The Access Group announces new preferred Advance Planning and Scheduling supplier

It comes as no surprise to learn that The Access Group is listed as one of the top five, fastest-growing UK software developers by the Sunday Times. With more than 10,000 UK organisations using their solutions, they provide an integrated platform that spans everything from finance to ERP, HR, payroll, business intelligence, professional service automation, manufacturing and warehousing. Of course, even the most comprehensive platforms need to include best-of-breed specialist solutions for highly complex functions, such as advanced planning and scheduling. That’s why Access has teamed with Production Modelling to incorporate their Orchestrate suite of planning and scheduling solutions within Access SupplyChain.

“We have always provided advanced planning and scheduling within our supply chain offering,” explains Neil Rushby, Supply Chain Divisional Manager at Access Group, “and because of the very specialised nature of the planning process we have been using one of the best known proprietary solutions in the market. Nevertheless, we were always looking to see if we could improve our offering, particularly in terms of the ease and speed with which planning and scheduling can be tailored to each client’s specific needs and mode of operation. “So, when we learned of Production Modelling’s Orchestrate - and its many blue chip users - from a newly recruited Account Manager, we decided to evaluate the product.”

The Access team admits to being bowled over at the first meeting and demonstration, particularly by the product’s tailor-ability and ease of use. So much so that they asked one of their own experts to spend a day with the Production Modelling team to tease out any hidden complications. “There weren’t any,” says Neil, “so we decided to test it in a customised demonstration to a food manufacturing prospect. They signed up after that single demonstration. It really does have rich functionality.”

“Orchestrate has been written for ease of integration as well as ease of use. Our initial cut at database-level integration took just one day, then just a couple of days to enhance.”

“After that first day, though, the level of integration was more extensive than with our former solution. With core integration complete, we are now able to get Orchestrate up and running with a client within an hour. Another real strength of Orchestrate is the way it allows users to determine how they wish to input information, which gives them so much more confidence. Previously that would have required programmer intervention. Unlike our previous solution, which was sold through resellers, we can now work directly with the developers at Production Modelling, who have extensive experience in planning and scheduling. They are always very willing to solve non-standard requirements, extending functionality to allow complex or unique scenarios to be delivered.”

Access has implemented the solution within two clients already, a food company and an engineering company with a number of prospects in the pipeline. Although Orchestrate is initially being focused within Access’s Supply Chain market, the company has a strategy to roll the solution out to other customers who are using their finance product. Orchestrate can offer these customers all the power and benefits of advanced planning and scheduling, and material management, even in the absence of a full ERP system.

Last word goes to Mike Straiton, Director at Production Modelling: “We've always known that Orchestrate is a very functionally rich and flexible product but it’s heartening to have it endorsed by Access Group, who have many years' experience and deep expertise in planning and scheduling. Our combined knowledge will help us to forge even stronger solutions for customers.”

Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Services adopts Orchestrate production scheudling software to deliver improved throughput and profitability

Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Services (LTLGS) UK is a leader in the repair and overhaul of aircraft landing gear, flap tracks and carriages and related components. Based near London’s Heathrow airport, LTLGS’s purpose built facility is one of the most modern landing gear shops in the world. In January 2013, the company implemented the Orchestrate production scheduling software, with almost immediate benefits in productivity and profitability.

The Company

Although part of the Lufthansa group of companies, LTLGS UK serves a high proportion of the world’s airline fleets as an independent, international maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider. Customers include names like Virgin, BA, Air France and Ryanair. With an annual throughput of 300+ overhauls, the company is one of the leading landing gear specialists in Europe.
The business has expanded rapidly since it was established in 1998, steadily increasing its product range and creating a very broad global customer base. In addition to its UK facility, LTLGS has landing gear MRO operations in Hamburg, Los Angeles and China.

The Challenge

An aircraft’s landing gear is a complex assembly of anything between 1,000 and 3,000 components and can account for between four to five per cent of an aircraft’s take-off weight. A scheduled overhaul can take anything between 30 to 45 days, involving strip down, inspection, repair, refurbishing and replacement and build.
“The complexity comes from having to work to constantly changing customer maintenance schedules, which are further compounded by unscheduled repairs to Aircraft On Ground (AOG),” explains Brett Lambourne, Planning & Scheduling Manager. “Even though we provide ‘exchange assets’, scheduling can be a nightmare. Until the initial stripping and inspection loop has been completed it’s not possible to accurately schedule repairs, machining, manufacturing, plating, testing, fitting, rebuild and so on. And, of course, different elements compete for limited resources.”
Until the introduction of Orchestrate production scheduling software, planning was performed using multiple spreadsheets, created and maintained by different people in different departments. Getting the right mix of work going through production can have an enormous impact on cash flow and profitability, none of the spreads sheets were linked and the commercial or financial aspects were not part of the planning process.

The Solution

The company recognized the scale of the challenge and recruited Brett because of his experience in planning and scheduling, gained in the (construction) Manufacturing industry. He joined the company in December 2012 and, as part of a systems evaluation, downloaded a free version of Orchestrate from the web. “It was an ideal test of the system’s capabilities as well as ease of use,” says Brett. “In no time at all, I had developed a fully functional personalized demonstration, using our own data - without any need to contact Production Modelling, the software authors. This was sufficient to convince me that the system would easily accommodate our reporting and planning needs. Because the demo was built using our own processes and data, it was also an ideal tool to convince others within the company.”
“We went live in my fourth month with the company, including integration with our SQL-based systems used produce works orders. Integration with legacy and ERP systems is another of Orchestrate’s strengths and, in practice, took us just a matter of hours.”
Introduction of new systems have, of course, meant a culture change from independent list-driven processes to coordinated, ‘visual’ plans and schedules. Brett believes that the ease of use and the graphic output from Orchestrate have helped speed up the process of culture change.

The Benefits

“Orchestrate production scheduling software has dramatically cut the time taken in planning and has given us an accurate end-to-end planning view for the first time, helping us to improve productivity. By June, we had cut the time devoted to planning by 20-30% and I can confidently predict that improvement to increase to a total of 60%. As to throughput in build-to-schedule, that has improved from a historic performance of 70-80% to a current achievement of 95%.”
Marrying the commercial aspects into planning will help us achieve a much more cost-effective mix of work going through the production and finishing loops. Meanwhile, systems integration has speeded up the process, eliminated manual data entry and transcription errors.”
Brett also reports an improvement in customer communications. “As a recent example, we were able to accommodate a rush request by re-scheduling another customer’s work, with each customer confident of delivery because we were able to show them how completion would be achieved. Again, this is a very ‘visual’ approach.”

