Problems for Schedulers
A rush order appears and re-work is required, operators report sick, a machine breaks down, or demand does not meet forecast, & a hole is blown in the production plan, leaving schedulers to spend time re-assigning work, changing priorities or altering process routes to meet delivery dates.
The schedulers art is to constantly try to maintain the balance between demand & capacity. On the demand side the flow of work can vary with new orders, priority changes, stock orders, leakages occur as deliveries are made, forecasts translated into demand & orders cancelled. Increased capacity can be achieved by bringing forward orders to utilise under-used resources, process routes changed, extra hours worked, subcontracted services etc.
No matter how dedicated your employees are, every now and then real life will get in the way of work. Illnesses, car breakdowns, sick children and other unexpected events can stop your staff from turning up without notice. Some employees might arrange for someone else to work their shift, but more often than not, they’ll simply not show up.
Most manufacturers are under pressure to reduce costs while producing more, in shorter delivery times. All this has to be accomplished without an accurate indication of future demand and with lower inventories. By connecting Opcenter APS (formerly Preactor APS) to their ERP and shop-floor data collection, companies are able to monitor the state of execution against the plan and put in place effective Lean operations.
Learn how Opcenter APS could benefit your business here.