Machine scheduling software that sequences every job on every machine
The hardest question on a shop floor is not what to make. It is which job goes on which machine next. ProductionPlanning.ai builds that sequence for every machine, with setup times counted and a rule you choose.
Manufacturing scheduling tools for the queue on each machine
- Each operation assigned to a machine, in routing order
- Jobs sequenced by earliest due date, with shortest operation first or customer priority as a choice (Plant plan and above)
- Setup time added when the product family changes
- Alternative machines used when the preferred one is full
- Queue per machine visible to the operator for the shift (Plant plan and above)
Changeovers and grouping of similar jobs
On many machines, the setup between two products can take as long as a whole job. The scheduler counts it wherever the product family changes, and on the Plant plan it groups similar jobs together when that does not push another order past its due date.
- Setup time per machine and per product family
- Changeovers shown on the Gantt chart as their own blocks
- Total setup time per machine for the period
- Grouping that respects due dates, not grouping at any price
In the worked example on the home page, setups on one mill cost 150 minutes in a single week, on the machine that decided which orders were late.
Manufacturing scheduling system rules, compared
- Earliest due date: the job due soonest goes first. Good default when on time delivery is the goal.
- Shortest operation first: quick jobs go first. Clears queues fast and raises throughput, at the risk of leaving long jobs late.
- Customer priority: rush and key customer orders first, the rest by due date.
Earliest due date is the rule on every plan. On the Plant plan and above you choose the rule, run the same week under each one and compare late orders before you publish. The guide to job sequencing rules goes deeper.
Machine scheduling inside the whole plant
One machine's sequence affects every machine after it in the routing. That is why ProductionPlanning.ai schedules the whole plant at once, with finite capacity, rather than one machine at a time. For the operator's view of the result, see shop floor scheduling software.
See the sequence on every machine
Run the demo and change the sequencing rule. The queue on every machine changes with it.
Your data stays yours. Export or delete it any time. No card to try the demo.