Home Service Rules Enabled Supply Chain Rules Based Scheduling
Michael D. Ford has published an article called “How to Plan, Schedule and Sequence for Demand-based Manufacturing”  about a common scheduling problem in a lean company. At the heart of the problem is sequencing of individual units of configured products (think FORD F150) so that not only the flow of assembled trucks is steady and lean, but also the flow of the different configuration options feeding the main assembly line.

  • The article describes how the ‘Mixed-model Production (MMP)’-number is calculated and used to give a good lean flow based on the simple rule that you always start with the configuration with the lowest MMP.  
  • In the attached “MMP based sequence.xls” find a ‘Configuration’-sheet that lists about 280 different Truck configurations and a ‘Sequence’-sheet showing how the 580 units in the daily production schedule should be sequenced according to the MMP approach.  
  • But what happens if the line isn’t quite a lean as we all would like to see? What if there are specific transition requirements around transmissions or seats as an example?  
  • In a rules based approach you simply enhance your simple ‘lowest MMP’-rule to include additional penalty for (as an example) making too many changes in transmissions – or too few for seating options. 
  • In the attached “Rules based sequence.xls” rules were applied to ensure there would be 8 models with ‘like’ transmissions at a time and constantly alternating seating arrangements.

This type of change is easily implemented in AdapLink. It can free the planner from rudimentary and time consuming sequencing tasks and enable him to finally start planning ahead again.

Download :  How to Plan, Schedule and Sequence for Demand-based Manufacturing ?