Solution scope
SWB supports the scope from scheduling to planning. You should consider the available functionality as a functional toolbox that covers the full business value. The full scope requires both SWB functionalities but equally important the business processes across several departments. You should regard the full scope as the potential. We recommend implementing T2V (Time to Value) instead, where the scope is the existing solution. It is important that the solutions work and that the customer understands and owns the solution. You can then extend the scope of the solution step by step.
Basic implementation method
Before starting an implementation, you should identify the scope of scheduling. Scheduling is not a transaction with one correct result. Scheduling handles several orders, resources, or materials. Scheduling is complex that you can perform in many ways.
Implementation projects often have a limited time scope therefore requires a corresponding functional scope. Factory throughput is determined by one or a few critical bottlenecks. Implementation must focus on these critical bottlenecks. Avoid focusing on details that are time consuming. Focus only on the critical bottlenecks before going live and wait for the details. You can add the details after the go live.
- Type of products produced.
- Critical bottlenecks determinate factory throughput.
- Make-to-Order or Make-to-Stock or Assembly-to-Order or Mix production.
- Fixed or Dynamic horizon where you can receive new customer orders. Interaction between scheduling and sales.
- Business process for procurement of materials. Interaction between scheduling and purchasing.
- Scheduling plans everything into details and adjusts plan based on job-reporting or possible self-governing groups handling execution on the short horizon. Interaction between scheduling and execution.
- Copy of previous scheduling solution, such as screenshot, Excel sheet, or similar that identifies critical bottlenecks and minimum scope expectations.
Setting all resources with infinite capacity enables a validation of lead-time, where only the opening hours and production time is considered without finite capacity complicating the plan. When the lead-time is validated, you can change the most critical bottleneck resource to finite capacity. You can now validate the capacity level and throughput considering the most critical bottleneck resource.
SWB is an advanced tool which considers everything. You can set all resources to finite capacity. There is an issue when SWB considers everything, the planner often does not understand the plan and does not know which capacity definition or other reason affects the plan. If there are several elements in a schedule, which are incorrect, it is difficult to determine if it is the actual bottleneck or another unimportant resource which causes the issues. This is the reason why it is better to start all resources with infinite capacity and then the planner understands the plan. The planner quickly identifies that the plan does not respect the critical bottleneck and then adds this as a finite capacity. You should have finite capacity as few resources as acceptable and as a maximum to have finite capacity on the same resources similar in the old plan. Focus on reports in SWB covering the same resources similar in the old plan. The goal is for the planner to accept the SWB plan to be as equally good as the old plan.
Resources are defined with finite or infinite capacity in M3 BE. A simple method to change between finite and infinite capacity is to use capacity levels. Set capacity level = 9 on critical bottleneck resource and lower capacity level values on none bottleneck resources. Run simulation with Finite capacity level = 10 and all resources have infinite capacity. When lead-time is verified, run the simulation with Finite capacity level = 9 and only critical bottleneck resource have finite capacity.
SWB considers both capacity and materials. Implementation must likewise focus on critical materials.
If there is a material shortage caused by a late supply, SWB respects the supply time and automatically delays the order that demands the material.
- SWB identifies material shortages but does not automatically delay the order that demands the material. The planner can decide to:
- Ignore the material shortage.
- Contact purchasing to expedite the purchase order.
- Change quantity on demanding orders to remove material shortage.
- Investigate competing demands from different orders to decide which customer order to delay.
- Other manual decision.
If the material demand is a label or an instruction, the planner can ignore material shortages on this item number.
In a multilevel production, where manufacturing orders delivers components to other manufacturing orders, you should respect the orders link between manufacturing orders. Material synchronization is recommended for these component item numbers.
You should initially shortage check the Purchased component to validate if the material balance and purchase lead-time are correct. You must consider critical purchased components if automatic delays based on FIFO logic is acceptable. If this is the case, you can change these critical purchase components from shortage checked to material synchronization.
A go live is possible when the planner has an acceptable plan. The planner becomes familiar with SWB by frequent use. This results to the planner wanting to refine the plan but now based on the existing and live SWB solution. Some of the elements added in a second phase would have been the same as a 'Big bang' approach but there are also many unimportant elements which are not added in a second phase. In an SWB schedule, it is not the magnitude of details which gives value rather the importance of the details and planner knows the solution and why details. Therefore, complexity is added to the solution.