Batching

The term “batching” in Simul8 means splitting one work item into multiple work items.

Batching can be applied at activities and start points. To use this feature, select an object then click on ‘Batching Out’ under the properties tab. This will open the batching dialog.

The number of items in a batch can be determined by a fixed number, a distribution, spreadsheet cell or a global variable.

Hit the more button, highlighted in red in the image, or put the cursor in the edit box and hold down shift while you double click, to open the formula editor where you can enter any expression you like.

At an activity, each work item that enters will be split into a number of work items, as defined in the dialog above. This occurs after the item has been processed so does not affect the timing.

When batching at a start point, each work item that enters will immediately be split into the predefined number of work items.

For example, if I had my interarrival rate set to a fixed 15 minutes and the batching number set to a fixed 20, I would get exactly 20 work items arrive all together, every 15 minutes.

• Collect
• Batch and Collect Tutorial