The Future

Currently, LTLGS uses a projector in their morning planning meetings and printed output for use in the works. Once everyone is fully used to the new format, they intend to have displays around the production bays, an approach successfully adopted by a number of Orchestrate customers.
Finally, the systems will be rolled out to other facilities around the world. Brett Lambourne: “The company plans common systems in each of our facilities and our next project is to start in August at the Landing Factory in Hamburg Germany. Next in line will be a visit to Sun Valley, LA, for review of adopting orchestrate later in the year. Orchestrate production scheduling software already has big name users in North America. Last of all, I believe we will have a opportunity to review the potential of implementing the system at our plant in Beijing, China – probably a first for Orchestrate in the People’s Republic.

Setting Up Database Permissions on an Orchestrate Server

Setting Up Database Permissions on an Orchestrate production scheduling software Server

In a multi-user environment, the Orchestrate production scheduling software database needs to be set up to allow access for multiple users.  This document details how to grant access to these users on the Orchestrate Server.

A member of domain administrators is required to perform the following operations

Process Summary:

This is an overview of the steps required to set up permissions for your Orchestrate production scheduling software users

1) Create a Windows Group on the domain

2) Allocate domain users into this group

3) Add this Windows Group into the specified SQL Server instance as a login

4) Map this login to all required Orchestrate databases as a user;

Detailed Steps:

Follow the steps below on the Windows Primary Domain Controller (PDC).  Note that the following screenshots were performed on Windows Server 2008:

1) Create a Windows Group called “Orchestrate Users” on the domain on the PDC;

2) Allocate necessary domain users into the “Orchestrate Users” domain group on the PDC; 

Follow the steps below on the Orchestrate production scheduling software database server:

3) Log into the database server containing the Orchestrate database with a domain administrator account;

4) Start Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and sign into a SQL Server instance where Orchestrate databases are hosted with “Windows Authentication”;

5) Expand “Security” folder in the tree structure in the Object Explorer;  right click “Logins” folder and select “New Login …” from the context menu;

  

6) Type “[Your Domain Name]\Orchestrate Users” into the text box;

7) Click “User Mapping” page from “Select a page” from the left side of the “Login – New” window;

8)  Tick all Orchestrate databases from the list and click “OK” button. 

Walker Precision Benefit from Rapid Production Planning Solution

Walker Precision Engineering (WPE Ltd) has grown into a cutting-edge contract manufacturing company serving a number of industry leading market sectors. The company has adopted Orchestrate production planning software from Production Modelling that replaces multiple spread sheets and flowcharts with much more intuitive, real-time displays and ‘what if’ scenarios. Early results, using large screen displays and a Windows 8 wireless tablet device used for plant live updates,  have begun the momentum for change – although early days yet, as the system is being fully integrated into more of the business on-time delivery performance is steadily improving.

Walker Precision Engineering Ltd (WPE Ltd)

Walker Precision Engineering are a forward looking technology led contract manufacturing company.

Established in 1979 the company has risen to the challenges of changing market conditions. From small beginnings the company now employs over 150 skilled personnel over three sites.

The company services markets Worldwide, covering a diverse customer base in engineering cutting edge sectors.

 Stuart Glen updating Orchestrate within the shop floor using on a Windows 8 Tablet 

The Challenge

WPE Ltd is a highly successful business that has forged a strong presence as a contract manufacturing company in a number of high-tech industry sectors. Their success has been built around innovation and the ability to provide quality products and services in a  competitive market. With rapid growth, the challenge has been to meet customer expectations. The directors recognised a major potential issue with on-time delivery, customer communications and supply chain transparency.

The scheduling process is complex, involving three very different business units, an assembly area, painting and plating, off site clean room facilities and a production plant in Poland.

• Business Unit One specialises in large, often complex projects offering high quality product to customers in a variety of energy markets including valve bearing and compressor manufacturer. Some parts may progress through as many as eight differing machines/processes and elapsed process time can be measured in weeks.
• Business Unit Two is dedicated mainly to Aero & Defence – low volume, high integrity work, typically involving a single machine process on 5-Axis machine centres.
• Business Unit Three is dedicated to support a leading Aero engine manufacturer. This business process includes repair & design work as well as manufacturing for the aero industry, involving exotic materials with rapid turnaround to support Aircraft On Ground (AOG) situations.

Having invested heavily in advanced numerical control equipment and the latest twin & 5-Axis pallet multi-access machining centres, many machines run for the full 168 hours a week. Monday to Friday, most of BU2 operates a night shift and overtime working is necessary every weekend. The company is focussed to meet demand, but until now this has been very much at the cost of on-time delivery. Credible information was not evident hence customer satisfaction was deteriorating.

Orchestrate installed within production offices on wall mounted large screens

The Solution

Management recognised the need to do something and recruited a Master Production Scheduler, who takes up the story:

 “We looked at more than one potential solution, but very quickly came to the conclusion that Orchestrate production planning software offered a modern interface, was easy to use and provided flexibility within the planning process. The whole approach from Production Modelling was reassuring. First, the demo. They took the time and trouble to make the demonstration meaningful.  After completing a simple questionnaire, they gave us a model to play with for a week. It contained our machines. It looked familiar. Next, they took one of our Microsoft Project spread sheets and within a couple of hours we were working with real-live data. Rather than a dummy company, we were looking at our own jobs running on our own machines.”

A similar, pragmatic approach was taken to training, when the MPS visited Production Modelling’s offices. Using ‘out-of-the-box’ software, without any customisation, the MPS was able to populate the database himself over just two days, adding new orders, materials and so on. This methodology ensured that the MPS gained confidence very quickly, with a sense of ownership over the data and the assumptions in the database. In his own words, “We were able to walk away with something that we could use straight away off the shop floor.” It was also very cost effective, eliminating the need for consultants to spend time at the plant in Glasgow.

Orchestrate production planning software updated by shift supervisor on the shop floor

The Outcomes

The decision to go ahead was in December 2012, and initial configuration and training was completed mid-December, with further testing the system over Christmas. The system went live with Business Unit One 1^st January, including two more days advanced training and data setup during the live run.

