Blog
Insights on production scheduling, lean manufacturing, and manufacturing software from 35+ years of industry experience.
Everything we have published.
The Quality Gain From Not Rushing Jobs
Rushed jobs make scrap and rework. See how realistic scheduling protects quality by removing the rush, with yield arithmetic and the honest limits.
The Throughput Gain From Cutting Setups
Setup hours you cut become throughput you can sell. See how sequencing turns changeover savings into extra jobs, with paint-booth arithmetic and honest limits.
The True Cost of a Single Late Job
One late job costs far more than the penalty. Add up the expediting, overtime, disruption, and lost trust, with a worked breakdown and honest limits.
Building the Business Case for Scheduling Software
A business case for production scheduling software your CFO will accept: the four numbers to measure, the costs to include, and the claims to leave out.
Spreadsheet Scheduling vs Finite Capacity Software: An Honest Comparison
Spreadsheet vs scheduling software, compared on the six things that matter: where spreadsheets still win, where they break, and how to tell which side you are on.
Getting the Floor to Trust the Schedule
Shop floor schedule adoption is earned in the first three weeks, not in training. The six practices that build trust, and the three that quietly destroy it.
Turning Changeover Hours Into Production Hours
Reduce changeover time in manufacturing by scheduling the sequence, not just the jobs. A documented 330-to-90-minute worked case, and the honest limits.
Where Lead Time Actually Goes, and How to Get It Back
Reduce manufacturing lead time by attacking waiting, not cutting. The four places elapsed time hides, the worked overlap arithmetic, and the honest limits.
Seeing Next Month's Overload This Month
Manufacturing capacity visibility means knowing which day breaks and why, weeks ahead. The capacity arithmetic, the views that show it, and the honest limits.
How Finite Capacity Scheduling Improves On-Time Delivery
Improve on time delivery in manufacturing by fixing the promise, not the promise-keeping. The mechanisms, the worked arithmetic, and the honest limits.
Quoting Dates You Can Actually Hit
Improve quote accuracy in manufacturing by simulating the job against real capacity. The worked cost and date arithmetic, and what a quote still cannot promise.
Keeping Promises When a Machine Goes Down
Production recovery after machine breakdown depends on rescheduling from what actually happened. The worked arithmetic of one failure, and the honest limits.