You can view in a chart the detailed rate of consumptions for a given material supply unit by selecting Charts } Storage Unit } Supply } Single Batch (Supply Unit Material Demand Chart (Single Batch)) or Charts } Storage Unit } Supply } Multiple Batches (Supply Unit Material Demand Chart (Multiple Batches)) from the main menu of the application. In a continuous process that contains batch procedures the same chart can be displayed by selecting Charts } Storage Unit } Supply } Selected Time Horizon from the main menu. Before the chart is presented, you will be prompted to choose a storage unit amongst all registered supply units. When selecting the storage unit the material supplied will be shown in a separate field in the dialog. The consumption of this material will be plotted in the chart.
The chart is identical to the material consumption chart, only now you will not see all the consumption points in time but only the consumption points that correspond to the points where the storage unit supplies this material.
The counterparts of the material supply chart are the material deposit (output or receiving) charts. Such charts are of particular importance when tracking waste and waste amounts (e.g. emissions) at receiving points of this material. The material deposit charts can be generated by selecting Charts } Storage Units } Receiving } Single Batch (Receiving Unit Material Deposit Chart (Single Batch)) or Charts } Storage Units } Receiving } Multiple Batches (Receiving Unit Material Deposit Chart (Multiple Batches)) or Charts } Storage Unit } Receiving } Selected Time Horizon from the main menu of the application. Before the chart is presented you will be prompted to choose a storage unit amongst all registered receiving units. Optionally you may also select to plot a single component amongst all components which may have been deposited in the receiving storage unit.
For more details regarding the material consumption and output charts please see Material Consumption & Material Output Charts.
The settings for which lines included in the chart along with visual choices for the lines as well the time-line characteristics are all part of the style of the chart. This can be changed through the Material Chart Style Dialog.
When considering the supply of a material, it is often of importance to design inventory capacity and/or select a preferred replenishing rate so that the process never runs out of material and at the same time, excessive amounts of storage are avoided. SuperPro Designer will not design the inventory system for you automatically. The time-averaged consumption rate curve and time-reset cumulative curve presented on the material supply unit chart provide good clues on what should be your targets for replenishing rate and storage capacity correspondingly, see Material Supply & Receiving Unit Rate Charts. However, it is up to the user to provide the application with a suggested inventory strategy then the application can generate an inventory chart that will show material supply unit amounts in the holding tank during one or several overlapping batches. The following inventory information needs to be specified before an inventory chart is generated:
1. Storage capacity
2. Initial contents
3. Lower & upper limits on storage capacity (if anything other than 0% and 100%)
4. Supply (replenishing) rate
5. Supply (Replenishing) policy: Need a start time when policy activates and an on/off triggering mechanism (either tied to inventory level or tied to a regularly timed schedule).
For more details on the inventory parameters, see Entering or Exiting Material Dialog: Inventory Data tab.
You can view inventory charts by selecting Charts } Storage Units } Supply Inventory } Single Batch (Supply Unit Material Inventory Chart (Single Batch)) or Charts } Storage Units } Supply Inventory } Multiple Batches (Supply Unit Material Inventory Chart (Multiple Batches)) from the application’s main menu. In a continuous process that contains batch procedures the same chart can be displayed by selecting Charts } Storage Unit } Supply Inventory } Selected Time Horizon from the main menu.
For the basic common services offered by all time charts (setting the number of batches, zooming in/out, adjusting the time scale, copying the chart as picture, copying chart data to Excel, printing, etc.), see Material Consumption & Material Output Charts.
Similar inventory charts can be generated for the receiving storage unit, by selecting Charts } Storage Units } Receiving Inventory } Single Batch (Receiving Unit Material Inventory Chart (Single Batch)) or Charts } Storage Units } Receiving Inventory } Multiple Batches (Receiving Unit Material Inventory Chart (Multiple Batches)) or Charts } Storage Unit } Receiving Inventory } Selected Time Horizon from the application’s main menu. This time, besides selecting a pure component, the user must also provide a holding capacity and a removal strategy (essentially the same items of information as for the supply inventory above, items 1 through 5).
The process keeps a detailed log of all storage units present. If you wish to have a direct view of all the storage units present currently (supply & receiving), you can open the process explorer and pick the ‘SU’ tab of the Process Explorer Toolbar. This tab will present a quick reminder of all the supplying and/or receiving storage units registered.