“The whole planning process has been transformed. We now have true visibility, with worktop access for account managers tracking customer orders, plus large screen displays in the Planning room and at Business Unit One, where the production manager can clearly see any potential materials shortages or capacity bottlenecks. Everything is so visible, with colour coding for, say, special projects, the ability to zoom into detail and then out again for a factory-wide view. Information without overload.

“We also use a wireless tablet on the shop floor. It’s great having it to hand, entering data or making enquires in real-time, right there at the machines. Updates are instant, so by the time we get back to the office, everything is already up to date. In real life, engineers may schedule work differently to the plan, so that amendments can be captured there and then, with ‘What if’ scenarios if necessary.”

Last word: “We are making consistent progress as we integrate the scheduling detail within more of the business. Some jobs take an elapsed period of weeks, so it will be some time before we can state definitively what the improvements will be, but we now have momentum and are well on track for achieving high on-time delivery rates even for complex orders and the ever-changing demands of our customers.

Orchestrate scheduling software is the intelligent planning choice for City University

At the heart of any planning and scheduling challenge is the need to ensure the right products or people are at the right place at the right time and in the right order while making maximum use of all available resources. This is the same whether in a busy vehicle logistics office, a complex production environment or the intense and ever changing environment of educational placement. Planners have to be agile enough to react quickly to unforeseen events and then attempt to update the entire plan accordingly. The consequences of poor or inadequate planning can often be extremely costly which is why planning and scheduling systems such as Orchestrate scheduling software from UK specialist Production Modelling are increasingly relied upon. This is precisely why the prestigious City University, London, has just been added to Production Modelling’s long list of companies successfully using Orchestrate and they are already seeing the benefits.

The challenges

Oonagh Gormley, Head of Academic Planning and Performance in the School of Health Sciences, outlines the main planning challenges that the University faces. “Our primary requirement is to match students to placements according to a complex set of rules while working with a variety of constraints.” Even a brief consideration of the scale of planning that this requires demonstrates the potential benefits that City University stands to gain. The School of Health Sciences  has approximately 1500 students on Nursing and Midwifery programmes that have to fulfil between 50%-60% of their course time (depending on course) on active placement, which are offered by up to 200 placement providers of different types, sizes and distance from the university. Programmes can be of 2 or 3 years duration and each placement provider may offer varying numbers of placements for different elements of a programme at different times of year. Each placement is governed by strictly defined rules governing the nature and sequence of placements that each student has to adhere to.

Gormley illustrates the complex interdependency of these rules and why Orchestrate scheduling software has already proved to be so beneficial. “Some placements won’t take 1^st year students, while others will but only to a certain percentage. Students may be eligible for certain placements only if they have taken the necessary preceding placements.” She continues, “We also have to deal with the reality that placement providers have a fixed capacity of space at any given time and that students can start their courses at different times.” The University’s placement plan also needs continual updating to take into account unforeseeable changes such as students not attending placements due to illness or placement providers unable to offer spaces due to unexpected maintenance work. 

The limitations of spreadsheets

This is precisely the complex planning and scheduling scenario that Orchestrate was designed to help with. Unsurprisingly, the University had tried to address its challenges in the same way as many other institutions, i.e. by the use of complex and unwieldy spreadsheets. Unsurprisingly, these proved equally as incapable of adequately doing so. In City University’s case, they relied on a 9-10 page interlinked spreadsheet which when printed stretched the length of an entire wall. While not impossible to use to match students with placements, it was very time intensive and at best only provided a snapshot of which student was supposed to where and when. “The problem came,” explains Gormley, “when we had to update the plan to reflect any changes in either a student’s or a placement provider’s situation. This would all have to be done manually and could take hours whereas now with Orchestrate it’s a matter of pressing a button, Orchestrate has a quick think, and we have the right answer in minutes.”

The other area that the spreadsheet approach failed was its inability to provide students with a comprehensive placement history over their entire course, something they need for future employment or education possibilities. Orchestrate not only provides an up to date overview of a student’s entire placement history, past and projected, it also allows a user to drill down to each placement and see all the relevant information relating to this.

Why Orchestrate Scheduling Software

City University had already recognised the need to utilise a computerised scheduling solution and had even investigated a bespoke system developed by another University. This however was discounted on the grounds that it was not supported, would require considerable tweaking to fit their own requirements and would require skilled personnel to operate. What was required was a proven system that would be easy to configure to match their unique requirements and simple to use and maintain. A chance conversation between The School of Health Sciences’ Chief Operating Officer and a senior manager at Production Modelling led to the shared realisation that Orchestrate would meet all of these requirements. This was confirmed when Production Modelling demonstrated a working system modelled on City University’s workflow and a decision was made to invest in Orchestrate. As Gormley remarks, “It was clear that Orchestrate was the sort of solution we needed and so we made the pragmatic decision to try it.”

A culture of change

City University began using Orchestrate with live data at the start of the 2012 academic year with all and is retrospectively adding existing 2^nd and 3^rd year students so they too can benefit from the comprehensive placement history the system provides. According to Gormley, what unifies the many individual benefits that Orchestrate is already bringing is a positive change in culture at every level. 

The university benefits

At a university placement planning level, the most immediate benefit from Orchestrate has been saving the equivalent of at least 1 full time position spent administering and maintaining the planning spreadsheet. As Gormley comments, “this has freed existing resource from basic admin work which means these people are now able to do much more value-added work.” The university is now able to react much quicker to any changes in either placement or student availability and with increased confidence. At a wider university level, Orchestrate is also being used as a central data repository for all information relating to placements. This is invaluable when it comes to the university’s bi-annual placement auditing process as Gormley explains, “Every two years we have to audit each placement provider which previously involved using another complex spreadsheet with lots of hyperlinks to other documents. Many of these were broken which made finding them very time consuming. Now all the relevant documents are stored in Orchestrate and immediately accessible.” Orchestrate also acts a central data store for all placement provider contracts with the university able to see an overview of placement provider performance at the touch of a button.

