The latest release of CompuTec ProcessForce, our SAP Business One solution for advanced manufacturing, has quite a variety of useful enhancements on previous versions across the board but there is a particularly heavy concentration of improvements to be found in the area of scheduling. We really wanted to update CompuTec ProcessForce’s scheduling functionalities with some practical tools, many of which are based on real customer requests, to make them even more flexible and even better equipped to deal with the realities of the hectic working day in a production hall.
Today I would like to give you a brief overview of these new functionalities. However, for those of you interested in more detailed knowledge of this topic, you will find an invitation to a webinar for CompuTec partners on this very topic to be held on Thursday 30th May 2019. If you would like to skip ahead to the webinar information, please click here.
Advanced relations management in Manufacturing Orders
In previous versions of CompuTec ProcessForce it was possible for single parent-child relations to be managed but we have gone one step further in Computec ProcessForce 9.3 PL08. It is now possible to create multiple parent-child relations. You’ll be able to link any Manufacturing Order with any other Manufacturing Order which already exists in your database, or you can also easily create new Manufacturing Orders (either as a Parent or Child) while setting up relations.
These relations are taken into account for all scheduling processes, regardless of whether they are based on the scheduling board or triggered from existing Manufacturing Orders or newly created Manufacturing Orders based on Sales Orders.
This new capability will be reflected on CompuTec ProcessForce Gantt charts too. If you move any given Manufacturing Order, CompuTec ProcessForce will also move all the other Manufacturing Orders linked to it.
Resource Balancing
This is a completely new feature which we have added to CompuTec ProcessForce’s scheduling functionalities which can be used to quickly and easily identify the best way to allocate resources to a Manufacturing Order. CompuTec ProcessForce takes resource suitability, availability and the other Manufacturing Orders which are currently being processed into consideration when making these calculations. The result of this is that CompuTec ProcessForce will automatically allocate the resources which should be used to complete the Manufacturing Order in the shortest time making resource allocation easier than ever before.
Infinite Capacity
When running Computec ProcessForce 9.3 PL08, users will notice a new checkbox on the Resource form labeled as “infinite”. If you check this box, the resource will be considered by CompuTec ProcessForce to be free of all time constraints and the resource calendar will be ignored.
We added this feature to accommodate the scheduling of machinery which, in practice, can be used to process multiple manufacturing orders simultaneously. It’s is also useful when you have a tool that could be used by more than one machine simultaneously. Your system will always recognize the tool as being available instead of forcing you to wait for the one task to be completed before making the tool available for the second task. An example of this might be that on the production line, several machines are set up in such a way that they may use the same receptacle for collecting scrap. In this case, it really wouldn’t make much sense for each Manufacturing Order to be queued to make use of the receptacle and the Infinite Capacity functionality accommodates this.
Linked Tools tab on the Resource form
Another new element that has been added to the Resource form is the “Linked Tools” tab allows you to link different tools to a particular resource. If you have resource balancing enabled and you register a tool here, CompuTec ProcessForce will also assign that tool to Manufacturing Orders to which the resource is allocated and the system will take this into consideration when rescheduling Manufacturing Orders.
This means you can automate how tools are allocated if you so wish which should reduce data entry time for CompuTec ProcessForce users and help you to avoid delays caused to production when human error steps in and results in tools being unavailable when they are needed.
Extended Working Hours
This new functionality allows you to override time constraints placed on resources by the Resource Calendar. Normally, if the Resource is assigned particular working hours on the Resource Calendar e.g. 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, and there is not enough time left towards the end of the working day to complete the entire Manufacturing Order, part of the operation would automatically be moved to the following working day. CompuTec ProcessForce 9.3 PL08 allows you to create exceptions to this rule by extending the resource’s working hours on a case-by-case basis.
This accommodates cases when your factory is working overtime due to deadlines or the working day is otherwise extended. So if you have a Manufacturing Order for an important customer that has to be shipped that same day, but to finish it, you would need to work 10 or 15 minutes beyond the end of the standard working day, selecting this option will allow you to register such exceptions in your system and help you make sure your final good reaches your customer on time instead of having to wait to complete the work on the next working day.
For more information about these functionalities and to see them in action, we would like to invite all CompuTec Partners to a webinar on Thursday 30th May 2019. All of these features will be presented in detail by our expert, Piotr Wysocki and Piotr will be taking questions after his presentation too.
The webinar will be held twice at 9 am and 2 pm European Summer Time. You may select which time slot is more convenient for you.
Scheduling in CompuTec ProcessForce 9.3 PL08
Thursday 30th May 2019
Join us at 9 am European Summer Time (GMT +2)
Join us at 2 pm European Summer Time (GMT +2)
NB: This webinar has now taken place. Registration is no longer possible.
About the Presenter With 20 years of experience working with ERP systems for production and warehousing behind him, Piotr Wysocki has developed a rich knowledge in the area of process optimization and a special interest in production planning and the everyday realities and challenges of running a manufacturing business. Currently engaged as Global Presales Director at CompuTec, Piotr’s deep understanding of our range of SAP Business One solutions and their practical application in real businesses around the world is second to none. |
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