Optimization of Cable Drum Assignment - Intergraph Smart Electrical - Help - Hexagon

Intergraph Smart Electrical Help

Language
English
Product
Intergraph Smart Electrical
Search by Category
Help
Smart Electrical Version
10

This topic describes how the software optimizes the assignment of cables to drums. When using the Assign Drums to Cables wizard, Smart Electrical optimizes the cable assignment to drums. The optimization process of the software determines the composition of the selected cables on a given drum in such a way so that the drum capacity is utilized to the maximum. The software looks for the best composition of cables according to the following:

  • The various drum sizes available for each reference cable.

  • The maximum free total length defined in the reference cable.

  • The list of cables sorted by length.

During the optimization process, the software also takes into account the options that you select in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard, such as the selected pulling areas, reassigning of assigned cables, using existing cable drums, creating new cable drums if required, and deleting unused drums.

The optimization mechanism consists of three main stages which are totally transparent to Smart Electrical users.

Collecting the Cable Drum and Cable Data for Drum Assignment

During this stage, the software collects all the available drums and the cables for the assignment process. The software considers all the existing drums in the current plant and the cables that you select in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard.

Drums Included in the Optimization Process

The software checks all the available drums and looks for those drums that comply with the following requirements:

  • All the drums that have been associated with the pulling areas that you select in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard.

  • Drums for which the procurement status is set to Ordered or Delivered. If the procurement status is not defined, the software uses the Maximum drum capacity values of such drums in the optimization process.

  • Drums for which the Total cable length to order/delivered value is defined. If this value is not defined, the software uses the Maximum drum capacity values of such drums in the optimization process.

As Smart Electrical collects the cable drum data, it lists all the suitable drums in a virtual list which is sorted according to the total free space that is available on the drums, starting with those drums that have the most available free space to the least available free space.

Cable drums that are defined as spare and cable drums that are associated with multiple pulling areas are not included in the optimization process by Smart Electrical.

Cables Included in the Optimization Process

Smart Electrical includes the following cables in the optimization process:

  • All the cables that you select in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard and which have not yet been assigned to any drums.

  • If you select the Include assigned cables option in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard, the software includes all the cables that already have been assigned to cable drums and which you select in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard.

Cables that have been defined as installed or locked, remain assigned to their original drums and are not re-assigned to other drums during the optimization process.

As Smart Electrical collects the cable data, it lists all cables in a virtual list which is sorted in descending or alternate order. The optimization process is based on the sorting order that you define in Options Manager.

Assigning the Cables to the Drums

At this stage, Smart Electrical tries to assign the cables from the virtual cable list to the collected drums that already exist in the current plant. The assignment process is based on the following:

  • The software starts with the first cable on the virtual cable list which is sorted in ascending or descending order and tries to fit this cable to a drum.

  • The software checks the free space of the existing drums that have been collected for the drum assignment.

  • The software first considers the drum that has the greatest amount of free space and then moves on to the next drum.

  • The software assigns the cables to the existing drums by filling the drums to the maximum of their capacity or up to the total cable length of a cable that has been defined as ordered (from a supplier).

  • After a cable is assigned to a drum, the software removes this cable from the virtual assignment list.

  • If a particular cable cannot be assigned to a drum at this stage, the software puts it aside and this cable will be assigned at a later stage.

  • The software tries to reduce the maximum capacity of the existing drums that have not been defined as ordered or delivered and those drums whose Total cable length to order/delivered value is not defined.

  • At this stage no new drums are created yet. This will be done during the next stage if you select the Create new drums option in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard.

  • If a cable is longer than the Maximum free length on drum value that was set for that drum, the software tries to increase the maximum capacity of that drum according to the available drum sizes defined for the associated reference cable.

  • If the software still cannot assign another cable to a drum even after increasing the maximum capacity of the drum, that cable remains unassigned.

  • If a cable is longer than the drum maximum capacity and if you selected the Create new drums option in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard, the software automatically creates the cable cuts that are required for that cable. The software specifies the length of each cable cut and assigns it to a different drum as needed. Note that these cable cuts are virtual cuts. The entire cable will be shown in all the pertinent reports and cable schedules and not the individual cable cuts.

Optimizing the Drum Assignment

During the optimization stage, the software continues to assign the remaining cables to the existing drums and to the new drums that it creates. If you select the Create new drums option in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard, the software creates new drums for the cables that have not been assigned yet. Also, the software uses the existing drums that have been emptied from the cables that have been re-assigned to other drums during the assignment stage. If you do not select the Create new drums option, the cables that do not fit on the existing drums will remain unassigned.

The software will try to use all the drums for the assignment until a drum becomes "optimized". A drum is considered "optimized" if:

  • It has been filled to its maximum capacity.

  • Its free length is less than or equal to the Maximum free length on drum (%) value that has been set for the associated reference cable.

The assignment process continues as follows:

  • The software picks the first cable from the top of the cable list and looks for a drum that has the largest remaining available capacity on that drum. If the software cannot find a suitable drum for this cable, it will create a new drum.

  • When creating new drums, the software uses the values from the Drum sizes list and the Maximum free length on drum (%) values that are defined for the associated reference cable.

  • If a particular drum has not been filled to its optimum, the software retains the assigned cable composition on that drum and then starts checking if a smaller drum based on the Drum sizes list can be created and a suitable cable composition can be found for this drum.

  • If the software finds a suitable cable composition for the new drum that will deem this drum as "optimized", the software creates this drum and assigns this cable composition to this new drum.

  • If the software cannot optimize a particular drum, the best suited cable composition is assigned to this drum in such a way that the Maximum free length on drum (%) value for that drum is kept as low as possible.

  • The software continues assigning the remaining cables to the new drums according to the same method.

  • The software stops looking for the best cable composition for drums when:

    • A particular cable composition fills the drum to the optimum.

    • There are no more available drum sizes left in the Drum sizes list of the associated reference cable.

    • The next available drum size is shorter than the longest cable in the current cable composition.

  • If the Maximum free length on drum (%) value has not been defined for the associated reference cable, the software tries to find the most suitable cable composition during every cycle of the cable assignment.

  • At the end of the process, the software deletes the empty drums if you select the Delete empty drums option in the Assign Drums to Cables wizard.

For additional information, see the Drum Optimization Wizard Workflow Diagram.