The more complex industrial manufacturing processes become, the more important production planning gets. But simple planning with Excel has long since ceased to be sufficient. Instead, a wide range of dependencies and constraints must be mapped in the planning system. This calls for an Advanced Planning and Scheduling System (APS) such as FEDRA from MPDV.
Experienced planners are aware of this: certain orders only run on one specific machine, some orders may not be scheduled successively, and still others always occur as a double pack. Over the years, a lot of expert knowledge has accumulated, but often not documented. Neither are the interdependencies digitally mapped. But what happens if such an experienced planner suddenly becomes unavailable or even leaves the company? In most cases, they take their knowledge and experience with them without imparting it to a colleague. In this day and age, such an approach is more than negligent. But how can the situation be improved?
Advanced Process Modeling with APS FEDRA
First of all, you need to ensure that production planning is completely digitally mapped and running smoothly. To achieve this, it is important to include all relevant resources in the planning. Depending on the industry and company, resources may have different importance. In one company, it is enough to plan only the machines, in others, each tool and resource must also be factored in. We therefore speak of multidimensional planning. There are also cases where additional input is required for realistic production planning.
So, the next step is to digitalize the unique requirements of planning. For these requirements APS FEDRA provides the manufacturing apps (mApps) of the category Advanced Process Modeling :
- The mApp Campaign Planning ensures that specific operations are planned in precise sequence so that setup times can be reduced. Such a method is used, for example, when planning a furnace and operations with similar smelting temperatures can be combined.
- The mApp Connected Production Planning allows multiple operations to be scheduled in parallel on one workplace to achieve higher machine utilization. With this mApp, you can map so-called joint productions. An example for a joint production is when parts of different operations are punched or pressed on a single tool.
- The mApp Individual Verified Planning ensures that custom manufacturing specifications are included in the planning process, which is essential for companies working in regulated sectors. Use the mApp to ensure, for example, that article A may only be produced on machines 3 and 5 and plan the required tools.
- The mApp Multiple Resource Mapping considers the capacity of individual machines and workplaces, enabling flexible and multiple assignments. This method can be used for machining centers and group workplaces. The resource requirement of the operation is compared with the actual resources available for the workplace.
This category also includes mApps that directly support digital production planning:
- The mApp Setup Optimized Planning provides a setup change matrix that can be loaded with the setup times for specific setup changes. Based on this technology, the mApp calculates dynamic setup times by including the previous condition of the machine. This function is indispensable for automatic planning systems.
- The mApp Cross Order Planning allows predecessor-successor relationships between individual operations to be transferred from the ERP and factored in for the calculation. Here, we speak of order networks, making sure that a part can only be assembled once it's manufactured.
- The mApp Operation Splitting makes sure that individual operations can be divided among several workplaces. Use this mApp to compensate for different cycle times and thus improve utilization in production.
Secure expert knowledge
As you can see, there are different options to turn a simple production planning into an advanced digital production planning. The important task is to get the existing expert knowledge from the heads of long-serving employees into the system. But it is not as easy as it sounds for two reasons:
- First of all, many experts underestimate their experience and downplay its importance and valuable expertise is lost.
- Secondly, some experts are reluctant to digitalize the knowledge because their fear of being replaced.
It is essential in both cases to seek an exchange with the respective expert and to work constructively to find a way forward that is beneficial to all parties involved. For example, the long-time planner may be involved in the upkeep and administration of the new planning system. As a result, they see how vital their expert knowledge is and also have the opportunity to witness the success of their preliminary work at first hand.
It might be of interest to you to read this blog post on production planning: Why plan at all?
