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Production Planning & Scheduling - Lighthouse MES Production 
















 



Scheduling






Production Planning & Scheduling - Lighthouse MES Production
 
 Make production planning and scheduling more agile in Discrete & Batch Manufacturing



 

 


 













How will you benefit from the Production Planning & Scheduling software module?


Still using spreadsheets for day-to-day production scheduling? With a production scheduling software, planners can visualise the plan in real-time, whilst optimising capacity and resources accurately.


 


The Production Planning & Scheduling module of Lighthouse MES Software is the ideal solution to: 


    

  • Create production orders manually or download from the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system
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  • Sequence production orders on production lines/processes
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  • Identify line and machine changeovers, tool changes and material changes 
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  • Schedule start and end dates based on master data like cycle time and order quantity
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  • Assess manufacturing capacity and ability to meet order deadlines
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  • Communicate the production schedule to the shop floor
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  • Get real-time feedback on the schedule as production executes
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  • Avoid the burden of a heavy finite capacity scheduling system
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What are the benefits of the Production Planning & Scheduling software module?


    

  1. Improve on-time delivery: visibility of delivery dates
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  2. Save time: assigning orders to production lines/processes and optimising the plan
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  3. Visualise the plan: production scheduling with real-time visibility for everyone; reduce unforeseen knock-on effects of planning decisions
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  4. Communication: improve communication between the planners and production teams
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  5. Instant feedback: when production is not achieving the plan, know what has and has not been done
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  6. React faster: when production lines stop or run slow, the plan is updated in real-time
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  7. Agility: adapt to change quicker and respond  to unplanned events
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  8. Improve resource management: optimise capacity and resources
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  9. No more spreadsheets: schedule production on an Enterprise platform
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Production Order Management


    

  • Download orders from ERP (include BOMs and Routing if required)
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  • Manually create production orders (also called work orders) - useful in some scenarios
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  • Assign orders to lines and decide the running sequence
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  • Split large orders into a series of smaller orders, or run campaigns
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Discrete Manufacturing


    

  • Plan production for every operation in the routing
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Batch Manufacturing


    

  • Plan equipment for each batch at every stage of production
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Production Planning 


    

  • View the sequence of production orders against each production line
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  • Automatically calculate start and end dates
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  • Highlight key information e.g. the status of each order; due date achievement
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  • Re-sequence by moving orders between lines and changing their position in the queue
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  • Reduce change-overs by grouping orders with common attributes e.g. materials, tools and colour 
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  • Add job-specific instructions for operators
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  • Experiment with the schedule and release to production when complete
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Real-time Updates


    

  • Instantly communicate schedule changes to production
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  • If production slows or stops , the schedule is instantly revised
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  • If production equipment breaks down it is possible to redirect the orders to other compatible lines 
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Visualisation & Reporting


    

  • Visualise the production schedule as a Gantt chart including change-overs, tool changes and material changes
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  • View schedule dependencies on materials, labour and tools
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  • Report conformance to schedule and demand
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Sustainable Energy


►Ceres Power case study

Fuel cell manufacturer scales up production of a complex product through automation of 20 simultaneous processes.


Pharmaceuticals


►I-Holland case study

Precision tools manufacturer reduces lead times and waste through automated order processing and shop floor data collection.


Textiles


►John Cotton case study

Leading UK homewares supplier benefits from a sleeker production scheduling process, improved visibility and data accuracy with Lighthouse MES.


 
The Production Planning & Scheduling module works with the Job Tracking software so that planned orders can be executed and planners can see orders progressing.


Further increase the power of Lighthouse MES Production Planning & Scheduling software with additional modules:


    

  • Production Counting – see order progression in real-time against the schedule, update start and end dates automatically and be alerted to any jobs that will miss the deadline
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  • Inventory Management – look at WIP or finished goods created out of the process as an alternate way of counting production and view progress as above
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  • Tool Management – plan specific tools to use
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  • Labour Tracking – project labour requirements to meet the schedule
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