ProSched FAQ's

What is Planning and Scheduling?

The basic idea of scheduling is to determine the timing and location of activities that will be conducted in a process to meet a set of orders or demands from customers. The process to be scheduled consists of a set of equipment, people, materials, and other resources that must be coordinated to meet the demands of the customers. An order or demand to be scheduled is typically given as a due date and quantity of material or an end state to be achieved. A schedule must take into account what is currently being executed in the process, satisfy all the process requirements, and consider preferences of people who understand the business implications of making trade offs. Planning refers to exploring the possible behavior of a process over a long period of time or under different conditions than those that currently exist.

The planning process is used to answer what-if questions such as

§ How will capacity improve if additional equipment is purchased?

§ What are the implications of cross-training operators?

§ Which options will best reduce overtime?

§ What is the best due date to promise a potential customer?

§ Where should research & development dollars be spent to best improve a process?

§ Is there enough capacity to meet expected demand?

In fact there are literally hundreds of questions that can be addressed by an effective planning process. Many of these questions are best posed by people understanding the process and business details. Good answers to these questions can help to continuously improve a process.

Planning and scheduling are closely related and are best done using the same or closely related tools. This follows because plans must be able to be implemented in order to be effective. Scheduling determines what is actually implemented in the process, while planning explores what is possible. Plans have little value if they are inaccurate and cannot be implemented because they do not consider important process requirements.

As such a state of the art APS system should support both planning and scheduling.

What is an APS System?

Many definitions of an APS system are possible. Practically speaking an old-fashioned planning and scheduling system involves using planning boards, white boards, or pencil & paper. An “Advanced” Planning and Scheduling system is usually defined to be one that is computer based. Using this definition there is a wide variation in sophistication of APS systems. Spreadsheets was used widely for performing as an APS function but is highly cumbersome  and inefficient.

APS technology are money intense processes where savings justify the installation expense. Lower end systems generally cost more to operate and, for complex processes, will not usually capture the cost savings or performance improvements that are possible. This follows usually because lower end systems do not allow effective schedules and plans to be generated quickly enough to respond to business opportunities or a variety of what-if questions. Optimization is the key to achieving better recourse utilization.

What can Optimization do?

Whether the problem is large or small, straightforward or complex, optimization supports decision-making across a wide range of industries. Optimization software can  solve business problems ranging from long-term planning to  real-time scheduling.

ProSched has a built in optimizer using mathematical optimization technology called Genetic Algorithm.  Complex business problems can be represented as mathematical programming models with Genetic Algorithm. It is one of the most sophisticated engines for solving problems having tonnes and tonnes of variables and constraints. This enables planners and operations managers  perform what-if analysis, and compare scenarios. This power gives ProSched  the edge to achieving higher efficiency and to quickly implement strategies thus providing improved performance.

What is optimization?

The problem is defined and structured  into a computer model. Basically an optimization model is a set of equations that define all of the components in a planning or scheduling problem, such as:

• ·       Resources available
• ·       Production Demand
• ·       Operating costs
• ·       Constraints and preferences
• ·       Key performance indicators (information about the plan)
• ·       Decisions to be made

The optimization engine applies your model to data and searches for a solution by conducting various what if analysis

It generates the output which  is the best plan or schedule. Equipped with intelligent alternatives, you make better decisions, dramatically improving operational efficiency.

What are the benefits of ProSched optimization?

• Cut down operating costs

• Minimize working capital

• Shorten your delivery times

• Offer flexible and responsive customer service

• Provide personalized work schedules

• Manage risks

• Maximize profitability

• Sense the future

Why ProSched .......as compared to other scheduling  systems?

APS systems differ in philosophy, user interface, and underlying technology. The major differences in philosophy revolve around how the decisions are made in the APS system or “Who does the work?”

Low end systems require the user to make most of the decisions about where and when  activities are executed. There are often no indications from the lower end system when  process requirements are violated. Low end systems are typically designed around an electronic Gantt Chart. With a completely manual electronic Gantt Chart the user moves boxes representing activity on the screen until all the activities appear on the right equipment at the right time. The determination of “right” is made by the user based on their knowledge of the process. High end APS systems differentiate themselves based on user interface and underlying technology. Since APS systems generally require manipulating large amounts of information the quality of the user interface is an important consideration. Information should only be entered in one place, facilities should exist for manipulating multiple schedules/plans, and analysis tools must be available to obtain many different kinds of reports.

Why Should I have ProSched?

As with any other process investment an APS system is purchased to obtain a return on investment. This return will come from making better decisions involving capital investments, repeatable process improvements, such as decreased waste or increased throughput, or by a time savings due to making the job of the planning and scheduling people easier.

How Long Does it Take to Install ProSched?

The length of time required to install an APS system is almost totally dependent on the amount of customization performed. Installation projects involving a high degree of customization can require up to a couple of months. With an easy to use graphical user interface installation times has been shrinked drastically even when a high degree of customization is required. APS installation times are limited as to how short they can be by the determination of process restrictions to be addressed and by customizing a system for inputting the necessary data. Note that inputting the necessary data, assuming the data is available, is usually a much easier task than determining which process restrictions will be addressed.

Is it possible to integrate ProSched with ERP or Plant Information System?

The purpose of an ERP or Plant Information System is to provide data to those needing it. As such technical integration of APS systems with data systems is usually straightforward. In many situations, interfacing an APS system to a data system is no harder than interfacing a spreadsheet to a data system. However, the data needed to feed an APS system sometimes is not present in a company information system. In these cases  some provision must be made to update the information system

Also companies must put policies in place specifying who should have access to data and who should be able to modify data. These issues must be resolved as part of the process of installing the APS system and are no different than the data policy issues companies regularly address.

Is it possible to run the software on the web?

ProSched is web enabled thus enabling it to be run on the Internet. For plants in multiple locations  the software to be run from a central system and the information used by all the locations will be the same.