How to Set the Capacity Search Window in EDGEBIC

To set the capacity search window in EDGEBIC, open Settings and then the Schedule tab, find the Capacity Search Window group, and change Search ahead (days) to how far the scheduler may look into the future for free capacity before giving up on a step; then click Save. In EDGEBIC by User Solutions this value defaults to 5000 days with a 30-day minimum, and the next scheduler run uses it with no restart. Lower it only when you would rather scheduling fail fast on an overloaded work center than plan work far into the future.

This post covers one policy setting. For the whole Settings and Schedule screen, see how to configure scheduling policy in EDGEBIC; the full task library is at the EDGEBIC how-to hub.

What the window is for

The scheduler places one operation at a time, and for each one it walks forward day by day looking for a work center with room. The Capacity Search Window caps how far that walk may go before the engine gives up on the step. The default of 5000 days is deliberately generous, so on a plant with any slack the scheduler practically always finds a slot and never reports a step it could not place. That safety has a cost: a badly overloaded work center can quietly absorb work months into the future, and a step planned that far out is often a warning you would rather see than bury. Lowering the window is how you trade a little of that safety for an early signal, and the 30-day minimum guarantees ordinary jobs can still schedule. The value is read fresh on every run, so you can tune it and re-run without a restart.

Before You Start

• You can reach the Settings tab; it is permission-controlled.
• You know your longest genuine lead time, so you do not set the window below the horizon real jobs need.
• You understand this is a safety valve, not a normal planning knob. Most sites never touch it.

The Steps

1. Open the Schedule policy tab. From the main navigation open Settings, then the Schedule sub-tab.
2. Find the Capacity Search Window group. Scroll to the group labeled Capacity Search Window.
3. Read the current value. Search ahead (days) defaults to 5000, the number of days the engine may walk forward looking for free capacity before it gives up on a step.
4. Set your value. Type the horizon you want. The minimum is 30 days, so ordinary jobs can always schedule.
5. Save. Click Save. The next scheduler run uses the new value; there is no restart.
6. Run the scheduler and watch how far ahead work is placed.

What Changes When You Save

How to Check It Worked

Change the value, click Save, and run the scheduler on a work center you know is heavily loaded. With a lower window, steps that previously landed far in the future should now be flagged as unplaceable sooner, giving you a visible signal. Raise the window and re-run to confirm the same steps schedule again. Because the setting is read fresh on each run, the difference shows immediately without a restart.

Common Mistakes

Setting it below real lead times. A window shorter than your longest genuine lead time stops legitimate long-lead work from scheduling. Cover your real horizon, then manage overload separately.

Treating it as a planning horizon. It is a safety valve for overload, not the window your plan lives in. Most sites leave it at the default and manage load through capacity and priorities.

Expecting a restart. Scheduling policy is read at the next run. Save and run; do not restart.

Lowering it to hide overload. The point is the opposite: a low value makes overload visible sooner. If you lower it just to make errors go away, you are hiding the very signal it exists to raise.

What to Do Next

The search window is one lever against overload; capacity is the other. To adjust a work center's available hours on specific days, the capacity override tools are the direct fix, and how to configure scheduling policy in EDGEBIC covers the rest of this screen's decisions. For a related choice about how logged hours re-plan downstream work, see how to set partial confirm behavior in EDGEBIC, and EDGEBIC configuration options explained frames policy versus presentation. The EDGEBIC product page shows where the policy screen sits in the platform.