The students benefit

At a student level, because Orchestrate scheduling software is able to push live placement data to external online resources, they can now log in and immediately have access to their entire placement plan. On-going development work with Production Modelling will allow additional complementary information such as maps, travel information etc. to be displayed which will empower students to take more responsibility for managing their own placements. Gormley adds, “Thanks to Orchestrate, students will also find they have a slicker, more user friendly experience – the sort of thing that people increasingly expect to have.”

 

The placement providers benefit

Work is currently on-going which will extend Orchestrate’s benefits to the placement providers depending on various decisions yet to be taken by the university. For example, it is possible for the system to allow each placement provider to directly access and manage their own placement timetable. This will allow providers and students to liaise directly with each other and take more responsibility re placements and will significantly reduce the amount of time placement providers were previously having to spend when going via the university.

Building for the future

Gormley and the team at City University are understandably pleased with the benefits achieved so far but they recognise there is more to come from Orchestrate. Their main priority is harnessing the data already in the system by developing the system’s reporting capabilities. The final word belongs to Gormley. “So far we have already reaped a number of benefits and can see more to come. We are very pleased with the system and the progress we have made.” 

Bupa Cromwell Hospital utilizes MedModel Process Simulation Software

MedModel process simulation software used by Bupa Cromwell Hospital to achieve major growth plans, cut waiting times and improve patient experience
Bupa Cromwell Hospital, Bupa’s flagship hospital in the United Kingdom, has a mission to become London’s most advanced private hospital and to grow the business by 60% in just three years. Discrete Event Simulation Software specialists, Production Modelling, were selected to help in two ways. First, to assess the feasibility of the hospital’s proposed redesign of its front-of-house facilities. Secondly, to identify best queuing logistics and staffing levels to accommodate an exponential growth in patient throughput. The final outcome was a solution that will deliver shorter waiting times for 60% more traffic, without employing any extra personnel front-of-house.

Bupa Cromwell Hospital – and the challenge it set itself

Bupa Cromwell Hospital is a world class private hospital with around 400 consultants, many from London’s teaching hospitals. Discerning patients from around the world expect the very highest standards, and that applies from the moment they cross the threshold.
Like many prestigious organizations, the hospital has an imposing monolithic reception area complete with marble reception desk, where all the greeting, registration and initial administration is performed. When the hospital embarked on a major redevelopment program, they took the opportunity to re-evaluate the whole welcome and registration process; the aim being to remove barriers, improve the patient experience, accommodate significantly more patients and contain staffing costs. All this against a backdrop of doubt as to whether current business processes could cope.
Given the scale of change and the scale of investment, management needed a proven way to quantify the implications and feasibility in the light of planned growth in volumes.

Complexity and the role of process simulation software

What was needed was a discrete event process simulation model that could isolate variables, analyze alternatives and to arrive at the optimum solution before construction began. This would mean sampling a distribution of real-life data and recognizing inter-dependencies and shared resources between departments. The model would have to provide a realistic simulation, taking the current-state scenario, applying randomness and arriving at an ideal future-state scenario. And for stakeholder buy-in, it should ideally be capable of creating an easily assimilated visualization of movements and bottlenecks – both current and future state.
The task would be highly complex, involving different types of patient; in-patients, out-patients, scheduled in-patient reassessment and out-patient walk-ins. Each moves in a different way, with its own pattern of waiting times at registration and appointments. Patients may also bring family or friends to accompany them, all of whom have to be accommodated. Once moved from front-of-house, patients again take different routes, possibly to a nurse, an appointment or a room for overnight stay.
The model would have to recognize separate roles, including porters, nurses, and financial administration, as well as reception staff. To complicate the issue further, in practice there was an element of job sharing depending on which roles are busy and when, plus special rosters for night cover. All of which would have to be superimposed onto a blueprint drawing of the existing and planned front-of-house facilities.

A process simulation solution from Production Modelling

Bupa Cromwell Hospital turned to Production Modelling to manage the project using the MedModel process simulation software. Stuart Black, Chief Business Architect, explains, “We selected Production Modelling first because they are recognized by ProModel and secondly because they had already gained experience with hospital-based projects. It was soon apparent we had made the right choice as they immediately understood the challenges and were able to converse with us using terms we understood.”
Production Modelling began by running a workshop to establish the relevant data and inter-dependencies. After a couple of iterations, they were able to report back with an accurate model of current processes, routes, pinch points, decision points, queuing and waiting patterns. Stuart believes this was an important part of gaining credibility with stakeholders, who quickly recognized the validity of the model, before work started on future processes. “Any business change practitioner will agree on the importance of early buy-in,” says Stuart. “We were able to use the simulation animations, superimposed onto blueprints of the front-of-house areas, showing how patients moved through the model and the number of patients in each area at different times of the day. This was incredibly effective. Of course, however effective visualization may have been as a communications tool, all decision making was supported by a wealth of analyses.

The outcomes

Work first began in March 2012 and by July the whole project was complete and the results have been spectacular. The simulation demonstrated that if the current physical layout and processes were left unchanged, and staff levels unaltered, average queuing and waiting time would increase from ten minutes to 87 minutes, assuming a 60% increase in volume of patients. By adopting the new layout and processes, average queuing and waiting time would actually decrease to just eight minutes, without any change in staff levels (fig 1).

Fig 1

Similarly, the planned 60% growth in patient volumes would result in queue length increasing from 35 to 261 patients if the current layout and processes remained unchanged. Adopting the proposed floorplan and processes, while retaining the same staff levels, would achieve a reduction in queue levels from the current 35 to 14 patients - despite an increase of 60% in patient traffic (fig 2).

Fig 2

Last word goes to Stuart: “We are delighted with the project, the results, and the professional support we have received from Production Modelling. This has been a fascinating and very valuable undertaking that we could never have hoped to achieve without expert guidance.”

Siemens Production Planning Case Study

Siemens augments ERP systems with Orchestrate production scheduling software to simplify production planning and cut costs.

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics manufactures world-leading laboratory equipment, ranging from automated haematology to immuno diagnostics. The process involves complex planning and scheduling activities around the production of minute multi-coated beads. Like so many large organisations, the group has invested in a comprehensive ERP solution to manage their extensive corporate-wide activities. And, like so many large companies, has discovered that certain niche activities are better managed using stand-alone dedicated systems. The Healthcare Diagnostics company in Llanberis, Wales is using Orchestrate production planning software very successfully to manage the complex planning required to schedule bead manufacturing.

