System cleanup - labor standards, auto issue, scheduler

Our organization is in the process of restructuring the way we utilize our MRP with lean manufacturing in mind. Our date collected is over 10 years old and over time, we've lost touch of standardizing and managing the data that is going in (forgetting to clock in/out of WO's, not logging correct quantity, setting up parts with incorrect PPH/setup). Because of this, we have bad data to manage off of.

Efficiency, utilization is completely off, which means we cannot use the Concurrent scheduler the way it's intended to be used for. We have random resource ID's that are duplicate with no efficient way of grouping..

First step is to cleanup the resources and update the PPH using what "good" data we have from labor tickets. Ideally we can get these close enough to implement a standard process for our building managers to then mange to (adding the responsibility of ensuring it continues to be updated).

I'm reaching out for ANYONE that has experienced this transition and can provide some insight. Any and all feedback is appreciated!

-Caleb

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unknown

We were there, so we moved to the Easy Lean module for creating our schedules and work orders. Of course we have to review and adjust new work orders. Easy Lean uses "Buffers" for each Engineering Master/Work Order to create release dates to supply Customer Orders. Inventory, Inventory Transactions, and Operation Run Complete are all that matter. Things like run rates, efficiencies, correct hours for labor aren't as critical as with the concurrent scheduler; those items are mainly for pricing. Easy Lean uses Drum-Buffer-Rope Theories but even simpler.

unknown

Caleb,

Not MRP but we do use concurrent scheduler and we went through this transition. I was directly involved with creating the new resource names and groups. Our run times were inaccurate as well.

Three key things I took away from the experience of establishing a resource naming scheme:

1. Know how your organization defines as an operation and make sure it is fairly consistent across the department at the least better yet the company.

2. Only schedule what's important, you can define resources how ever you want but that means more is involved in managing the schedule. Finding that happy medium between too granular and too high level is important.

3. Identify resources by function not by employee or machine name.

Three key things I took away from the experience of correcting run rates

1. It takes time. This will not happen overnight, attack the worst of the worst first. I created an excel file that pulls right from the database that highlights the jobs that are the most inaccurate and attacked it methodically each month. I evaluate the qty reported and past history to identify the error type.

2. Get the shop involved early. It's a team effort. From the labor reporting to how the shop actually produces the part. Make sure there is a method / process for the shop to document mistakes AND their proposal to fix it. (example Job 123 has two operations, we only need one at xyz resource and it runs 40pcs /hr complete). Don't forget to close the communication loop by informing the that the change was made.

3. Promote your work! These changes take time to see a "true" clean up. It is easy for different individuals in the company to have no idea what you are working on, and this stuff is important!! Make sure people know how much effort is going into correcting the problem and the reward! so that way you are allowed to continue working on it or get additional resources to help.

We tried DBR /Easy lean but found some issues with that at the time of switch. We use buffers in the concurrent scheduler (manually added through a line of code). Even with buffers I think the run rates are still important. Becaise a buffer

Let me know if you have specific questions but that is how I personally went about attacking the problem.

-Andre

unknown

Great feedback, Andre. My thoughts were the same.. once we "clean" everything up, it's important we have a system in place to make it easy to manage (creating a submission form to easily submit the changes - which ensures all the information required is provided/ implementing a ticketing system for our planning dept). Then structuring a daily management system from the top down for accountability.

HUGE feat to take on and with the little information that's available, so it's hard to know whether you're heading in the right direction.

How critical are setting up the resource calendar weeks? I'm assuming it's critical to ensure the schedule is scheduling the work when a resource is available/has capacity.. I'm curious to see the best way of managing this for our company because shift may change from time to time.

unknown

Hi,

The CEO here put in place a project to start using the MRP. In reality, it’s the 6th time he start the same project. We had Visual from 10 years without using MRP. First step was to hiring people with MRP knowledge!!

After, we decided to focus on one programme. Change the resources, correct all time in work order, find the best way to have Visual align correctly every morning. We uses Concurrent scheduler with MRP. The project start at the beginning of this year and we finally find how to get visual align only in October. So now, we have to correct the work order for all program. These data cleansing is not easy because you need a lot of people doing clerical job on top of their job.

At the same time, I decide to form a Power Users group. These Power user are the level 1 support, I have one meeting every month to discuss problem solving in group, find the best solution and ramp-up their knowledge, develop documentation. One of the problem was that nobody knows how Visual work and we can’t find a good company to support us. So we have to try and see what happen.

Last point, we have a new logistic director, new production director, new buyer director, new manager, new IT, many people moved in/out and I think the company needed this for the success of the project. I hope this help.

Nancy

unknown

Caleb,

We ran through a similar process last September (2016). We were using an "MRP" system from 2003 and the prior regime did not enforce scanning, run rates, etc. First thing we did was tied payroll hours directly to scanning. You're either scanned directly on a job, or scanned into indirect (Support, Meetings, etc.). It's amazing how everyone can ensure they are scanning when their pay depends on their scanned times. We eliminated all timeclocks and now only pay hourly employees based on their VISUAL "timecards".

Also, we entered estimated run rates and are using efficiency reporting to modify rates to accurate numbers. It's not an easy task, and it does not happen overnight, but it seems fairly effective so far.

Jarrod

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