Planning – SCHEDULING – DETAILED PLANNING
Planning production orders, control of their execution,
real-time visualization of production phases
Definition of production scheduling
Production scheduling is a process that aims to optimise a company’s industrial production by taking into account various constraints and resources: it involves organising and prioritising the tasks to be carried out in order to complete a project, while respecting deadlines, costs and quality. Production scheduling enables better management of material flows, stocks, machinery, personnel and customers.
The main role of production scheduling software is therefore to provide its users with the best possible production scenario in order to:
- Trigger as many production orders as possible within the deadlines
- Optimise overall production time
The advantages of production scheduling software
Production scheduling software offers numerous advantages and provides production managers with valuable decision-making support.
These advantages include:
- Centralisation of information to save time
- Overall reduction in costs due to less time wasted (labour, reduced inventory costs thanks to better stock management, etc.)
- Optimisation of operator productivity
- Assurance of having what you need when you need it and where you need it
- Optimisation of production start-up by organising all production stages in order
- Guaranteed delivery times and, as a result, customer satisfaction
Why plan your production in real time?
Production planning ensures an efficient manufacturing process. The various costs are identified, the necessary human resources are mobilised, the available equipment is made available, the various stages of production are organised, etc. This provides a clear view of what needs to be produced and enables production targets to be met in the shortest possible time.
By allowing production schedules to be adjusted in real time, production scheduling software can suggest alternative production plans (in the event of operator absences, machine breakdowns, depending on stock levels, urgent orders, etc.) and provide manufacturers with greater agility. The actual production load can be accurately predicted.
Automation of recurring tasks
By automating repetitive tasks, production scheduling software will enable operators to better organise their schedules and, above all, save valuable production time. Automating tasks also reduces risks and costs in production. By reducing low-value-added tasks, which are often time-consuming and tedious, operators will be able to focus on priority tasks that are less thankless and more rewarding.
How to choose your scheduling software?
Scheduling software should be seen as a tool that allows the production manager to implement business rules, which are generally applied manually. Of course, the aim is not to use this tool to impose a whole host of constraints in order to achieve mathematical optimisation, but rather to organise the tasks assigned to the people concerned in the best possible way. Scheduling software must be easy to use and intuitive, as it is this software that will enable time savings in production.
Scheduling and MES
Transmitted by the ERP or CAPM to the MES software, production orders can also be created directly in the MES. It is important to plan them over a suitable period of time (shift, day, week) and to control their execution by automatic launch or under operator control.
Scheduling or detailed planning takes care of this function, to which certain constraints can be applied, such as equipment already in use or reserved, the availability of materials, or the performance of certain preliminary checks.
Detailed planning – Task dispatching
The MESbox PMT pack has an operating interface for task planning that allows you to track all production or planned manufacturing orders in tabular or graphical form (Gantt chart). Differences between planned and actual dates and durations are immediately apparent. The interface is extremely flexible and, through a set of options, allows you to focus on a single piece of equipment or manage an entire workshop. For each production order, the status of the phases in progress is displayed in real time in tabular or animated grafcet form.
CORRESPONDING MODULES OF COOX® RANGE
These functions are provided by MESbox PMT module (Production Management & Traceability) of COOX range.
- Runtime software for batch and discreet processes
- Conformity ISA-88/ISA-95
- Graphic modeling of the process without data-processing knowledge
- Ergonomics of control customizable
- Detailed planning of the work orders
- Traceability of the set points and actual value, batch file
- Automatic quantitative adjustment
- Visualization and piloting since any point of the intranet
- Direct link with the traceability of product
- FDA requirements 21 CFR 11
CORRESPONDING MODULES OF COOX® RANGE
These functions are provided by MESbox IPS module (Improved Planning & Scheduling) of COOX range, extension of MESbox PMT module.
All types work orders’ scheduling and business rules application
- Work orders creation in the various ISA-95 areas (Production, Maintenance, Quality, Logistics) with color identification on the Gantt Equipment and labor reservation (if LBM extension) for a Work Order
- Edit mode with intuitive modification by drag & drop in a “sandbox” before validation or cancellation
- Calculation and visualization of Work Orders’ progress according to a customer business rule
- Process’ graphic modeling without computer knowledge
- Dependencies’ definition between Work Orders
- Minimum and maximum deadlines’ management