The challenge

Although the concept is simple, planning and scheduling the manufacture of diagnostic beads can be likened to working on a three dimensional jigsaw. There are two related processes – first coating the beads with organic and non-organic substances and then drying them. The complications arise from competing demands for production and drying equipment, where timing is essential. Batches are unable to wait between process steps or the batch will not meet its strict quality margins. To complicate the issue, coating time is measured in days, specific machines are validated for only certain coatings, and organic coatings have a limited life, sometimes involving critical incubation times for enzymes. Scheduling the batches in the most efficient routing leaves no room for failure, or the batch could be lost.

Before implementing Orchestrate, schedulers were spending between 20 and 30 hours a week compiling schedules for beads and their buffer stocks of coatings. The complexities involved imposed a week-and-a-half scheduling horizon, an obvious restriction on flexibility.

On a continuous shift system, as many as 50 different people working in separate rooms needed access to the schedules, and these were communicated by email and displayed on a large central whiteboard. Inevitably, this led to the possibility of multiple version of the schedule on the shop floor, deviations to the schedule, missed tasks and considerable scope for human error.

The Solution

In  January 2012 the company implemented Orchestrate production scheduling software, linked to a giant touch-screen planning board that displays the current schedule in real time. Planned times are automatically replaced by actual times, critical tasks highlighted and automated alerts identify potentially missed operations.

Orchestrate sits comfortably beside the company’s SAP  system, which provides input in the form of MRP requirements. It has not been necessary to integrate the systems.

Since implementation the time taken in scheduling has been cut by 66%, representing a saving of £20,000 a year. More importantly, it has relieved key staff from a demanding but mechanical task, allowing them to devote more time to other key operations.

Multiple versions of the schedule have been eliminated, with a single version of Orchestrate production planning software displayed on an interactive SMART board. It displays a rolling Gantt chart in real-time, automatically scrolling as time progresses, which means it can be left running on-screen without any operator intervention.

Communications have been streamlined and the potential for errors, shop floor staff working with outdated information, missed tasks and lost product removed. Lost product due to unavailability of critical manufacturing resources has been cut, saving £40,000 a year.

Incubation times can now be monitored in real time, improving the quality of information displayed. Where previously, batches had to be planned a week ahead and changes simply not feasible because of the complexity of working with spreadsheets, now changes can be implemented within 24 .

Within Orchestrate, actual times are tracked and should a task status not be updated to ‘started’ or ‘finished’, the resource will automatically be highlighted in red as an alarm signal to the operator that the task should have started or completed.

The raw coatings, or buffers, are manufactured in different batch sizes to the production coating process, making the planning of buffer solutions very complex. Orchestrate production planning software provides a standard report that details which buffers are required and when to meet demand from the production batches.

 “The system is so demonstrably better than our previous approach and was cost justified in just six months,” says Ian Owen, Production Scheduler. “The systems specialists at Production Modelling very quickly understood our requirements and had a working prototype live within about one week. The real message is that the system has made life so much simpler, as well as making the whole planning process more effective.”

“We have been working with Production Modelling now for more than four years and we have a number of new projects in the pipeline, expanding the use of Orchestrate to different areas within the organisation. It’s a great partnership”

Key Benefits

• £60K minimum costs saving per annum
• 15 hours a week saving in scheduling time
• 5 day reduction to a 1 day scheduling to production lead time
• One live version of Orchestrate displayed on interactive SMART board
• Built in incubation time allowances
• Built in alarm to indicate possibility of missed tasks
• Automatic intermediate buffer solution report

Now Hiring - Technical Consultant

Production Modelling is seeking a technically competent, business-aware consultant to join an innovative team focused on the further deployment of Orchestrate and associated application software products.

Duties and Responsibilities

Initially the successful applicant will be expected to:

• Participate in client meetings to understand and develop a requirements specification 
• Develop software or models that meet the specification
• Work to realistic but challenging deadlines
• Proactively suggest enhancements to our products and services
• Document existing solutions as well as the solutions that you develop.
• Provide telephone and web support to clients.

Requirements:

Consulting projects include delivering discrete event simulation and production scheduling software solutions for customers in the UK, Europe and USA. Production Modelling values building strong relationships with its new and existing customers and is focussed on exceeding expectations.

The successful applicant will be highly numerate, and this will most likely be evidenced with a degree (or equivalent qualification) in an appropriate discipline.

The applicant must have good interpersonal skills, and will be able to demonstrate a capability of dealing directly with clients. A logical train of thought is required to synthesise client requirements and formulate matching, cost effective solutions. To assist this process it would be desirable for the applicant to have some experience or knowledge of manufacturing and / or planning and scheduling.

The applicant must be able to translate real systems into the terms that are typically used in a simulation modelling language. This is a skill that is essential in building simulation models.

Ideally the successful applicant will also have some knowledge and experience of simulation software languages.
In any event the successful applicant will need to demonstrate technical competence using one or more of C++, C# or Visual Basic, together with SQL queries and the Microsoft .NET framework. In addition a core competence with Microsoft office programs such as Excel, Word, Access and PowerPoint will be required.

The position is based at our offices at the University of Warwick Science Park in Coventry and may require some travel within Europe and USA.

A full driving license is essential.

Competitive salary and bonus.

Closing Date: 1st October 2012

If you are interested in joining a dynamic team within a progressive growing company, we look forward to hearing from you. Please send your CV to careers@simulation.co.uk.

Sourcing and Selecting Production Scheduling Software

The Internet Enabled Partnership Approach to Sourcing and Selecting Production Scheduling Software

Most of us appreciate the “Try before you buy” option that the Internet provides when it comes to evaluating personal or even light business use software. The reason is clear - it allows us to evaluate the software’s suitability, in our own time, convenience and situation, before having to part with any actual money. Production Modelling, a UK specialist supplier of production scheduling software, recently took the innovative step of bringing this model into the more complex world of production scheduling software. Not only does the company make available its production planning and scheduling solution, Orchestrate, on a free trial basis, a number of customers have gone on to successfully implement the system.

