, which
forces a more effective interaction between FMS
specification and description on the one hand, and
FMS performance evaluation on the other, should
bring simulation and evaluation activities much
closer to FMS design and management functions
than is usually obtained.

Appendix 1: Configuration of the FMS

The list of stations, their capacities and the machines which belong to each one are given.
BASIC CONFIGURATION OF T H E W O R K S H O P

I/ SP : --> I n p u t B u f f e r C a p a c i t y : 5
--> O u t p u t B u f f e r C a p a c i t y : 5
--> 2 M a c h l n e ( s ) : PAL1, PAL2

2/ Sl : --> I n p u t Buffer Capacity : 2

--> Output Buffer Capacity : 2
--> 2 Machine(s) : TUSI, FRSI

3/ S2 : --> Input B u f f e r C a p a c i t y : 3
--> Output Buffer Capacity : 4
--> 3 Machine(s) : FHS2, TOS2, A L S 2

4/ SC : --> I n p u t B u f f e r C a p a c i t y : 5
--> O u t p u t B u f f e r C a p a c i t y : 5
--> 1 M a c h i n e ( s ) : CTRL

5/ S4 : --> Input Buffer Capacity : 2

--> Output Buffer Capacity : 2
--> 2 Machlne(s) : FHS4, PES4

6/ S L : --> Input B u f f e r C a p a c i t y : 2
--> Output Buffer Capacity : 2
--> 1 Machlne(s) : LAVA

Appendix 2: Detailed sequences of phases for part types

To illustrate the routing sequences for each part type, we list all the stations that a part may use. The
alternative stations are marked with the symbol '. The phase time (i.e. the sum of execution times for each
operation in a phase) is expressed in hundredths minutes (i.e. 1 stands for 0.01 minutes). Basic operations
with their characteristics as described in Section 2.1, are also given.
 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator 163

MANUFACTURING SEQUENCE OF PART P1

1 / SP -->During 50 hundredth of minutes, Priority : 0, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [OPAL1]
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL1
...Palettising Program Identification : PALET_I
...Palettising Time : 50

2 / S2 -->During 62 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OPIS2]
...Required Tool : 391.05-16-50-030
...Machining Program Identification : TOURNERI
...Machining Time : 62

2'/ S4 -->During 70 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OP3S4]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-40-50-025
...Machining Program Identification : TOURNER2
...Machining Time : 70

3 / Sl -->During 104 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OPISI]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-23-50-030
...Machining Program Identification : PERCER 2
...Machining Time : 104
3'/ S2 -->During 130 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05
-Operation [OP33S2]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-70-80-030
...Machining Program Identification : ALESER 1
...Machining Time : 43
-Operation [OPI2PS2]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-22-63-040
...Machining Program Identification : PERCER 1
...Machining Time : 87

$4 -->During 60 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OPIS4]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-23-50-020
...Machining Program Identification : TARAUDER
...Machining Time : 60

SC -->During 28 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [OPISC]
...Required Tool # : 491.05-40-50-030
...Inspection Program Identification : CONTROL1
...Inspection Time : 28

SP -->During 25 hundredth of minutes, Priority : 2, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [DEPALI]
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL1
...Palettising Program Identification: DEPALETI
...Palettising Time : 25

-Number of P1 parts to be manufactured : 50000

-Inspection rate of P1 parts : 0.I

MANUFACTURING SEQUENCE OF PART P2

SP -->During 20 hundredth of minutes, Priority : 0, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [OPAL3]
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL3
...Palettising Program Identification: PALET 3
...Palettising Time : 20
S1 -->During 64 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.05
-Operation [OP2SI]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-27-63-030
...Machining Program Identification : FRAISERI
...Machining Time : 64

2'/ S2 -->During 71 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OP2S2]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-32-63-030
...Machining Program Identification : FRAISER2
...Machining Time : 71

3 / SC -->During 25 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [OP2SC]
...Required Tool # : 491.05-40-63-030
...Inspection Program Identification : CONTROL1
...Inspection Time : 25

4 / SP -->During 60 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [DEPAL3]
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL3
164 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / F L E X S I M : A flexible manufacturing system simulator

...Palettislng Program Identification: DEPALET3

.,.Palettlslng Time : 15
-Operation [OPAL4]
.,.Required Tool # : SPECIAL4
.,.Palettlslng Program Identification: PALET 4
...Palettislng Time : 45

5 / 52 -->During 71 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operatlcn [OP2$2]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-32-63-030
...Machining Program Identification : FRAISER2
...Machining Time : 71
5'/ $4 -->During 83 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05
-Operation [OP2PS4]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-32-80-030
...Machining Program Identification : FP~AISER4
...Machining Time : 83

6 SL -->During 32 hundredth of minutes, Priority : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OP25L]
...Required Tool ! : 800.05-22-80-030
...Washing Program Identification : LAVER 2
...Washing Time : 32

3 SP -->During 20 hundredth of minutes, Priority : 2, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [DEPAL4]
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL4
...Palettlslng Program Identification: DEPALET4
...Palettislng Time : 20

-Number of P2 parts to be manufactured : 50000

-Inspection rate of P2 parts : 0.1
MANUFACTURING SEQUENCE OF PART : P3

1 SP -->During 34 hundredth of minutes, Priority : 0, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [oPAL21
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL2
...Palettlsing Program Identification: PALET_2
...Palettlslng Time : 34

2 / S2 -->During 194 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OPISI]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-23-50-030
...Machining Program Identification : PERCER_2
...Machining Time : 104
-Operation [OP32S21
...Required Tool # : 391.05-60-80-030
...Machining Program Identification : ALESER_2
...Machining Time : 47
-Operation [OP33S2]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-70-80-030
...Machining Program Identification : ALESER i
...Machining Time : 43

2'/ sl -->During 161 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OP31PSI]
...Required Tool i : 391.05-32-50-025
.,.Machinlhg Program Identification : PERCER_6
.,.Machining Time : 82
-Operation [OP32PSI]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-32-63-025
...Machining Program Identification : ALESER_3
...Machining Time : 79

3 / S4 -->During 70 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OP3S4]
...Required Tool # : 391.05-40-50-025
...Machining program Identification : TOURNER2
...Machining Time : 70
4 / SC -->During 27 hundredth of minutes, Priority : I, Waste rate : 0o
-Operation [OF3SC]
...Required Tool # : 491.05-70-63-030
...Inspection Program Identification : CONTROL3
...Inspection Time : 27

5 / SL -->During 30 hundredth of minutes, PFiorlty : i, Waste rate : 0.05

-Operation [OP3SL~
...Required Tool | : 800.05-70-50-025
...Washing Program Identification : L A V E R 3
...Washing Time : 30

6 / SP -->During 18 hundredth of minutes, P~iority : 2, Waste rate : 0.

-Operation [DEPAL2]
...Required Tool # : SPECIAL2
...Palettlslng Program Identification: DEPALET2
...Palettlsing Time : 18
-Number of P3 parts to be manufactured : 50000
-Inspection rate of P3 parts : 0.i
 E. Gelenbe, H. Guennouni / FLEXSIM: A flexible manufacturing system simulator
References
[1] Banks, J. and Carson I1, J.S., "Introduction to discrete-
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