Simulation Plots

System plots display information about the entire system. These plots are available for all simulation diagrams.

• Point Availability shows the system's point availability over time. The point availability is the probability that a system (or component) will be operational (up and running) at any random time, t. Note that unlike reliability plots for analytical systems, the point availability measure incorporates maintainability information.
• Point Reliability shows the system's point reliability over time. The point reliability is the probability that the system has not failed by time t. This is similar to point availability with the major exception that it looks only at the probability that the system did not have a single failure. Other (non-failure) downing events are ignored. It is very important to note that this value is not always the same as the reliability computed using the analytical methods, depending on the redundancy present. The reason that it may differ is best explained by the following scenario:Assume two units in parallel. The analytical system reliability, which does not account for repairs, is the probability that both units fail. In this case, when one unit goes down, it does not get repaired and the system fails after the second unit fails. In the case of repairs, however, it is possible for one of the two units to fail and get repaired before the second unit fails. Thus, when the second unit fails, the system will still be up due to the fact that the first unit was repaired.
• Both Point A & R shows the system's point availability over time and the system's point reliability over time on the same plot.
• Cost shows the system's cost over time. If there are costs associated with crews and with spare part pools, these are also displayed. You can select the Show Intervals check box on the control panel to also display the cost during each interval; the interval length is based on the value entered in the Point Results Every field in the Maintainability/Availability Simulation window.
• Mean Availability shows the system's mean availability over time, which is the proportion of time during a mission or time period that the system is available for use. You can select the Show Intervals check box on the control panel to also display the mean availability during each interval; the interval length is based on the value entered in the Point Results Every field in the Maintainability/Availability Simulation window.
• System Failures shows the system's failures over time. You can select the Show Intervals check box on the control panel to also display the system failures during each interval; the interval length is based on the value entered in the Point Results Every field in the Maintainability/Availability Simulation window.
• Throughput shows the total number of units processed/produced by the system over time. You can select the Show Intervals check box on the control panel to display the throughput during each interval; the interval length is based on the value entered in the Point Results Every field in the Maintainability/Availability Simulation window.
• System Up/Down shows the system's uptimes and downtimes over the course of the simulation. Please note that System Up/Down Plots are designed for only one simulation (i.e., 1 must be entered for the Number of Simulations in the Maintainability/Availability Simulation window). If you run multiple simulations, the plot shows the results for the last simulation only.
• Block Up/Down shows each block's uptimes and downtimes over the course of the simulation. Please note that Block Up/Down Plots are designed for only one simulation (i.e., 1 must be entered for the Number of Simulations in the Maintainability/Availability Simulation window). If you run multiple simulations, the plot shows the results for the last simulation only. You can specify which blocks to include in the plot by using the Available Blocks area of the control panel. If your diagram contains subdiagrams and you have selected the Report subdiagram results check box on the Analysis Settings page of the diagram control panel, you can also get results at the subdiagram level. In this case, you can select or clear the check box for an item with children to change the setting for just the item; you can double-click the item itself to select or clear the check boxes for the item and all of its children.
  
  You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

The order of the blocks in the plot corresponds directly to the list order.

Metrics plots display information about the contributions that individual blocks make to failure and downing events for the entire system. These plots are available for all simulation diagrams.

For the bar charts (i.e., not the tableau plots), to specify which blocks to include in the plot, you can:

• Click Select Blocks by Value to specify the number of blocks to show in the plot. You can choose to show the blocks with the largest values or the smallest values.
  
  OR
• Manually select blocks in the Available Blocks area of the control panel. If your diagram contains subdiagrams and you have selected the Report subdiagram results check box on the Analysis Settings page of the diagram control panel, you can also get results at the subdiagram level. In this case, you can select or clear the check box for an item with children to change the setting for just the item; you can double-click the item itself to select or clear the check boxes for the item and all of its children.

You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window. 

Metrics plots include:

• RS FCI shows the ReliaSoft Failure Criticality Index and the availability for each block. RS FCI is a relative index showing the percentage of times that a failure of the block caused a system failure (i.e., the number of system failures caused by the block divided by the total number of system failures). Note that this relates only to failures; it does not include every event that could bring the system down (such as routine maintenance). Bar size indicates RS FCI; bar color indicates availability, as shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, availability and RS FCI.
• RS FCI Tableau shows the ReliaSoft Failure Criticality Index in tableau format, along with each block's availability. The block name appears on each section of the plot. The largest sections represent the blocks with the highest RS FCI value. Section color indicates availability, as shown in the legend. Point to a plot section to view the block's name, availability and RS FCI.
• RS DECI shows the ReliaSoft Downing Event Criticality Index and the availability for each block. RS DECI is a relative index showing the percentage of times that a downing event of the block caused the system to go down (i.e., the number of system downing events caused by the block divided by the total number of system downing events). Bar size indicates RS DECI; bar color indicates availability, as shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, availability and RS DECI.
• RS DECI Tableau shows the ReliaSoft Downing Event Criticality Index for each block in tableau format, along with each block's availability. The block name appears on each section of the plot. The largest sections represent the blocks with the highest RS DECI value. Section color indicates availability, as shown in the legend. Point to a plot section to view the block's name, availability and RS DECI.
• RS DTCI shows the ReliaSoft Downtime Criticality Index and the availability for each block. RS DTCI is a relative index showing the contribution of each block to the system's downtime (i.e., the system downtime caused by a particular block divided by the total system downtime). Bar size indicates RS DTCI; bar color indicates availability, as shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, availability and RS DTCI.
• RS DTCI Tableau shows the ReliaSoft Downtime Criticality Index for each block in tableau format, along with each block's availability. The block name appears on each section of the plot. The largest sections represent the blocks with the highest RS DTCI value. Section color indicates availability, as shown in the legend. Point to a plot section to view the block's name, availability and RS DTCI.