Mike Straiton, Sales and Marketing Director for Production Modelling, explains the rationale behind this. “Time is money for every business which is why companies have long since used the Internet for research-based activities such as identifying potential solutions and drawing up supplier shortlists. We have simply extended the logic of this by using the Internet to build partnerships with potential customers to further reduce the time and cost involved in the sales and implementation cycle of this type of software. This can extend to days if not weeks of key personnel being subjected to endless sales presentations instead of fulfilling their primary role in the business. We have always recognised that many of these companies want a partnership approach which is based on trust, understanding and working with each company to help them see for themselves how they will get the best from their investment. By allowing customers to use Orchestrate production scheduling software with their own data, they can quickly see for themselves how configurable it is, how easy it is to use, and to evaluate the potential benefits it will deliver to their business.”

But while it’s one thing to download and use a trial version of, for example, a file conversion or data sharing program, it’s another to do the same with a complex production scheduling solution on which an entire company relies. Making a mistake with the former can undoubtedly cause some inconvenience whereas in the case of the latter it could be the last mistake a company ever makes. You might therefore expect the type of companies which have taken advantage of this to be limited to small, simple engineering/production facilities. But you’d be wrong. Recent Production Modelling customers who have sourced, trialled and successfully implemented Orchestrate via the Internet include Pankl Engine Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of motorsport high-end crankshafts and BE Aerospace (B/E) Super First Class Division, the world’s leading provider of interior products and solutions for the commercial, business jet and military markets. The latter implementing Orchestrate this way to create an integrated scheduling and capacity plan across 3 sites in 2 countries.

For Straiton, this comes down to three key reasons.

(1)    The ability to try the system how you would use it – with your own data.

Every software solution looks like the best in its own, controlled environment, with its own test data. Trying it in your own situation with your own data can be a very different experience, which is why not everyone is keen for you to ‘try before you buy’. B/E found this to be very much the case with many systems appearing to deliver what was required. But all was not what it seemed. The company looked at 8-10 systems and saw many presentations but when it started asking to see whether the system could work the way we needed it to, none of the suppliers could provide the company with a scenario that showed this. The partnership approach of Production Modelling provided a completely different response. Not only did it provide B/E with a demo-version of the software to fully evaluate, it also built a bespoke demo based on B/E’s own data which essentially replicated the company’s production at a high level. This gave B/E a huge amount of confidence – essential given that the company was looking to implement the system across 3 sites in 2 countries.

(2)    The intuitive, easy to learn and use nature of the system.

The best piece of software in the world is of little use if it’s overly complicated to use. Because Orchestrate had been developed with ease of use in mind, despite its underlying complexity, it appealed to both B/E and Pankl. This combined with the partnership approach of Production Modelling providing a bespoke demo gave B/E the confidence required to self-implement. This was complemented by expert tuition in the use of the software, delivered via a number of web demos, and access to what B/E describes as an excellent support network and help files. It’s a very similar situation with Pankl where the team’s ability to work closely with Production Modelling to generate and fine tune the required data for Orchestrate production scheduling software combined with the system being so easy to pick up meant that the team largely self-taught itself how to use it. Production Modelling was always there to provide assistance and because everyone worked closely together every step of the way, Production Modelling was able to input and check everything that was being done.

(3)    Orchestrate production scheduling software results speak for themselves

The most intuitive piece of software is of little use if it doesn’t actually deliver. Arguably the fact that both B/E and Pankl successfully selected and implemented the system is the most ringing endorsement of this approach. Thanks to Orchestrate, B/E has much greater visibility across all 3 sites, improved scheduling efficiency and can now introduce new orders without interrupting existing business. What’s more, it achieved all this in a matter of months while avoiding installation costs. A spokesperson for B/E commented, “From the outset, Production Modelling’s partnership approach combined with the intuitive, flexible nature of Orchestrate has enabled us to get the best from our investment. Not only are we now able to schedule more efficiently across all sites, we can take on new business with increased confidence which is essential to our ongoing growth and success.”

At Pankl, the team can now see the bigger picture of what is happening and where, as well as accurately pick what job to do and when. The levels of scenario planning that were impossible before are now available in real time and this makes decision making much quicker and more accurate. In fact, the increased accuracy and visibility that this brings have enabled Pankl to confidently increase its planning horizon by a further 25%. In terms of actual time saved, this represents at least 20 hours per week which over a year equals 1040 hours, or 43 days. The Pankl Production Team concludes, “We’ve got loads of things to try but we’re taking it one step at a time and getting each step right. We have a saying and we are proving it at each stage: ‘Do what Orchestrate says and everything will be good.’”

Straiton is the first to acknowledge that this approach won’t be right for every business. “There will”, he says, “always be companies that need to or might prefer to select and implement software in a more traditional way. For such companies, we will continue to use our years of experience to meet these needs. We anticipate that our Internet enabled partnership approach is one that will increasingly be of interest to companies that are actively looking for a leaner, more cost-effective method of selecting and implementing complex production scheduling solution. We are delighted that a number of them are already enjoying the benefits of such an approach.”

Orchestrate Delivers First Class Scheduling for B/E Aerospace

Introduction/Overview

Creating an integrated scheduling and capacity plan across 3 sites in 2 countries is a key challenge for BE Aerospace (B/E) Super First Class Division, the world’s leading provider of interior products and solutions for the commercial, business jet and military markets. Orchestrate production scheduling software from UK specialist Production Modelling provides B/E SFC the ability to ensure production across 3 sites aligns so that individual components involved is at the right place, in the right order, at the right time. Production Modelling’s partnership approach demonstrated at each step how the system would work with B/E’s processes and data. And, because Orchestrate is so intuitive to understand and easy to use, B/E configured and implemented it themselves in a matter of a few months, thereby avoiding installation costs. Thanks to Orchestrate, B/E has much greater visibility across all 3 sites, improved scheduling efficiency and can now introduce new orders without interrupting existing business.

The Challenges: Managing Multi-Site Complex Assembly

B/E produces customizable and prestigious Super First Class (SFC) interior for prestigious customers including Emirates, Qantas and British Airways, with each seating solution contains individual components from all 3 manufacturing sites. The process steps range in complexity across the three manufacturing/assembly sites, and ensuring that the right components are in place at the right time is critical to the B/E’s success. While final assembly takes place in Tucson, Arizona, this is dependent on operations being completed on time at the company’s Miami, Florida and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico sites. In addition to managing the 500 skilled employees across multiple business sites involved in the production of each finished unit, time to produce in-house manufactured parts as well as source external purchased parts all have to be accurately taken into consideration to avoid costly delays. Orders range from recurring business which can extend up to six years in advance to unique seating solutions that have to slot into existing workflow.

