Blog
Insights on production scheduling, lean manufacturing, and manufacturing software from 35+ years of industry experience.
How the platform actually works: scheduling, optimization, the shop floor and ERP data.
An Efficiency Factor Change Barely Moved a Pieces Line: Why, and the Fix
A speed factor edit that leaves a pieces-based line running the same length almost always means the factor you changed is not the number that step consults. Here is how to find the one that is.
An Exported Spreadsheet Was Missing Rows or Columns: Why, and the Fix
A grid export is a snapshot of the grid exactly as displayed, so hidden columns, an active filter, and collapsed groups all carry straight into the file. Here is the fix.
My Import Read the Wrong Sheet Tab: Causes and Fixes
An Excel import that reads the wrong tab, or reports no rows from a full workbook, almost always points at a sheet name that does not match the mask. How to align them.
An Operator Pin Left a Step Unscheduled: Why, and the Fix
Pinning a step to one operator narrows its qualified pool to exactly that person, so if they are not certified, rostered, and available, the step has no one to run it.
My Bottleneck Flag Did Nothing Without a Target Date: Why, and the Fix
Marking a work center as a bottleneck enables anchor scheduling, but anchor scheduling needs a target date to schedule around. Without one, the job schedules forward and the flag looks inert.
My High-Priority Job Scheduled Behind a Lower One: Why, and the Fix
Priority sets the order jobs claim capacity, not a guarantee of the earliest finish. A high-priority job can still land later when it does not compete for the same resource.
A Daily Capacity Override Was Ignored: Causes and Fixes
When a per-day capacity override does not change the schedule, the usual causes are a stale scheduling run, an override on a non-working day, or the wrong shift. How to tell which.
A Resource Is Logged Against the Wrong Work Center
When a resource row credits a different machine than the operation's work center, resource-load reports mis-credit that machine. Why the mismatch appears and how a clean run corrects it.
A Scheduled Operation Shows No Assigned Resources
When an operation has a bar on the Gantt but no resource or instance underneath it, the resource detail was not built on the last run. Why it happens and how a clean re-run restores it.
A Shift That Crosses Midnight Logged Hours on the Wrong Day
When a night shift's hours all roll up to the day it started, that is usually shift-start-date anchoring working as designed, not a logging error. How to tell the two apart.
A Sub-Assembly Scheduled Before Its Parent: Causes and Fixes
When a lower-level component step lands ahead of the parent step that needs it, the cause is usually a broken sequence link or two steps sharing one work center. How to trace it.
A Work Center Group Step Did Not Explode: Causes and Fixes
A routing step bound to a machine pool that fails to shop the pool almost always points at a deactivated group, no active members, or a stripped binding. How to tell which.