Blog
Insights on production scheduling, lean manufacturing, and manufacturing software from 35+ years of industry experience.
Everything we have published.
How Import and Export Masks Cut Double Entry Between ERP and the Floor
Re-keying orders from your ERP into a scheduling tool wastes hours and breeds errors. Reusable import and export masks move the data both ways without retyping it.
How Shop Floor Actuals Close the Plan-vs-Actual Loop
Shop floor actuals feedback loop: how kiosk punches keep the next schedule accurate, resume jobs from where they really are, and stop the plan drifting into a wish list.
How Operator Time-Off Reshapes the Schedule in EDGEBIC
Record a PTO or leave range for an operator and the next reschedule routes work around it. See how operator time-off works and why a named person's absence surfaces as a visible slip.
How Overlapping Operations Shorten Delivery on Big Orders
Lot streaming lead time reduction: how transfer batches let a downstream step start on the first sublot, pulling a 52-hour handoff down to 37 on the same two machines.
How Setup Phases Become Setup Variance in EDGEBIC
The kiosk times each changeover phase separately, from teardown to run-off. See how those phase punches build a setup-variance figure against the routing standard.
How Skills Data Targets Your Cross-Training Spend
Cross-training is expensive, so train the skills that actually free up the schedule. Operator and skill data shows which certification gap is holding the plant back.
How the CP-SAT Solver Models Your Schedule
Inside the mathematical solver in EDGEBIC: one interval variable per operation, no-overlap and precedence rules, and due dates as penalties, all solved as one problem.
How the Optimizer Ranks Goals in Strict Order
Each EDGEBIC optimizer preset is an ordered list of measures. Here is how lexicographic ranking protects your top goal first and uses the rest only to break ties.
How to Add a Product-Level Setup Override in EDGEBIC
Add a product-level setup override in EDGEBIC for a specific from-to product pair that breaks its family rule, so one changeover carries its own true minutes.
How to Apply a Scenario to a Quote in EDGEBIC
Apply the winning what-if scenario back to its quote in EDGEBIC: run the simulation, compare, then stamp the chosen dates, hours, and cost onto the quote.
How to Convert Minutes to Hours During an Import in EDGEBIC
Convert minutes to hours during an EDGEBIC import: set a conversion factor on the mapping row so a source file in minutes lands in hours without editing the spreadsheet.
How to Import Customers from Excel in EDGEBIC
Import customers from Excel into EDGEBIC: pick the Customer entity, map the Name column, run the mask, and read the Created, Updated, Reused, and Failed counts.