Production Planning Software

Manufacturing Scheduling

PIMSS provides advanced production planning and optimization functionality, including manufacturing capacity planning, master production scheduling and factory line scheduling:

• Production Planning: real-time and strategic production planning software.
• Advanced Manufacturing Planning: accurate and configurable production line model.
• Real-time/JIT Scheduling: real-time production scheduler and JIT planning.
• Master Production Schedule: production schedule templates and strategic planning.
• Factory Planning Software: factory planning and plant production optimization.

Production Planning

PIMSS (Process Industry Manufacturing Scheduling System) offers an integrated solution spanning the manufacturing supply chain, ranging from long term strategic optimization to real-time manufacturing scheduling.

The PIMSS algorithms automatically plan and optimize very large manufacturing operations, taking seconds to generate complete production schedules.

PIMSS is designed for manufacturing operations that process 1000s of products in an environment where minimising changeovers and balancing resource usage are vital.

MJC²'s advanced manufacturing software is particularly applicable to operations which produce short shelf-life or fast-turnover goods against a backdrop of tight order fulfilment windows and demand for flexibility from the customer.

PIMSS allows manufacturing businesses to maintain high customer service levels while minimising inventory and maximising manufacturing efficiency.

Advanced Manufacturing Planning

Integrated Production Planning System

The PIMSS optimization approach has a high degree of flexibility, enabling complex production processes to be modelled accurately without approximation or compromise on performance.

The manufacturing planning system takes into account:

• Demands and orders: actual/forecast orders by product, customer, due date(s).
• Min, max and ideal stocks: input or calculated by capacity planning algorithms.
• Materials planning: raw materials planning and availability.
• Labour planning: shift patterns, breaks, rosters, skills and working time constraints.
• Work in progress: WIP, core blends, inter-factory and on-line/off-line processes.

The master schedule details production by factory area and machine type while the line schedule specifies manufacturing orders by individual machine and product.

PIMSS is driven by a user-friendly graphical interface and all reports (graphical and tabular) can be customised to meet the specific requirements of the user.

Accurate & Flexible Constraint Modelling

PIMSS is configurable and can be used to schedule complex interdependent production lines as well as multi-site operations, taking into account constraints such as:

• Process capacity or cycle times by product/machine, following scheduling constraints.
• Machine routing and multi-stage production processes, including timing/sequencing.
• Master production scheduling rules, batch planning and other schedule constraints.
• Sequencing rules and changeover times (e.g. product mix changes, plan size, packaging).

Modelling these constraints and other rules as required, PIMSS creates an integrated manufacturing schedule and corresponding factory plan which optimizes utilisation of machines while balancing labour requirements and inventory levels.

Real-time/JIT Scheduling

PIMSS's ability to automatically reschedule very large operations in a matter of seconds enables it to respond dynamically to new customer orders or operational issues while maximising the efficiency of the production process and staying within the constraints of the master production schedule if appropriate.

MJC²'s production line planning software includes powerful dynamic optimization algorithms that enable fast response to real-time events such as last-minute customer orders, unplanned employee unavailability, machine breakdowns or raw materials shortages.

PIMSS integrates easily with manufacturing execution systems or ERP software to obtain live updates about orders and stock positions. PIMSS can also interface to production scheduling control systems (e.g. SCADA) to obtain real-time data about actual production performance.

Master Production Scheduling

PIMSS automates master schedule production, using inputs from demand planning (e.g. i-Data) and inventory control systems (e.g. e-Stock), as well as routing constraints and speeds and cycle times.

The output is a set of optimized production plans that maintain stocks within defined parameters while maximising overall production efficiency.

PIMSS can also be used in strategic mode to help answer questions such as:

• What if I use a new raw material supplier?
• What if labour work patterns are to be modified?
• What if process automation leads to increased capacity?
• What if I install a new automated production facility?

Factory Planning and Plant Scheduling

PIMSS is ideally suited to complex industrial manufacturing processes. Optimization can typically be performed in seconds and PIMSS supports 'what if' capacity planning in addition to day-to-day scheduling activities.

Our software tools allow the manufacturing business process to be planned, managed and optimized in an integrated way. PIMSS addresses all aspects of production optimization, ranging from long-term strategic capacity planning and plant optimization through to dynamic process control and batch job scheduling.

PIMSS not only optimizes the allocation of production runs to factory lines and machines, but also schedules associated labour, warehouse activity and cleaning/maintenance tasks.

Integration with our logistics planning software DISC allows distributed operations and associated inter-plant transport activity to be optimized.

Tactical and strategic planning of employee rotas and shift patterns is facilitated by integration with our ROCS software, while our multimodal logistics systems optimize import and export operations.