In situations where one or more resources are available during different shifts or time periods, it may be useful to reflect this difference in a schedule during the simulation.
Suggested Technique
Define a default schedule for all resources that are available during “normal” hours as follows:
- In the Simulation -> Options dialog (Files tab), select Default Resource Shift File and click Create Shift file… to open the shift editor.
- Using the Shift Editor , specify a shift to be used as the normal or default shift.
- After closing the Shift Editor , assign the created shift file as the Default shift in the Options dialog.
Define a schedule for each resource that has a working period that is different than the normal working period. This is done as follows:
- Select Create shift file… in the resource properties dialog under the Shift tab. This opens the Shift Editor.
- Using the Shift Editor , specify a shift to be used for this resource.
- Enter the name of this shift file in the Shift file field of the Shift tab.
Example: A Part arrives from an outside vendor and must be inspected and placed in storage before it can be used. The same number of workers are assigned to the Assembly activity both the day and the swing shift, but the technicians assigned to the Inspection activity are scheduled only for the day shift.
TO DO: Create a shift file for day and swing shifts (7:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. with two 1 hour lunch breaks) and enter it as the default resource shift file in the Options dialog. Create a day shift file (7 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a hour lunch) and enter it as the shift file for the Tech resource. Check the Interrupt current activity to go off shift or on break box so that the Techs can go home at 3 p.m. even when they are in the middle of inspecting Parts.
For more information on creating, editing, and assigning shift files, see Defining & Editing Shift & Break Blocks.