In order to be able to make a product, both materials and people and machines are required. The production can only be started when the required materials, machinery, and people are available. All this should be taken into account when scheduling production orders. If it appears that a production order cannot be produced at the planned moment it should be rescheduled.
With Exact Visual scheduler, you can monitor the capacity and utilization, and easily move production orders and individual operations. Exact Visual scheduler supports the production planner. It can be started via the menu path Manufacturing ➔ Planning ➔ Visual scheduler. After selecting the desired criteria in the selection screen, Exact Visual scheduler is started.
This menu path is introduced in product update 404 and is only available when SE4010 - E-Special Order is in your license, and you have indicated in the Manufacturing settings that you use operations. For more information, see Manufacturing settings.
To work with Exact Visual scheduler, some settings need to be defined. This document describes the relevant settings and provides information about the scheduling process.
Exact Visual scheduler is only available when working with operations. In the Manufacturing settings, select the Operations check box. Operations can be viewed at as a recipe for a meal. They indicate what should be done, by who, and at what time. With precise operations, you can be sure that your employees are prepared for their task in the production process, that the right materials are present, and that the end products are good quality products. With operations, you can define the whole production process in detail. You can also specify dependencies between the operations. For example, should each individual operation be followed by a subsequent operation, or can there be a series of operations running in a parallel manner? This allows you to increase productivity, improve quality, reduce costs, and optimize employee scheduling.
In Exact Visual scheduler, a number of settings are available:
Exact Visual scheduler is fully controlled by operations. The right way to work with Exact Visual scheduler is as follows:
You start by defining the capacity of your operations (work centers). The capacity consists of people or machines. The capacity in Exact Visual scheduler is linked to the operations by shifts. You can also indicate whether there is a finite or infinite capacity.
Before you can schedule production orders, the production order entries must first be created. The creation of a production order entry is done in the same way as a license without Exact Visual scheduler. The difference is that the Production resources column is present in the production order. In this column, the number of people that can work simultaneously on an operation is displayed. By default, '1' is displayed this column. This applies to:
The value in this field can be adjusted using Exact Visual scheduler.
After you have created the production order entries, they have to be scheduled. Production orders can be automatically scheduled by Exact Visual scheduler. This takes into account the finite / infinite capacity. You can schedule multiple production orders in a single move, or you can schedule production orders individually.
To schedule multiple production orders, go to Manufacturing ➔ Planning ➔ Visual scheduler. Click Unscheduled at the toolbar to open up the Global scheduling screen. From this screen, you can select multiple production orders.
With the criteria, you can define whether you only want to see new or active production orders or production orders with the specific start date. After defining the criteria, click Refresh to display the production orders that meet these criteria. Note that if there are sub production orders, only the main production order will be displayed. When scheduling, the sub orders are scheduled with the main production order.
You can select production orders you want to schedule by selecting the check box(es) under the Selected column. Alternatively, you can rearrange the order sequence by using the buttons at the bottom of the screen. By clicking the Schedule button, the selected production orders are scheduled.
You can follow the status of the scheduling on the screen. Once this is completed, you can close the Global scheduling screen. You can then view your scheduled production orders in the overview.
You can also schedule an individual production order. To schedule an individual production order, go to Manufacturing ➔ Planning ➔ Visual scheduler. Click Prod. zoom in at the toolbar. From this screen, you can select a single production order by selecting the production order number in the field Production order field. Click the Tab key and the details of the production order will be displayed. You can also click the Search button to open the search screen, where you can search for a production order. When you schedule the production order, the sub production orders are automatically scheduled as well.
The scheduled production order are displayed under the Gantt tab. you can move the scheduled production order by clicking the Move button or by dragging it. To cancel the scheduling process, click the Clear button. Click Save to save the scheduled production order.
Click Shop overview at the toolbar to display the overview, where you can view the scheduled production order.
Exact Visual scheduler provides the production planner with visual insight in the shop floor. Different colors indicate the load and icons are displayed when exceptions occur. The production planner can take immediate action by moving operations or by editing capacity.
Different views are available for the schedule. The Shop overview view shows the overall schedule. With the + and - icons on the right bottom of the screen, you can specify how many work centers you want to display. With the magnifying glass icon on bottom left of the screen, you can select a different timeframe. When you move the mouse over the bar indicators, you will see more information in the tooltip, like load and capacity. Use the right mouse button to zoom in to the production order or operation.
In addition to the Shop overview, you can also view the schedule in Operation zoom in view. To do so, click Op. zoom in at the toolbar. Again, the + and - icons on the right bottom of this screen allow you to define how many work centers you want to display. With the magnifying glass icon bottom left of the screen you can set the timeframe. Depending on what timeframe you select, the background color of the cells are displayed based on the colors you have defined in the Preferences.
Another way to view the schedule is via the production order zoom in view. To do so, click Prod. zoom in at the toolbar. In this screen, you can click the Gantt tab to view the schedule of the production order.
In addition to viewing the planned production orders, you can also adjust the schedule. There are different ways to do so. You can click the Move button or simply drag and drop an operation. In both situations, the Move step screen is displayed for you to define some variables. When moving operations, the dates are immediately updated in Exact Globe Next. For more information, see Moving scheduled production orders.
An operation that is locked cannot be rescheduled in the Global scheduling screen. An operation is locked when:
The lock can be undone by right clicking on the scheduled area, and then clicking Clear manual locks or via Actions ➔ Clear manual locks. This is available only when you are in the Operation zoom in view. For more information, see Clearing manual locks on production operations.A production order can be approved. You can approve an operation by right clicking it, and then clicking Approve. An operation that is approved cannot be rescheduled in the Global scheduling screen.
If you want simulate a production schedule, you can use the What-if mode. In the Operation zoom in view, select the check box at the bottom of the screen. When this option is checked, the production order dates are not updated real time when moving a production order. When deactivating the What-if mode you are asked to save changes. Click Yes to update all the production order dates. Alternatively, you can click Actions at the toolbar, and then click Save.
The rest of the production order processes are the same as without Visual scheduler: Printing, issuing, receiving and hour realization.
When a production order is in the Completed status, it will not be displayed in the schedule.