Three of the biggest challenges the SFC division faces are in managing workflow, capacity, and new business. Challenges that spreadsheets have been increasingly unable to deal with due to the very strong growth B/E has experienced over the past three years. “The past three years have seen us grow from a 300 employee operation to now having over 500 employees in our business unit across multiple sites.”

Why Spreadsheets Fail

Prior to the rapid business growth, all scheduling was handled by a range of spreadsheets. As the business grew however, so did the size and complexity of the spreadsheets involved as James explains. “By 2012, the number of product groups we would be working on at any time had doubled. We had a separate spreadsheet for Miami, Nogales and Tucson, all of which had to be updated manually, and all of which were on top of the data stored in our ERP system. We had multiple ways of communication to get the same data but often different spreadsheets had different data because nothing was consolidated. The increasing time this took combined with the inaccuracy of the data began to impact our On Time delivery capabilities. And for a business like ours, On Time deliveries are essential. Now, with Orchestrate, all data across each site is consolidated into one source from which clear, concise and accurate information can be quickly extracted which has positively impacted our On-Time delivery capabilities.”

The other area where Orchestrate production scheduling software excels and spreadsheets failed was in trying to view and create capacity for future orders. James again, “Given that every day, everything moves which impacts every other process step, this was difficult to achieve quickly with Excel - we simply couldn’t see the impact of decisions on the rest of the business. We would say yes and then do whatever it took to deliver, even if this had a negative impact on other existing orders. Now with Orchestrate, not only can we see what capacity we have available, we can see the range of finite possibilities we have to fulfil any new orders. Orchestrate offers us more than simple visibility – it gives us options and the intelligence we need to make the best decision for the company as a whole.”

Why Orchestrate production scheduling software and Why the Internet?

Like most companies, B/E used the power of the Internet to identify potential solutions. Unlike most companies, B/E then used the Internet to source, purchase and implement Orchestrate from Production Modelling. With considerable experience in master scheduling within the Automotive Sector, James was brought into B/E in Sept 2011 and assigned the task of finding a powerful yet flexible scheduling solution that met the company’s many demanding objectives and also its budget. Many systems appeared to deliver what was required but as James explains, all was not what it seemed. “I looked at 8 to 10 systems and saw many presentations but when I started asking questions about wanting to see the system do what we want and whether it could work the way we needed it to, the companies concerned couldn’t provide us with a scenario that showed this.”

Production Modelling provided a completely different response. Not only did Production Modelling provide James with a demo-version of the software to fully evaluate, the company also built a bespoke demo based on B/E’s own data which essentially replicated the company’s production at a high level. “Whenever we asked for any bespoke work to be considered, everyone within Production Modelling from the management down to the developers worked collaboratively with us to show us that what we wanted and needed was achievable. It was a real partnership and provided us with a lot of confidence in our investment decision.” This helpfulness even extended as far as Production Modelling extending the free trial use of the software as further modifications were being made to allow B/E the time it required to sign off an IT investment of this size. “From a Sales perspective, this was outstanding,” recalls James.

An Innovative Implementation

This helpfulness has permeated the implementation and has been at the heart of the ongoing development of the system ever since. Self-implementation is typically the preserve of basic systems used in small companies to solve simple issues. Such was the confidence that Production Modelling gave B/E combined with the highly intuitive nature of Orchestrate production scheduling software as a system, B/E decided to self-implement across all, with James received expert tuition in the use of the software via a number of web demos and what he describes as access to an excellent support network and help files. “I was trained by Production Modelling not just in how to use the system but also to develop the system myself. In addition to the early benefits the company has already received, this again helped to reinforce to the company that it really was investing in a custom business solution at a very reasonable price.” This partnership approach was also greatly appreciated when B/E took the strategic decision to move from a high level use of the system to a much more detailed view. Not only did this necessitate changing the way B/E used the system, it meant changing the way the system itself worked. Once again the entire team at Production Modelling provided the expertise and assistance B/E needed.

Early Benefits.

The company is already seeing benefits from Orchestrate production scheduling software. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to be adversely impacted by major IT implementations and given the complexity of B/E’s operations over 3 sites and in 2 different countries, its ability to maintain a ‘business as usual’ attitude is testament to the dedication of its own personnel and the support of the Production Modelling team. Other major benefits already in place focus on the increased visibility and accuracy of information that Orchestrate has brought. “Now we can see where everything is across the entire business unit and at which stage” explains James. This has been further helped at the Tucson site by the installation of flat-screen displays on the assembly floor which allow everyone to see not just what is currently supposed be happening, but also what is coming down the line. As an example of the time and cost savings achieved, in just one schedule change, Orchestrate saves 1- 3 hours in updating Excel files for scheduling depending on the complexity of the schedule change. Also Production Modelling developed a presentation plug-in that turns our master production schedule into a presentation that refreshes at the end of the presentation and runs continuously on the flat-screen monitors on the assembly floor, this keeps our production schedule current on assembly floor and encourages employee buy-in as they see the demands of their individual production lines.

A Final Word

“From the outset, Production Modelling’s partnership approach combined with the intuitive, flexible nature of Orchestrate has enabled us to get the best from our investment. Not only are we now able to schedule more efficiently across all sites, we can take on new business with increased confidence which is essential to our ongoing growth and success.”

New pdf case studies available for download

Production Modelling have now created pdf download versions of their simulation and scheduling case studies. Please view the case studies through the folling link

production scheduling case studies

Pankl Racing Systems tunes its production planning

Pankl Racing Systems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high-end crankshafts used in a diverse range of performance motorsport racing in the EU and USA. Formerly Superior Crankshaft LP before its acquisition by Pankl Racing Systems AG, the California based company has 40 highly skilled personnel with many years’ experience working with a number of premium motorsport and high performance road car manufacturers. There can be no more demanding customer deadline than the starting grid of an international motor race so accurate production planning and scheduling is critical to ensuring that the right goods are delivered on time, every time. When a decision was taken to invest in a state-of-the-art planning and scheduling solution, Pankl innovatively harnessed the power of the Internet to partner with UK specialist Production Modelling.

