Apply a partition to a zone

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FlexSim partitions specify how tokens in a zone are divided or categorized.

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This enables you to identify, track, and analyze sets of tokens with distinct properties.

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For example, you might partition the items within a zone by type.

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In this example, a simple process flow and dashboard are already set up.

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Tokens enter the flow, receive a Weight label, and then flow into the Zone based on specific subset criteria.

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To apply a partition, start by adding another label.

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In Assign Labels, click Add,

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then enter a name of “Type” for the Label.

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Expand Value and select Statistical Distribution > D Uniform.

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Set the Minimum to “1” and the Maximum to “3”.

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Each token will now have a random Type of 1, 2, or 3 assigned.

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Reset, Run, and Step the model forward, then Stop the model, and select a token in the flow.

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In Properties, you see both the Weight and Type Labels.

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Reset the model.

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Now create the partition.

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Select the Zone, and in Properties, click More Properties.

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In the Zone Properties dialog, select the Partitions tab.

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While an item can be part of multiple subsets at the same time, partitions divide a zone into mutually exclusive sets.

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An example is setting up a partition by type to view statistics for each.

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You could also do this by creating type subsets, but this is impractical if you have numerous types.

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Also, if you are testing multiple scenarios, the number of types could be a dynamic or variable number, so a partition is recommended.

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Back on the Partitions tab, enter “token.Type” for the Partition By criteria; this allows you to track tokens by their type label.

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Run the model, then select the Zone, and in Properties, click View Status.

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In the Zone Status dialog, select the Partitions tab, where the table now tracks statistics for each Partition, listed in order of arrival.

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Close the Zone Status dialog.

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Another key difference between partitions and subsets is that partitions dynamically update.

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To see this, in the process flow, for Assign Labels, change the Value of the Type label to a uniform distribution of between 1 and 6.

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Run the model and reopen the Zone Status dialog to the Partition tab.

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Then, Run and Step the model forward further, and you see that a Partition appears for each of the Types.

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The Zone automatically looks at the Type labels that enter the Zone and creates a corresponding partition.