WorkTaskControl: Using Priority

General Questions
1

Hello,

i started working with VC Essentials 4.1 last week.

Yesterday i was looking for prioritizing Tasks with the WorkTaskControl.

i wanted to start slowly so i placed 4x Works Processes and added 4x HumanProcesses

Works Process #6-> HumanProcess:25:human1:

Works Process #7-> HumanProcess:25:human1:

Works Process #8-> HumanProcess:25:human1:

Works Process #13-> HumanProcess:25:human1:

I added them additionally in the Priority sheet @ the WorkTaskControl:

HumanProcess:Works Process #13

HumanProcess:Works Process #7

HumanProcess:Works Process #6

HumanProcess:Works Process #8

This didnt work, so i tryed it with:

HumanProcess:25:human1::Works Process #13

HumanProcess:25:human1::Works Process #7

HumanProcess:25:human1::Works Process #6

HumanProcess:25:human1::Works Process #8

 

Can somebody tell me how to use it correctly ?

Thanks in Advance and Greetings,

Ocke

 

2

Hello,

Did you succeed? I have the same problem.

3

It’s been a while since I looked at the logic in the Task Controller, so others would know best. And I am not sure if it was only meant for Feed and Need type tasks.

What I remember is tasks have to queue and buffer for a bit before the prioritization goes into effect and this is dependent on when a station (WP) sends the task request to the controller.

The Task Controller checks if the request is prioritized. If yes, the request is added to a list, for instance a priority feed list of requests. Of course, the first time the Task Controller gets a task request, those priority lists are empty, so the first task request is executed if possible.

Is the expected outcome the Human worker does the task at Works Process #13 when all of the other three stations are queuing? Unfortunately, I cannot help atm, but try setting the resource allocation property of the Task Controller to Least Utilized or something to that effect. Not sure if that property overrides the priority list.

4

What is the question? How would you like it to work?

Works Task Control logic is as follows:

  1. Any received task is placed into a list and ordered by respecting priority
  2. A task (or a need/feed pair) is looked in the list (respecting priorities)
  3. Available resources will be prioritized for that task
So, if I place four Works Processes with HumanProcess task into a layout and a one Human Resource.

This is what I get without priorities in the Task Control:

If I add one priority that is the process #4 like so:

HumanProcess:Works Process #4

I get this as a result:

Now, if I add a second priority for the Process #2 (I want that to be served second) like so:

HumanProcess:Works Process #4

HumanProcess:Works Process #2

I get an endless loop between process #4 and #2, because there’s always one available and processes #1 and #3 are never served.

Works as it’s supposed to.

In order to serve #1 and #3 you need to have a break (delay) in #2 or #4 so that there’s no HumanProcess need for awhile that goes before any other.

Hopefully this clarifies priorities with works!

 

5

@Ockema and @kbqhs are you able to make it work now?

@jouha With the second case of “HumanProcess:Works Process #4” does that happen in the beginning of simulation or after some time?

  • If the HumanProcess task from station 1 is received first, the Task Controller knows to wait or by the time it does number 2 in its logic, the task from station 4 would have already been received, thereby the resource is assigned the task at station 4?
6

@zesty right from the beginning.

There’s a 0.2 second “warmup” in the task control to gather all the tasks in the beginning of sim. That’s because of the effect you described.