Production planning software for manufacturers
In customer-specific production the schedule changes daily. Good production planning software uses the real availability of machines and people and builds on what the shop floor reports back.
Production planning that works for custom work and small batches is finite-capacity scheduling: it takes machines, people, dependencies between operations and priorities into account and lets you reschedule without re-entering everything. Digital WorkMate has an automatic scheduler with ASAP and JIT scheduling, critical path and a Gantt chart where you reschedule by dragging. A classic time-phased MRP run across all orders is not included; material requirements are determined per order and operation.
What to look for when choosing
- Does the system schedule with finite capacity, on machines and people?
- Can you reschedule by dragging and see the effect on dependent operations and the critical path straight away?
- Can operations run on interchangeable machines?
- Do start, progress, consumption and scrap from the shop floor feed back into the schedule directly?
- Does every operator get their own work list by priority?
- Is it clear what the system does and does not do for material requirements?
Scheduling on what is really available
Operations are linked to machines or work centres, with availability schemes per machine and person. Through operation groups an operation can run on another, equivalent machine.
From schedule to shop floor and back
Operators start, park and complete from their work list, with automatic time registration. Planned versus actual is the basis for better planning and actual costing.
Material per order, no MRP run
Production requirements per operation (reserve, purchase, produce) and min/max replenishment rules. If you want a time-phased MRP calculation across all orders, that is not part of Digital WorkMate.
What Digital WorkMate offers for this today
For each part you can see whether it is fully or partially available.
- Finite-capacity schedulingAvailable
Automatic priority-driven scheduler with ASAP and JIT scheduling, dependencies, critical path and a drag-to-reschedule Gantt chart. Per department you set a priority per production order, the Gantt shows department colours and filters on workplace, department and user, and a planner work list shows the operations of a user's workplaces. An operation without planned time does not block scheduling.
- Work centres, machines and capacityAvailable
Operations linked to machines or work centres, availability schemes per machine and person (create time slots by dragging, copy a day and fill days), interchangeable machines through operation groups and departments per site with their own colour and rights.
- Production orders with routingAvailable
Production orders with operations (setup, cycle and wait time), template orders as standard routings, grouping and yield/scrap per operation. The system advises the quantity to start to reach the required good quantity and shows the historical yield per product and operation, which you can adopt as the new default yield.
- Operator work listAvailable
Operations by priority per operator; start, park and complete with automatic time registration.
- Hours, progress and actual costingAvailable
Actual times, consumption and scrap per operation; planned versus actual and the cost per good piece.
- Order-driven material requirementsAvailable
Production requirements per operation (reserve, purchase, produce) and min/max replenishment rules. No classic time-phased MRP run across all orders.
- Takt linesAvailable
Flow-line planning in fixed takt periods and zones.
- Energy-price-driven schedulingAvailable
Start operations automatically once the electricity price drops below a per-machine threshold (NL, BE, DE/LU, FR).
Production planning software: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between infinite and finite-capacity scheduling?
Infinite scheduling assumes unlimited capacity and only shows overload afterwards. Finite scheduling takes the availability of machines and people into account, so the planned end date is realistic. Digital WorkMate schedules with finite capacity.
Can I adjust the schedule by dragging?
Yes. In the Gantt chart you move operations by dragging. Per department you set your own priority per production order and you filter on workplace, department and user.
Does Digital WorkMate have a classic MRP run?
No. Production requirements are determined per order and operation, supplemented with min/max replenishment rules for stock. There is no time-phased MRP run across all orders.
Does this suit high-mix/low-volume and make-to-order?
Yes, that is what Digital WorkMate was designed for: customer-specific products, changing routings and a schedule that changes often. See the pages on high-mix/low-volume and make-to-order.
Related pages
See Digital WorkMate in action
In a no-obligation demo we show how Digital WorkMate supports your processes from sales to invoicing, with honest advice on what does and does not fit.