Software : Planning : Overview

Manufacturer : User Solutions, Inc

The objective of the model is to provide the master scheduler or planning function with a tool for determining the overall level of capacity and distribution of capacity required to meet demand. This demand can be driven by a forecasted incoming rate or consuming a backlog within a specified time frame for a particular cell - as well as for overall plant level. More specifically, the model:

Translates a forecast or backlog into machine and manpower requirements for each resource in a cell and compares this with the capacity given the current man machine configuration.
Allows easy what if analysis of the interaction of setup time, lot size, efficiency, operation yield, and work practices such as working bottlenecks through breaks. Allows analysis of flow with multiple setups per part vs. batch and the payoff on throughput of set up reduction results.
Clearly shows the bottleneck resource that limits cell output dynamically as factors are changed.
Shows what can be expected from the existing man-machine configuration and can be used to set expected cell output rates, shift schedules and manning levels and easy configuration.

Features

Capacity balancing

Resource optimization

Runs with Excel

What-Ifs

Production Planning

Built in graphing

Integrates with any system

Source code included

How does It Work

Broadly speaking the cell model data to be entered from the planner/master scheduler is entered in two tables and two tables only, Table A and Table 1. All other tables are calculated by the system from the data entered in Table A and Table 1 and should not have data entered.

STEP 1 - LOAD TABLE 1

Table 1 is a list of cell resources, work schedules and product family factors such as set up time and operation yield and is documented in a subsequent section of this document. Resources (work centers) should be entered in process sequence and every column should be filled out with a value.

STEP 2 - LOAD TABLE A

Forecasts or backlogs can be loaded in either sales dollars or units depending on how the data is captured or available in your company. Forecasts in dollars must eventually be translated into units by estimating the average selling price for that sales value and entering that data in the EST SP field in Table A.. If the data is collected in units then the "forecast/load " field in Table A should be entered in units and the estimated selling price field , "EST SP" should be entered as 1.00 . The period for which the forecast or backlog corresponds should be entered in the "PER(WKS)" field of Table A in weeks. The program will translate that sales or backlog value into units or pieces per month, week and day.

STEP 3 - EVALUATE THE OUTPUT TABLES TABLE B , TABLE C AND TABLES 2. 3, 4

Table B has the following information:

the pieces per month, week and day calculated from the data entered in Table A
the overall YIELD of the cell based on the operation yields entered in TABLE 1 alongwith the piece quantity input to the cell that is required to provide the number of good pieces needed to meet the demand. Operation yields and the overall yield are used to calculate the operation start and good pieces at each step in the process,. For example, assume a 10 step process with overall yield of 50% . This would mean that a 2000 piece input would be required to get out 1000 good pieces. Where yield problems occur in the operation sequence will also impact operation start quantities and capacity. To take a simple example if all the 50 % yield occurs at the first operation then this operation will be the only one having to process 2000 pieces to get 1000, all the other operations will process only the 1000. If all the yield falloff occurs in The last operation, then all operations will have to process 2000 in order to obtain 1000 good pieces with a consequent waste of capacity through out the process.

TABLE C IS A SUMMARY TABLE AND HAS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

PEOPLE required to meet the demand placed on the cell by the FORECAST or backlog that was entered in Table A. The detail by work center for this summary figure is shown in Table 2.
STAFF required, difference between required STAFF and the current STAFF
Percent of PEOPLE capacity calculated as percentage required divided by current STAFF
BOTTLENECK shifts required to meet the demand
Percent of bottleneck 3 shift capacity
Percent of requirement calculated as current STAFF divided by required STAFF
Bottleneck resource or work center; the resource that limits overall cell through put which will change dynamically as factors in Table 1 are changed.
Capacity with current staff; the number of pieces that can be produced with the current man machine configuration and assuming workers are cross trained and can be switched to any work center in the cell.