Order Features

Scheduling needs activities description ; description is given by defining an order.

One order is opened for a set of activities relate to the production of one product.

Order Process describes all operations (activities) usually needs to achieve the production of a product set.

Sched expects the set of activities to be known before scheduling starts .

Each process operation defines the time needed for one set (declined in start-up, production and end-up time) and describes the resources allocation needed to achieve operations.

Globally for the process or separately for each operation a lot of constraints are defined (see 8.3..0.2).

According to the process classification , resources allocation combinations could be defined for the entire process (in-line resources) . For each operation, resources allocation could be defined in association or independently of the in-line resources allocation.

Defining orders processes is easier if standard processes are created beforehand.

Creating new orders with Sched

Sched provides different ways to import orders from another software directly in sched.

1. by importing from text files
2. by importing from excel files

The planned order – unplanned order

The production planner translates each order (planning demand) to short-term high-resolution activities according to the standard process.

The result is called the planned order.

All operations are specifically described for each order and become totally independent of the original standard process.

If important modifications are brought to the standard process and you want to take care of this in an order you have to ” unplanned” and “replanned” the order.

Reworking times, operations and constraints on order

At any time, users can add/modify/delete operations, time, status and constraints for each operation...

Importing Order Events

Sched provides different ways to update existing orders by means of a conventional text file, directly in access tables via a specific user’s program (in vb for ex) or encoding manually in sched.

You can act on individual operations, modify a status (terminated or suspended), remaining quantity (sched adapts time), or even modify the resources allocation.

You can act on orders modifying remaining times (set-up, production, end-up), or on order status (terminated or suspended), general quantity remaining (sched adapts times), why not modify lines.

Operation Scheduling parameters

The earliest starting date/time and the latest finishing date/time could be fixed independently for each operation.
This could be interesting when several operations must wait for achievement of other operations or components availability.

The overlapping parameter is useful to indicate if operations can start at the same time or after a precedent one.
The splitting parameter indicates if the scheduling engine accepts or not the dividing up of time of the operation. In that case operations will not be made in one shot (continual time line).

Order scheduling parameters

Parameters have to be fixed for each order.

• The earliest starting date/time and the latest finishing date/time fix the range of time where scheduling must be put
• Sched will always respect the earliest starting border but could exceed the latest finishing date (deadline); if, considering all the constraints and examining all the possibilities the scheduling could not end before. (Note that in that case scheduling doesn’t not stop).
• The chaining parameters define if the order is part of a chain. This parameters will put the earliest starting date/time after the last operation date/time of the precedent order in the same chain.
• The initial priority level
• The use fictive resource parameter could be indicated (see using fictive resource before)
• A status is defined for each order (planned not yet scheduled, already scheduled, finished, to be killed and suspended);

The useful excel order main board

Sched provides a useful way to act on the principal parameters of each order with the excel main board.

Each time the excel main board is called; the board is totally refreshed from the access tables.

All parameters mentioned before, status, remaining quantity, can be directly updated in the main order.

Each time the board is saved all access tables are automatically saved and will serve for the next opening.

Using the main board is useful to fix ganged priority of an order.

Order ganged priority

When scheduling occurs on the totality of the order or a part of them, sched introduces the selected orders in the scheduler according to a priority.

This priority is conventionally named the ganged priority in sched; the ganged priority is composed of 5 digits.

The first order engaged in the scheduling will have more chance to find all the resources needed free and thus respect the scheduling boundaries as defined.

The last one, working on time cells already filled by precedent orders could have less chance to do it.

Notes: considering the fact that scheduling obeys earliest/latest date defined for each order, high ganged priority has nothing to do with providing orders before other orders.

Pre-calculating and fixing the gange priority

For new order gange priority is null.

Sched provides a function to calculate in advance the gange priority for a new order.

Due to the fact that the gange priority could be easily managed with the main board, sched provides one simple way to pre-calculate the initial one.

Initial gange priority heuristics in five digits.
The first digits is the initial priority level (parameter for each order), digits 2,3 and 4 are the numbers of days separating the earliest beginning date and the current date, the last digit is left to zero.

Priority grade heuristics

Due to the fact that priority is company subjective and could vary according to a lot of factors (urgent delivery, set-up, most due order, steady flow of materials, machine activities, ...and a lot other ones) , sched chooses not to fix one (excepting the initial one) and to give an easy method to manage it.

Modifying gange priority with the excel order main board

The gange priority (and other scheduling parameters) can be changed by the order main board.

To do this simply move the order up or down at any place in the board and the gange order will be adapted.

Excel is a good tool to do this; you can sort a part of the main board according to the different order value.

Discard temporary order from scheduling.