Blocks plots display information about the individual blocks that make up the system. These plots are available for all simulation diagrams.

To specify which blocks to include in the plot, you can:

• Click Select Blocks by Value to specify the number of blocks to show in the plot. You can choose to show the blocks with the largest values or the smallest values.
  
  OR
• Manually select blocks in the Available Blocks area of the control panel. If your diagram contains subdiagrams and you have selected the Report subdiagram results check box on the Analysis Settings page of the diagram control panel, you can also get results at the subdiagram level. In this case, you can select or clear the check box for an item with children to change the setting for just the item; you can double-click the item itself to select or clear the check boxes for the item and all of its children.

You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Note that if your simulation does not include throughput then no information will be displayed for those plots.

Blocks plots include:

• Block Availability shows the percent of time that each block is available during the simulation, indicated by bar size, and each block's RS DECI value, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, RS DECI value and availability percentage.
• Block Costs shows the cost of each block during the simulation, indicated by bar size, and each block's RS DECI value, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, RS DECI value and total costs.
• Block Downtime shows the amount of time each block is down during the simulation, indicated by bar size, and each block's RS DECI value, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, RS DECI value and total downtime.
• Block Expected Failures shows the expected number of failures for each block during the simulation, indicated by bar size, and each block's RS FCI value, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, RS FCI value and expected number of failures.
• Block Expected Downing Events shows the expected number of downing events for each block during the simulation, indicated by bar size, and each block's RS DECI value, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, RS DECI value and expected number of downing events.
• Block Throughput shows the total number of units processed/produced by each block during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and each block's utilization percentage, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, utilization percentage and throughput values.
• Block Excess Capacity shows the additional number of units each block could have processed/produced during the simulation, indicated by bar size, and each block's utilization percentage, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, utilization percentage and excess capacity values.
• Block Backlog shows the total number of units that were backlogged (i.e., waiting to be processed) for each block at the end of the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and each block's utilization percentage, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, utilization percentage and backlog values.
• Block Backlog Processed shows the total number of units that were backlogged but eventually processed by each block during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and each block's utilization percentage, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the block's name, utilization percentage and backlog processed values.
• Block Bubble Plot allows you to specify three result types to be plotted against each other for each block. Select one result type for the x-axis and one result type for the y-axis. Select a third result type that will dictate the size of the scatter point for each block; the radius of the point will be proportional to the size of the result value. You can use the slider bar at the bottom of the Available Results area on the control panel to set the maximum point size. Point to a data point to view the three selected metrics for the block.

 The following result types are available for use in the plot.

Crews plots display information about the crews that are used in simulation of the system. These plots are available only if your analysis includes maintenance tasks that use defined crews.

To specify which crews to include in the plot, you can:

• Click Select Crews by Value to specify the number of crews to show in the plot. You can choose to show the crews with the largest values or the smallest values.
  
  OR
• Manually select crews in the Available Crews area of the control panel. You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Crews plots include:

• Crew Accepted Calls shows the total number of calls that each crew accepted during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and number of accepted calls.
• Crew Rejected Calls shows the total number of calls that each crew rejected during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and number of rejected calls.
• Crew Costs shows the costs incurred by each crew during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and total costs.
• Crew Time Used shows the amount of time used by each crew during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and time used.

Spare part pools plots display information about the spare part pools that are used in simulation of the system. These plots are available only if your analysis includes maintenance tasks that use defined spare part pools.

To specify which pools to include in the plot, you can:

• Click Select Pools by Value to specify the number of pools to show in the plot. You can choose to show the pools with the largest values or the smallest values.
  
  OR
• Manually select pools in the Available Pools area of the control panel. You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Spare part pools plots include:

• Pool Average Stock Level shows the average number of spare parts in the pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and average stock level.
• Pool Items Dispensed shows the average amount of spare parts dispensed during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and number of items dispensed.
• Pool Average Time to Dispense shows the average amount of time taken to dispense items during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and average time to dispense items.
• Pool Rejected Calls shows the average number of calls rejected by the pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and number of rejected calls.
• Pool Emergency Calls shows the average number of emergency restock calls by the pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and number of emergency calls.
• Pool Costs shows the average cost of the pools during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and pool cost.
• Pool Cost Per Item shows the average cost of the items in each pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and cost per item.