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.
Chemical Processing: Scheduling Continuous and Batch in One Plan
Chemical processing scheduling that handles both worlds: mark reactors and lines as continuous with an hours-based overlap, and schedule discrete packaging by piece count.
CNC Shops and Operator Skills: When the Setter Is the Constraint
CNC operator skill scheduling models the certified setter as a finite resource, so lights-out cells start on the hours one operator actually has, not machine count.
Consumer Goods: Sequencing Lines to Cut Changeover Waste
Consumer goods changeover sequencing that holds up: price each flavor and scent change per line in a matrix, then let the optimizer order the run to minimize total setup.
Consumer Goods: Scheduling Through a Seasonal Peak
Seasonal capacity scheduling for consumer goods: add a shift, raise a line's hours for a peak week, and let finite-capacity planning show whether the season actually fits.
Contract Manufacturers: One Schedule Across Many Customers
Contract manufacturer scheduling that shares machines across customers: route steps to machine pools, weight jobs by priority, and load every customer against one finite plan.
Electronics Quoting and What-If: Comparing Scenarios Before You Commit a Date
Electronics quote what-if scheduling compares scenarios like weekend shifts or extra line capacity against a real simulation, so an EMS quotes the date it can defend.
Food Manufacturing Traceability: The Production Record Behind Every Batch
Food manufacturing traceability starts with a production record: which line ran the batch, when, how many good and scrap pieces, and the exact routing used.
Foundries: Scheduling Furnace Batches and Casting Lots
Foundry lot scheduling: run a furnace as parallel chambers with one job each per day, then model the cooling delay before castings can move to machining.
Furniture Manufacturing: Pool Your Routers and Sanders Into Work Center Groups
Furniture work center group scheduling lets a routing say ANY ROUTER, so the scheduler picks the machine with real capacity on every run and idle machines stop sitting.
Long-Lead Assemblies: Scheduling Around the Casting That Takes 12 Weeks
Long lead assembly scheduling for heavy equipment: pull the build to finish just in time, reserve the delivery tail, and time the work around a casting that arrives weeks out.
Heavy Equipment: Scheduling One Job Across Two Plants
Heavy equipment multi plant scheduling done right: model the days a weldment spends in transit between facilities so downstream steps start when the parts actually arrive.
High-Mix Low-Volume: Scheduling Hundreds of Small Jobs
High mix low volume scheduling that holds together: pool flexible machines, price sequence-dependent setups, and load hundreds of small jobs against one finite plan.