Automation of production workflows: Planning

In the last twenty years, more and more applications proving support for companies with numerous logistical needs have appeared on the Romanian market. By using supply chain management software solutions (including production planning software), you can significantly improve your business activities, optimize costs and save yet another precious resource: time.

Ever since our company’s inception, we, the Axes Software team, have understood the need for  other companies in various industries (manufacturing, 3PL logistics, distribution, ecommerce, transport and more) to use the best software solutions for planning and organizing production, or managing warehouse and transport. The solutions optimizing logistics activities are known as being part of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) software suite.

That’s why we have come to the aid of companies carrying out logistics activities with a wide range of SCM software solutions. Of these, one of the most sought-after Axes workflow automation software solutions is the one designed for production planning and production execution monitoring, the benefits of which we will talk about in one of the following chapters. But until then, let’s define the terms…

What is production?

Production is the process of turning raw materials into finished products using specialized machinery and personnel. Production is usually based on purchase orders received from customers or, less frequently, on internal orders when stocks are produced.

The production process involves:

• planning – the stage prior to the launch of orders received into production  (before the start of production). xTrack MES, the application developed by our team, is provided with a production planning module;
• order execution – the concrete stage of manufacturing the products specified in the production orders. The functionalities of xTrack MES cover a wide range of tasks: from the preparation of raw materials to be used for orders to the execution of technological operations. This means the products ordered by customers are manufactured faster, with fewer employees, helping you save both time and money;
• tracking the execution status of all technological operations – monitoring the execution activities.

What is production planning?

Production planning is a laborious complicated process, especially when we are talking about large companies where there are multiple technological processes. As production capacity increases, so do the risks of planning errors, due to the many factors that need to be taken into account each time:

• the work schedule of the plant and of each individual machine;
• downtimes (non-working days, breakdowns, overhauls, etc.);
• previous allocations per machine (to avoid possible overlapping of technological operations, for example);
• the possibility of using more than one machine for the same technological operation, also taking into account the output of each machine;
• the order in which technological operations are carried out;
• the characteristics of the technological operations (set-up times, continuity, etc.);
• order priorities.

The multitude of factors that need to be taken into account makes it impossible to plan rigorously in the traditional way, i.e. in an Excel file or by setting pen to paper.

In this context, an intelligent application based on a complex algorithm that takes into account all the elements discussed above is absolutely necessary.

Automated production planning with xTrack MES

The automated production planning is a module of the xTrack MES application developed within our project “Innovative platform for artificial intelligence management of work processes in factories and warehouses“, which receives co-funding from the European Social Fund through the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020.

xTrack MES is used to plan operations by groups of machines and operators, respecting the technological process, i.e. the sequence of operations set out in production recipes.

Advantages of production planning automation

Specifically, why is it worth investing in a production planning application? What are the advantages you can enjoy in the long run and how will they help you optimize production costs?

As you’ve already learned, automating production planning brings you a number of important benefits in terms of streamlining resources, increasing productivity and, over time, company profitability.

Less time and effort spent on production planning

Let’s take a step back and imagine how the traditional production planners work. Let’s see what factors they should consider:

• personnel – some employees may be on annual or sick leave, others are already busy performing other previously planned technological operations;
• machinery – some have already been scheduled to do other technological operations, others are or will be going into (announced or unannounced) overhaul, maintenance, repairs;
• raw materials and materials needed – they may already be stored in the plant’s warehouse or will be received at a later date.

So a planner should find the best solutions after checking and putting together all the above elements. And more! The same person should also take into account the orders received, the amounts to be produced, and also check whether the products required are of the same type or different, whether simple or complex technological processes will be involved, and so on.

Let’s say that, by some miracle, he would manage to complete all these tasks. However, unforeseen circumstances that would upset the entire planning and thus affect the entire chain of operations in the production facility can arise at any time.

Seen from this perspective, traditional planning would take up today far too much time. It is not difficult to see that the main causes of inefficient time allocation are the diversity and multitude of parameters to be taken into account.

Therefore, the logical solution is the automated planning, which an application does instantly, once the necessary parameters are entered.

Elimination of planning mistakes

The more elements that need to be taken into account when planning, the greater the risk of human error. Even the omission of a single element, whether through carelessness or ignorance, can have a negative impact on the outcome of production planning.

In automated planning, however, the possibility of omitting an element is practically nil, because the xTrack MES planning module involves entering a set of specific mandatory parameters, determined in advance based on the analysis of all aspects required by the production flows.

Flexibility of automated production planning

If a single unforeseen event occurs (e.g. an employee goes on sick leave, a machine breaks down, there’s a delay in the delivery of raw materials) or when new high-priority orders are received, the planning has to be largely, if not totally, redone, which is  an extremely difficult and time-consuming process if carried out in the “traditional” way.

On the other hand, when using an xTrack MES application, you can accurately and quickly  reschedule operations so that you meet your customers’ requirements. What’s more, you can make alternative schedules to identify the best option for your situation.

Estimation of the time needed to complete the production order

Unlike traditional planning, where the degree of unpredictability can be quite high, automated scheduling allows manufacturers to set a much more precise date for delivering orders to customers, which also helps increase their satisfaction.

Production process optimization

Automated scheduling streamlines activities in production facilities, as it determines how all available resources (human and material) are used to the maximum in order to complete production orders as quickly as possible.

The reduction of the time required to produce finished products is achieved, for example, by planning (similar or different) technological operations in parallel on the machines/tools available, so that downtime is eliminated as far as possible.

Visualization of planned production steps

Based on the data entered, the application automatically generates a GANTT chart, showing the entire set of planned technological operations in detail.

GANTT charts are popular in task management because they allow you to see at a glance:

• what activities are in progress;
• when each activity starts and finishes;
• how long each activity lasts;
• where and how much certain activities overlap;
• when the whole process starts and ends.

In other words, a production planning application gives you access to real-time data that helps you get an overview of all production processes.

If all these advantages have convinced you that it is worth investing in xTrack MES, fill in any  form on our website and an Axes Software representative will contact you within 48 hours of your sending the message.

Last but not least, please note that we also provide other software solutions to streamline their supply chain. Discover xTrack WMS – warehouse and inventory management system, xTrack TMS – transport management system, xTrack POD – proof of delivery software and xTrack PMS – returnable packaging management system.                      

To convince yourself of their benefits, we invite you to read more articles on our blog and ask us any questions you may have. Axes Software specialists are ready to provide you with all the information you need as soon as possible.