Special Labels

Some label names have a special meaning to Simul8. You should not use these names other than in the context for what they were intended. You can add any of these special labels to your simulation in the same way as a creating any other label. You will be asked to confirm that you want to use them for this special purpose should you create a new label with any of these names.

The Quantity label determines the size of batches (one batch = one Work Item) at High Volume Activities or Queues. Must be a number label.

The Due label contains the remaining work time for an interrupted Work Item. If present on a Work Item, Simul8 will set the label value to the amount of time remaining when a Work Item is preempted by a higher priority Work Item at an Interruptible Activity.

Download the Due label example. It shows how to use Interruptible Activites along with the Due label.

The Priority label is used when some Work Items may need to interrupt other Work Items at an Activity.

If a Work Items does not have this label then it is said to have zero priority (i.e. the same priority as a Work Item that has the label, and has it set to zero.) The higher the value of the priority label, the more priority the Work Item has.

This label should not be confused with other methods to prioritize work. For example you can prioritize Work Items in a queue using any label.

Must be a number label.

The Length Label is used to alter or amend the default Work Item Length set using the Work Item Types menu option.

Work Item Length is used to control the number of items present on a Conveyors. If items may have a range of sizes the multiple Work Item types may be used, but this is not a recommended method. It is usually more convenient to use the Length Label, set to a range of values using the Actions option button in Start Point or Activity.

The WORK TYPE label allows tells Simul8 there are different kinds of work types in your simulation. For example patients types or product types. This is used in reports for categorization for example cost by work type.

ID NUMBER is a unique code number identifying the individual Work Item.

The special label Work Time records the total time that a work item spends in Activities being processed, i.e. when an Activity is in its “Working” state. You don't need to assign a value to it, so it should be set to “No Change” in the Label Action menu. Simul8 will then automatically populate it as the work item progresses through the simulation.

The special label Wait Time records the total time that a work item spends waiting in Queues. You can simply assign it to work items by choosing the label action “No Change”.