The theme of industry 4.0 – increasingly transversal to the manufacturing companies of our country – represents a paradigm in continuous evolution and subject to variations of which it is difficult to have full control.
From thispoint of view, careful production scheduling can prove to be the winning weapon to face the sudden changes in the market, optimising the production process and limiting delays, waits and waste.
But what does production scheduling consist of and why is it fundamental in the industry 4.0 sector? Let’s dive deeper into the topic below.
Whatis Production Scheduling
Production scheduling is the strategic process that allows you to plan, organize and monitor operational activities within the company, with the aim of maximizing efficiency and productivity.
In more detail, this approach allows you to assign each resource the tasks they are entitled to based on defined priorities, actual availability and business capacity.
In this way, it is possible to ensure a fair and precise distribution of individual assignments, contributing significantly to the reduction of production times and costs.
The phases of Production Scheduling
Generally, the production scheduling process is divided into 6 phases. Let’s analyze them better:
- Planning: it is the phase in which the production objectives are defined and it is decided what to produce, in what quantity and in what times, taking into account the available resources (personnel, machinery, tools, etc.).
- Routing: the route that the raw materials must follow within the plant is determined, taking care to precisely define the individual operations and their order.
- Scheduling: this step involves the elaboration of a detailed program, in which the execution times of each activity are established.
- Dispatching: consists of assigning the different tasks to the available resources, with the aim of distributing the activities in a balanced way and ensuring that they proceed in the best way.
- Executing: it is the moment when the previous phases are translated into concrete actions and the planned activities are actually carried out. During this step, careful supervision is essential to ensure that the production process develops according to plan.
- Maintaining: at this point, it is necessary to continuously monitor the distinct operational activities. In this way, the company has the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and act accordingly.
The advantages of Production Scheduling
Scheduling production means reducing costs, ensuring compliance with deadlines and limiting interruptions, delays and waste. In more detail, here are the benefits:
Resource optimization
An optimal production schedule allows you to have a complete overview of the entire production process. In this way, it is possible to optimize the capacity of machinery, the use of raw materials and the distribution of labor, reducing waste and increasing the productivity of processes.
Reduction of production times
Thanks to accurate scheduling and effective management of the various activities, waiting times between the different production phases are significantly reduced, thus accelerating the entire production process. This ensures that customer orders are always fulfilled within the agreed deadlines (deadlines), increasing satisfaction, trust and loyalty towards the company.
Effective inventory management
Production scheduling helps coordinate the level of inventory with actual demand, greatly improving inventory management and reducing storage and maintenance costs.
The challenges of Production Scheduling
While on the one hand, production scheduling improves and accelerates the production flow, on the other hand, there are many challenges that it requires to face. These include:
Complexity of processes
Production processes often involve numerous variables, of which it is difficult to have total control. For this reason, they can be quite complex to manage, requiring advanced solutions to ensure effective scheduling activity.
Demand variability
Market demand is subject to constant fluctuations, which is why it can vary very quickly. This can further complicate the scheduling process, requiring a high degree of flexibility to adapt to market changes.
Cost management
Optimal scheduling must balance operational efficiency with financial sustainability. This means limiting production costs, while maintaining a high standard of quality and punctuality in deliveries.
Production Scheduling and Production Planning
Despite being two closely related concepts, production planning and scheduling differ in terms of focus and timing.
While production planning must adhere to predefined timelines and take into account a relatively long timeframe, production scheduling is flexible, focuses on short-term activities and continuously adapts to changes that occur along the production process.
Simply put, we can say that scheduling is an integral element of the wider production planning.
The tools for Production Scheduling
There are several tools you can use to make scheduling easier and more agile. Among the most used are:
ERP systems
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems support companies in the efficient and integrated management of all business processes, with the aim of facilitating data processing and improving collaboration between the various business departments.
However, these software are not specifically designed for production scheduling activities. As a result, they may present inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the performance of such operations.
MRP Systems
MRP (Material Requirements Planning) systems focus on the management of supplies and raw materials, in order to ensure that resources are available when required, avoiding shortages or excesses of inventory.
As we have seen before, the market is constantly evolving and demand can change quickly and suddenly. In this context, it should be noted that MRP software is not able to cope with the sudden changes in the market, which require highly personalized and flexible scheduling.
Business Intelligence Systems
Business Intelligence tools provide detailed analysis of business data, facilitating understanding of models and supporting informed decision making.
It is important to remember, however, that these software are not vertical about scheduling activities. For this reason, it may be necessary to integrate the system with other more specific technologies to have a complete and accurate view of business operations.
Production Scheduling Software
Production scheduling software offers specific features for the management of daily activities, allowing accurate scheduling and full operational control.
This type of software, also known as APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling), allows you to create, monitor and update the different production tasks, ensuring that information is shared between all work teams.
In addition, these innovative systems offer the possibility of simulating certain scenarios, so that they can be prepared in the event of unforeseen events, delays or setbacks.
CyberPlan for Production Scheduling
At the moment, there are various APS software on the market. Among these, CyberPlan definitely occupies a prominent position.
This latest generation tool offers an all-in-one platform, through which you can simplify, accelerate and automate the scheduling process, making it more agile and faster.
In addition, its intuitive interface and ability to integrate with other ERP and MRP systems make it an indispensable tool for companies looking to remain competitive in the era of Industry 4.0.
Through the implementation of a scheduler such as CyberPlan, you have the possibility to optimize operational flows, identifying the optimal sequence of activities for each individual resource, reducing delivery times and minimizing production costs.
Do you think CyberPlan could be the ideal solution for your company?
Then don’t hesitate to contact us. We will provide you with an in-depth overview of the software and its many features, so that you can better prove adherence to your business goals.