Blog
Insights on production scheduling, lean manufacturing, and manufacturing software from 35+ years of industry experience.
Everything we have published.
What Is Safety Stock in Manufacturing? Trigger vs Floor
Safety stock is a buffer quantity that guards against demand spikes and supply delays. Here is how it works as a replenishment trigger and when it is a hard floor.
What Is Schedule Adherence? EDGEBIC Definition and Formula
Schedule adherence is the fraction of operations that started within tolerance of their planned time. See the formula and how EDGEBIC computes it on the Planner tab.
What Is Schedule Nervousness? EDGEBIC Definition and Fix
Schedule nervousness is the tendency of a reschedule to move jobs that did not need to change. See how EDGEBIC measures it as an instability KPI and minimizes it.
What Is Schedule Performance Index (SPI)? EDGEBIC Definition
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is earned value divided by planned value. See the formula, a worked job example, and how EDGEBIC computes and sorts it.
What Is the One Per Day Rule in Scheduling?
The one per day rule limits each machine instance to a single job per day. Learn why furnaces and paint booths need it and how it changes capacity math.
What Is the Schedule-At-Utilization Setting?
Schedule-at-utilization caps how much of a work center's capacity one order may consume. Definition, worked example at 80%, and how EDGEBIC applies it per order.
What Is Throughput in Manufacturing? EDGEBIC Definition
Throughput is the rate a plant converts materials into finished goods. See the TOC definition, a worked example, and how EDGEBIC shows it on the Exec dashboard.
What Is Transit Time in Production Scheduling?
Transit time is the whole-day delay for parts traveling between operations, such as an outside vendor. Learn calendar-day versus working-day counting.
What the Never-Worse Guarantee Means for Planners
Why running the EDGEBIC optimizer is risk-free: the clamp that compares every candidate plan against your baseline and returns the baseline unless the candidate is strictly better.
When to Use a Machine Pool vs an Alternate Work Center
Machine pool vs alternate work center: when a reusable work center group beats a per-step alternate list, how each picks a machine, and worked numbers.
Why a Scheduler Searches Forward in Time for Capacity
Why finite capacity scheduling walks the calendar day by day instead of assuming a machine is free: how EDGEBIC finds the next real slot and what a forward search guarantees.
Why Schedule Stability Can Beat Schedule Optimality
Why schedule stability can beat schedule optimality: how nervousness erodes floor trust, when to freeze the near term, and how to weigh stability against gains.