{"id":976,"date":"2020-02-10T10:42:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T15:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/siemens-opcenter\/?p=976"},"modified":"2026-03-26T05:03:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:03:04","slug":"improving-profitability-with-advanced-scheduling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/improving-profitability-with-advanced-scheduling\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Profitability with Advanced Scheduling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I started my journey with <a aria-label=\"Siemens Opcenter Advanced Scheduling (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/products\/manufacturing-operations\/advanced-scheduling.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Siemens Opcenter Advanced Scheduling<\/a> (formerly called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/glossary\/what-is-preactor-aps\/89455\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Preactor<\/a>) in 2008.&nbsp; I remember well my first contacts with this incredible tool. &nbsp;I thought it was wonderful to have the ability to do simple operations like drag and drop to move operations and production orders in a Gantt chart. &nbsp;I understood the complexities of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/glossary\/what-is-production-scheduling-software\/95966\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">production scheduling<\/a>, but I was still discovering the universe of possibilities that an <a aria-label=\"APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/products\/manufacturing-operations\/advanced-planning-scheduling.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling)<\/a> tool could provide. &nbsp;And then, over time, I realized that simple capabilities in the tool generate surprising results very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an Industrial Engineer, I was always fascinated by\nthe capabilities of the tool as its flexibility allowed me to create different\nsolutions according to the specific needs of each client based on their\ncircumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I began each new project with the question: How do I\nenable this client to make more money with a detailed production schedule?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, we well know that the goal of every for-profit\ncompany is to seek present and future profitability, and to grow and survive in\ntoday\u2019s highly competitive market space.&nbsp;\nGoldratt reinforces this in his best seller, The Goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how could I help my clients realize this goal\nthrough an APS tool deployment project?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many ways to improve profitability with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/products\/manufacturing-operations\/advanced-scheduling.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Siemens Opcenter AS<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Visibility<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the main advantages of a\nvisual APS is that it offers a clear view of the completion times of all\nProduction Orders, whether they are fulfilling customer orders or replenishment\nof stocks. &nbsp;Knowing exactly when each operation\nand order is going to be completed days or weeks in advance, allows various\nstrategic decisions to be taken that generate immediate results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, knowing today that\nan order will be delayed several weeks, allows you to contact the customer and\nrenegotiate the delivery terms. &nbsp;This\nclient will then be able to organize in advance, feel valued, strengthening\nyour relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the customer learns of the\ndelay on the day delivery expected, it causes a series of problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Holistic vision<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine the situation where the\nproduction process has many steps and the order sequencing is done by separate\nindividuals for each manufacturing process. &nbsp;While each machine operator might know his\nproduction process best and therefore know how to minimize that machine\u2019s\nsetups, scheduling each machine independently leads to sub optimized results. &nbsp;Because the machines are different throughout\nthe process, and because the criteria and attributes that define the setups are\ndifferent, the production order identified to be first in the sequence at one\nmachine can easily become the last of the sequence in a subsequent machine leading\nto increased production lead times and higher in-process stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using APS software enables the\nproduction scheduling team to generate scheduling scenarios that balance\nminimization of setups against other requirements using algorithms that enable\nbetter global results than is achieved when optimizing the schedule of each\nmachine independently. This allows for better use of productive resources,\nincreased productivity and reduced in-process inventories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Multiple Finite Constraints<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A very common way to boost\nprofits with APS software is to learn how to account for the use of other\nfinite restrictions of the production process, such as tools, labor, or other\nrestrictions. &nbsp;Understanding the\nbottlenecks that prevent good flow on the factory floor, acting in advance for\nthe early release of a tool that will be needed next week, or moving operators\nfrom one activity to another based on the production mix, among other aspects,\ncan reduce or eliminate unnecessary overtime and unexpected idle time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a topic that intrigues me,\nbecause you can use the APS tool to do more advanced analysis, such as, what\nwould be the impact on production of buying a new tool, of hiring a new person,\nor of training an individual on a new skill? &nbsp;Simulations such as this are simple and easy\nto do and bring a new perspective to the decision-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Materials\nManagement<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Often the availability of\nmaterials is crucial to ensuring a good production schedule. Imagine releasing\na schedule to production and then discovering that you don&#8217;t have the necessary\nmaterials available minutes before you were to transition production!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With an APS solution you can guarantee that all the material requirements will be met before the scheduled production start time. \u00a0At the same time, the greater precision of production start times allows you to order materials to arrive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/our-story\/glossary\/what-is-just-in-time-scheduling-jit\/99865\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">just in time<\/a>, minimizing your purchased material inventory. This then leads to the possibility of better agreements with suppliers, cost reduction and better cash flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are significant gains that can be obtained with\nAPS software using standard basic functions. &nbsp;It is not necessary to create complex rules to\nstart seeing an immediate return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have achieved the quick and easy improvements\nto profitability you can come back for a phase two, pursuing more complex\nproject.&nbsp; Such projects might include: providing\ncustomer service with the ability to make promises based on actual availability\nin the factory or using advanced simulations to rethink your production layout,\nthereby freeing up 30% of your manufacturing space and drastically reducing your\nproduction lead times. &nbsp;But these are\nsubjects\nfor another time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I started my journey with Siemens Opcenter Advanced Scheduling (formerly called Preactor) in 2008.&nbsp; I remember well my first contacts&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2706,"featured_media":977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[182,1],"tags":[290,119,287,56],"industry":[],"product":[],"coauthors":[2760],"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-advanced-planning-and-scheduling-aps","tag-digitalization","tag-manufacturing-operations-management-mom","tag-smart-manufacturing"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/photo-1515606378517-3451a4fa2e12.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2706"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=976"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2162,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions\/2162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}