Apply wait and idle timers and track back orders in the Pull from List activity

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FlexSim offers several options to control how tokens function with your List and to keep track of List entries and back orders.

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In the Pull from List activity, Use Max Wait Timer allows you to set the maximum duration a puller token should wait before moving forward.

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Use Max Idle Timer sets the maximum wait time for a puller token after meeting a specified criteria,

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and Keep Back Order On Early Release allows you to track back orders.

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To demonstrate these functions, three process flows have already been set up,

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and the Pull from List Quick Properties is open to show where these functions can be accessed.

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In the Pull from List Quick Properties, you can see that Use Max Wait Timer is enabled and 5 seconds is set as the wait time.

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For On Wait Timer Fired, click Edit Properties.

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If the Wait Timer fires, it is set to add a label and release the token.

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Expand Set Label to see that a label of “failed” will be applied with a value of 1.

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Then, expand Release token to see a release Destination of “2”.

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This means that if the token cannot pull values from the list within 5 seconds,

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then the token will receive a failed label and move to connector 2 on the Failed path.

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Next, open the Pull from List Quick Properties in the second example, where Use Max Idle Timer is enabled.

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Like the previous option, you can set a wait time for the puller token before moving forward,

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but you can also set a Start Criteria, or a condition to meet before the timer starts.

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Expand Start Criteria to select an option.

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In this example, it is set to the default of “pulled > = 1”,

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which means that the Idle Timer will start once the token has pulled at least one value from the list.

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Also, the Timer is set to 5 seconds.

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Click Edit Properties for On Idle Timer Fire and expand Release token.

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The token is set to release to Destination 1, which is the Pulled path, because, in this scenario,

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a value is already pulled before the token releases.

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However, a failed label will still be applied, which you will see once the simulation is run.

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The simulation is Reset and Run at an accelerated speed and then paused.

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Here, selecting the puller token, id:14, shows that it pulled one token—id:49.

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Click the pulled token to see that the puller label, id:14, has been applied.

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Now, open the Pull from List Quick Properties again, where the token is set to pull two values from the list.

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Currently, it has pulled only one value, which means that the timer has started.

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When the simulation is resumed, the puller does not pull a second token within the 5 seconds,

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so it is released to the Pulled path.

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Click the token, and, in Properties, you can see that a failed label has been applied.

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Finally, click the Pull from List activity in the third example,

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where Keep Back Order on Early Release is selected, and a Wait Max Timer is also applied.

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When the simulation is Run at an accelerated speed, several tokens are released from the Pull from List,

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because they have not pulled the required tokens within the wait time and failed.

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However, you can see that the back orders remain in the List, indicated by the number in the red circle.

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Open the List Quick Properties and select View Back Orders.

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Here, a comprehensive list is captured

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that allows you to keep track of back orders even after a puller token moves forward in the process flow.

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Within the Pull from List activity, now you can use Apply Max Wait Timer, Max Idle Timer,

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or Keep Back Orders on Early Release to help control how tokens function with your List and to track back orders.