In the world of manufacturing, efficiency is paramount. One of the biggest hindrances to a smooth manufacturing process is what’s known as a ‘bottleneck’. This term refers to the point in the production line where work accumulates faster than it can be processed. Fortunately, scheduling software has emerged as a powerful tool to address and… READ MORE
Tracking progress on the Shop Floor can help to adjust to changing production scheduling conditions as they occur in real-time. In the previous article in this series (part 3 of 5), we talked about the importance of planning. By way of example, we planned an ordinary drive to work. We then discussed the implications of our… READ MORE
Effective shop floor production planning and execution is a tough gig. While there isn’t a shortage of technology or methods to help shops plan for an ideal production picture — execution is another ballgame entirely. From failing to account for real-time conditions to expecting a scheduling algorithm to magically solve all of your production problems,… READ MORE
EASTECH 2017 — Jaffrey, NH — May 16, 2017 — Graphicast, Inc., innovative casting producer for medical equipment and other industrial users is dealing with a “problem” many companies would love to have – a sudden, unexpected influx of new orders! According to Val Zanchuk, Graphicast President, “We have been a Visual ERP user for shop… READ MORE
These articles are portions of a lecture presented to APICS by our friend Gene Caiola. How did we get here? Manufacturers have long contended with trying to deliver on-time. Meeting delivery commitments is one of the most primary characteristics of a good supplier. Not meeting these commitments can result in poor supplier ratings that may… READ MORE
Last week’s blog discussed how there is no such thing as an optimal production schedule; it is in fact, an impossible problem to solve even for today’s most powerful computers. So, today’s production scheduling tools found in ERP or as bolt-on software use ‘heuristics’. Wikipedia’s definition of heuristic or a heuristic technique is especially appropriate: “any approach to problem solving… READ MORE