Each of Pankl’s customers’ demands the highest possible standards from each bespoke order. Order sizes range between 2 – 12 items and can be either manufactured, or designed and manufactured, to a supplied customer specification. Depending on the complexity of the final product and the degree of engineering and design involved, lead times can vary between 10-15 weeks with the average being 10-12. Actual manufacturing involves in excess of 50 different process steps which can either be undertaken in Pankl’s specialist production facilities or sub-contracted as and when required. Given the exotic nature of the raw materials used, these are often supplied by the customer but Pankl still needs to retain working buffer stocks to ensure that the all-important delivery date is met.

The production challenges are many and varied beginning with the need to manage multiple products via different production routes through a set of resources with finite capacity. As each product tends to have only one possible route, balancing these is essential. Not only does this necessitate having complete visibility across the entire production facility but also knowing what job is where, and how far through any given process it may be. Knowing the capacity constraints of each individual resource as well as the combined capacity of the plant is also essential. And while set-up and changeover times may not be directly critical, because a product may have to visit any given resource many times during the overall production process, this creates significant potential for bottlenecks.

Pankl’s manufacturing team was formed in 2006 and faces a range of planning and scheduling challenges on a daily basis. To begin with, the company has a production planning horizon which extends over 16 weeks but which also needs to be able to quickly and accurately react to any changes. Whether a problem with a supplier, a resource requiring planned or unplanned maintenance or even a customer requiring a product sooner than initially planned, the customer always has to get their product on time. It’s no good having a car on the grid and saying ‘come back next week’. This means being able to create different production scenarios based on re-prioritizing products and to clearly see the impact on every other order, all the way up to and beyond the working planning horizon. If the change happens at the design and engineering stage, this includes every other order here as well as the knock-on effects to production.

Prior to investing in Orchestrate from Production Modelling, addressing these challenges was a matter of “moving coloured boxes around in Excel.” Not only was this time consuming in and of itself, it also diverted highly skilled human resource away from their primary role within the company. For example, if just one change was required, someone would then have to manually calculate the impact on every other order extending forward up to and beyond 16 weeks. While they were doing what in essence is an administrative task, their main skills were not being best used within the company. The situation became even more time consuming and complex when the team was tasked with generating a range of different ’what-if?’ scenarios to show the impact of different planning responses. In reality this was practically impossible, which when combined with the inability to give reliable data to the sales team, created a general lack of confidence throughout the company in the accuracy of the plan.

The company’s acquisition in 2011 and the increased growth resulting from consolidation of business put even greater strain on the existing way of working and led to a decision being taken in mid-2011 to investigate alternatives. Like most companies, this search began by harnessing the power of the Internet to identify potential solutions. Unlike most companies, Pankl then used the Internet to source, purchase and implement a system that best met its aims and objectives. The team knew it wanted a solution that wasn’t too complex to use but had the background power and functionality that it could make use of when needed. It also recognised that a solution visually similar to Excel but which provided the real time visibility and control of its entire engineering and production facilities would be helpful to ease the transition and not frighten new users.

As part of its research, the team discovered Orchestrate from Production Modelling. After viewing a number of online videos it was clear that Orchestrate not only looked the best, it also provided the closest fit to the company’s requirements. The fact that Orchestrate was developed and owned by Production Modelling was reassuring because Pankl knew that if there was any bespoke work needed, it could be done quickly. It was also clear Production Modelling had experience with working with similar companies. This led to several positive conversations with the Managing Director of Production Modelling, and after a number of very accessible product demonstrations, a decision was taken to invest in Orchestrate.

The system was purchased and downloaded on a 14 day, free trial basis over the Internet during which the team worked closely with Production Modelling to generate and fine tune the required data for Orchestrate. What might seem daunting to some was far from the case because the system was very easy to pick up and the team largely self-taught itself how to use it. The team at Production Modelling, was always there to provide assistance and because everyone worked closely every step of the way, Production Modelling was able to input and check everything that was being done. The time difference between the UK and the US also proved to be highly advantageous because any work the team required would be turned around overnight with the solution waiting the next morning.

Because of the success of the trial, Pankl decided to invest in the top of the range solution, Orchestrate Professional, and less than 2 months later, had moved away from spreadsheets completely. Pankl also invested in a series of online training sessions which have also proved to be highly effective. The team decided on a format of having an hour of straight training followed by an hour of Q&A and has only actually needed one so far but will use the others as it begins to take more advantage of what Orchestrate can do.

While still early days, the benefits have already been pronounced with the team identifying the ability to always provide the correct sequence of jobs as, “a massive help.” Not only can the team now see the bigger picture of what is happening and where, it can accurately pick what job to do and when. The levels of scenario planning that were impossible before are now available in real time and this makes decision making much quicker and more accurate. In fact, the increased accuracy and visibility that this brings have enabled Pankl to confidently increase its production planning horizon by a further 25%. In terms of actual time saved, this represents at least 20 hours per week which over a year equals 1040 hours, or 43 days.

The importance of the role of production planning and scheduling within a company like Pankl can be seen by the fact that the company as a whole now benefits from using Orchestrate. For example, it is now possible for the first time ever to integrate engineering and production into a coherent and interlinked plan meaning that engineering can now be given an accurate required completion date for a job so that production can start on time. More importantly, the impact of changes in one department can be seen in the other which now makes strategic business level planning much more accurate.

Pankl also credits Orchestrate with facilitating better decision making between Sales and Production where there can at times be conflicting priorities. For example, now the Production Manager can demonstrate quickly and clearly what the effects of decisions taken by Sales are going to be. And by both sitting down and looking at a range of ‘what-if?’ scenarios, they can make smarter decisions that are best for the customer and for the business as a whole. This ‘what-if?’ scenario capability is also being used at a top-tier level to determine the potential benefits of investing in new plant equipment by looking at different sales and capacity scenarios.

As for the future, Pankl knows it is only beginning to scratch the surface of what Orchestrate can do. Areas that are highlighted for development centre on making more use of the information that Orchestrate already generates. For example, Output Reports will provide more accurate forecasting for suppliers while greater Work in Progress (WIP) analysis will help smooth workflow and help to further reduce bottlenecks. And the production team’s final word? “We’ve got loads of things to try but we’re taking it one step at a time and getting each step right. We have a saying and we are proving it at each stage: ‘Do what Orchestrate says and everything will be good.’”