Scheduling is the closest link to planning in the field: which job will be done on which machine, in what order, and at what time? When this step is done well, significantly more output can be obtained with the same capacity.
Scope
Converting planned orders: The process of converting suggestions generated by planning into work orders after verification.
Work order contents: Bill of materials, operation list, quantity, dates, work centers, quality control points, and cost information.
Material availability check: Checking whether the necessary materials are available before the order is released. An order released without materials is considered a pending order in the field.
Finite capacity scheduling: Placing jobs on the machine schedule without exceeding capacity limits.
Sequence optimization: Determining the production sequence that minimizes setup times; sorting by color, thickness, size, or mold groups.
Priority criteria: Sorting options include by delivery date, critical rate, shortest processing time, or customer priority.
Visual chart: A planning table that can be dragged and dropped along the machine-time axis, showing overlaps and gaps.
Dynamic rescheduling: In the event of a breakdown, urgent order, or material delay, the plan can be quickly re-established and affected delivery dates can be seen.
Order splitting and merging: Splitting a large order or combining similar orders for setup savings.
Release and field deployment: Opening the order to the field, generating documents and labels, and adding them to terminal lists.
Order closing: Managing the technical closing (production completed) and financial closing (cost calculated) steps separately.
The impact of installation optimization
In facilities operating with high product diversity, a significant portion of total capacity is allocated to product switching. In the paint industry, color sequence; in textiles, color and number sequence; in metal processing, mold sequence; and in food, allergen sequence directly determine setup time.
Sequence optimization is one of the rare applications that gains capacity without investing a single penny. The prerequisite is that the product transition matrix is defined in the system: how much time is spent and how much waste occurs when transitioning from one product to another?
Benefit to the customer
More output is obtained with the same capacity.
Delivery dates are based on the actual schedule.
The impact of an urgent order is seen before it is accepted.
An order cannot be given without the necessary supplies.
Work-in-process inventory and lead times are reduced.