Chapter 3

Introduction to Flexsim

Flexsim is a powerful and easy-to-use modeling and simulation software tool that
allows the user to construct a three-dimensional computer simulation model of a
real-life system and run experiments on the model. Flexsim is a discrete-event sim-
ulation software tool that provides realistic graphical animation and extensive per-
formance reports that enables the user to identify problems and evaluate alternative
solutions in a short amount of time.

3.1 Modeling Concepts and Terms in Flexsim

A discrete-event simulation model will normally have dynamic objects known as

flowitems that that move or flow through the model. A process flow is a series of
processing, queuing and transportation stages in the model. Each stage of the pro-
cess flow represents a task and may require one or more resources.
There are various types of resources and building blocks used in constructing a
simulation model and are represented by Flexsim objects. Examples of these are: the
Source object, the Queue object, the Processor object, and the Sink object. Flexsim
objects are found in the Object Library grid panel, located on the left-hand side of
the Flexsim window, as shown in Figure 3.1.
The Flexsim objects are connected to communicate with each other to define the
process flow of the model. To connect the various Flexsim objects, each of these has
a number of ports. There are three types of ports: input, output, and central. Input
and output ports are used in the routing of flow items. Typically, the output port of
one object is connected to an input port of another object.

J.M. Garrido, Object Oriented Simulation: A Modeling and Programming Perspective, 31

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-0516-1_3,
© Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009
32 3 Introduction to Flexsim

Fig. 3.1 The Flexsim window

3.1.1 The Flexsim Window

After starting Flexsim, the computer displays the Flexsim screen, which is shown in
Figure 3.1 and includes the Flexsim menu, toolbars, the Object Library, and Ortho-
graphic Model View window.

3.1.2 Flexsim Objects

The construction of simulation models with Flexsim, involves using modeling

blocks, known as Flexsim objects, from the Object Library panel. These are used
as the building blocks in constructing a simulation model.
A model is constructed in the Model View window, which is the workspace of
the model. From the Object Library panel, the user drags the Flexsim objects needed
into the model view window and connects the objects. Four of the most common
Flexsim objects are: the Source, the Queue, the Processor, and the Sink objects.
The Source object creates the items that flow through the model. These items are
known as flowitems. The Queue object is a temporary storage for items waiting for
the availability of a resource. The Processor object is a resource that simulates a
processing stage in the model’s process flow. The Sink object is a terminating object
for the flow items in the model.
3.3 A Simple Model of The Carwash System 33

The user can set simulation parameters by double-clicking on the various objects
and opening the objects’ parameters windows.

3.2 Using Flexsim

To build a simulation model and to carry out simulation runs with Flexsim, a user
performs the following steps:

1. Create the Flexsim objects of the model. The user selects and drags the Flexsim
objects into the model view window of the model.
2. Connect the ports for the routing of flow items and define process flow. To con-
nect an object’s output ports to the input ports of another object, the user has to
press and hold the A-key on the keyboard, then click and hold the left mouse but-
ton on the first object, drag the mouse to the next object, and release the mouse
button.
3. Add data to the model parameters. The user adds actual data (e.g., processing
times, resource demands, others) to the model. This is done by double-clicking
on the Flexsim objects and adding data for the various parameters. Examples of
these parameters are: the processor’s operation time, the capacity of the queue,
arrival rate, the routing logic, and so on.
4. Reset the model.
5. Perform a simulation run of the model. The user runs the simulation and exam-
ines the results.
6. Analyze the simulation results.
7. Modify and enhance the model according to the user needs.

3.3 A Simple Model of The Carwash System

Cars and other vehicles arrive into a carwash shop to get a simple wash and clean up.
The Carwash system consists of a single wash machine, which provides the actual
service to the vehicles. Arriving vehicles join a line to wait for service. This line is
known as a queue. The vehicle at the head of the queue is the one that is next to be
serviced by the carwash machine. After the vehicle wash is complete, the vehicle
leaves the system.
Vehicles are considered the customers of the system, as they are the entities that
arrive and request service from the carwash machine. These entities flow through
the model and are known in Flexsim as the flowitems, which represent the vehicles
in the system. Figure 3.2 shows a graphical view of the conceptual model of the
Carwash system.
As mentioned previously, to build a simulation model in Flexsim the user defines
the general structure of the model using Flexsim objects.
34 3 Introduction to Flexsim

Vehicle
Vehicle departures
arrivals

Queue Car-wash
machine
Fig. 3.2 Graphical view of the conceptual model of the Carwash system

To start constructing a new simulation model in Flexsim, the user activates the
File menu and selects New. A new window of the orthographic view of the model is
created.
From the Object Library on the left-hand side of the screen, the user drags the
Source object into the Orthographic view of the model window and places it on the
upper left-hand side of the model view. In the model of the Carwash system, the
Source object represents the source of arriving vehicles into the system.

Fig. 3.3 The connected objects of the Carwash model in the orthographic view

The Source object has the default name Source1 since it is the first Source
object in the model for the Carwash system. In a similar manner, the other three
objects are created in the orthographic view. The default names of the objects are:
Queue2, Processor3, and Sink4.
The four objects created to build the Carwash model now have to be connected.
For this simple model, the method to connect one object to the next in the process
flow of the model, is straightforward.
3.3 A Simple Model of The Carwash System 35

To create an output port of one object, an input port of another object, and connect
the two objects, the user clicks on the first object and drag the mouse to the second
object while holding down A-key on the keyboard. In this way, the Source object
is connected to the Queue object, the Queue object is connected to the Processor
object, and the Processor object is connected to the Sink object. Figure 3.3 shows
the objects of the Carwash model connected and with the final names of the objects.

Fig. 3.4 Properties window of the Source object

To set value to the parameters of the Source object, the user double-clicks on the
object and enters the data in the Properties window. Figure 3.4 shows the Properties
window of the Source object.
The name parameter of the Source object is set to Vehicle arrivals. The
arrivals of vehicles occur randomly and the inter-arrival intervals follow the behavior
represented by an exponential probability distribution. The mean value for the inter-
arrival period is set to 7.5 (minutes).
In a similar manner, the name parameter of the Queue object is set to Vehicle
queue. The Maximum Content parameter is set to 10000. Figure 3.5 shows the
Properties window of the Queue object.
36 3 Introduction to Flexsim

Fig. 3.5 Properties window of the Queue object

The name parameter of the Processor object is set to Wash machine. The Pro-
cess Time parameter (service time) of the Processor object is set to behave randomly
and defined by a Normal distribution with mean 11.25 and standard deviation 1.25
(minutes). Figure 3.6 shows the Properties window for the Processor object. The
name parameter of the Sink object is set to Vehicle departures.
The total simulation time (interval) can be set using the drop-down arrow, enter-
ing the value of the simulation interval, and clicking the Set button. The simulation
toolbar is the third bar from the top of the Flexsim screen, as shown in Figure 3.7.
Note that the simulation time is set to 840.00 minutes.
To start a simulation run, press the Reset button then the Run button on the sim-
ulation tool bar. This could also be done from the Execute menu. The simulation
run speed can also be adjusted using the slider located on the right of the simulation
toolbar.
The simulation of the Carwash model runs for 840.00 minutes, and the results of
the simulation can be collected by opening the various Flexsim objects and selecting
the Statistics tab. Figure 3.8 shows the results of the Wash machine component. One
of the performance metrics shown is the output throughput, which is the number of
vehicles serviced during the simulation period and is 121.00 vehicles.
3.3 A Simple Model of The Carwash System 37

Fig. 3.6 The Properties window of the Wash machine of the Carwash model

Fig. 3.7 The simulation tool bar

The statistics of the state of the Wash machine is shown as a pie chart in Fig-
ure 3.9. This shows that the 33.4% of the total simulation time, the Wash machine
was idle, and 66.6% of the time the machine was busy. This last metric is also known
as the machine utilization.
The statistics of the Vehicle queue is shown in Figure 3.10. The utilization of the
queue is shown in the pie chart shown in Figure 3.11.
Changing the mean inter-arrival interval to 14.5 minutes, changes the output re-
sults. This can be seen by opening the Vehicle queue statistics as shown in Fig-
ure 3.12. The total number of vehicles that have been enqueued is now 59. The
average vehicle wait time is 1.5 minutes. The queue utilization is 9.4%, as shown in
the chart of Figure 3.13.
Figure 3.14 shows the Statistics tab on the Properties window of the Wash ma-
chine. The output throughput is now 58 vehicles. The maximum service time is
27.96 minutes. Figure 3.15 shows the chart with the utilization of the Wash ma-
chine; it has a value of 27.5%.
38 3 Introduction to Flexsim

Fig. 3.8 The statistics of the Wash machine of the Carwash model

Fig. 3.9 The statistics of the state of the Wash machine of the Carwash model
3.3 A Simple Model of The Carwash System 39

Fig. 3.10 The statistics of the Vehicle queue of the Carwash model

Fig. 3.11 The statistics of the state of the Vehicle queue of the Carwash model
40 3 Introduction to Flexsim

Fig. 3.12 The modified statistics of the Vehicle queue component of the Carwash model

Fig. 3.13 The modified statistics of the state of the Vehicle queue of the Carwash model
3.3 A Simple Model of The Carwash System 41

Fig. 3.14 The modified statistics of the Wash machine of the Carwash model

Fig. 3.15 The modified statistics of the state of the Wash machine of the Carwash model
42 3 Introduction to Flexsim

3.4 Summary

Flexsim is a very versatile integrated simulation development tool. Constructing a

simulation model involves identifying one or more flow objects known as flowitems
that flow through the system and then building the general structure of the model
in the orthographical view using Flexsim objects. The model is then enhanced by
editing some of the data modules. Flexsim provides a simple method to setup the
simulation parameters and the model input parameters. A variety of statistics with
the corresponding simulation results is produced on the various objects.

Exercises

3.1. Write a list of systems that would have a similar model as the one for the Car-
wash system.

3.2. Increase the inter-arrival interval of the arriving vehicles in the Carwash model
and perform one or more simulation models. Comment on the differences in results
compared to the results from the original simulation run.

3.3. Decrease the inter-arrival interval of the arriving vehicles in the Carwash model
and perform one or more simulation models. Comment on the differences in results
compared to the results from the original simulation run.

3.4. Increase the average processing interval of the vehicles in the Carwash model
and perform one or more simulation models. Comment on the differences in results
compared to the results from the original simulation run.

3.5. Decrease the average processing interval of the vehicles in the Carwash model
and perform one or more simulation models. Comment on the differences in results
compared to the results from the original simulation run.

3.6. After reading the documentation on how to navigate in the animation views for
a simulation run, add a plot to the carwash model. This plot should show the number
of vehicles in the system as the simulation time progresses.