Production Scheduling Software

Production scheduling software is a type of software that enables businesses in the manufacturing industry to plan and schedule their production activities. Whether it's small manufacturers with a Make Order (MTO) model, semi-custom "job shop" SMEs, or large-scale Engineer to Order (ETO) operations, users deploy these tools to gain oversight, improve forecasting, and streamline processes related to product engineering, scheduling, production planning, inventory control, account management, and sales.

Manufacturers of all sizes and fields of activity use production planning and scheduling software to ensure that the production line runs smoothly. This may involve assigning tasks, monitoring machinery, resources, and inventories, or identifying bottlenecks, overload, and resource conflict. They can also use manufacturing production scheduling software to carry out capacity planning tasks, estimate material requirements, assess and forecast performance, budget for holding costs, perform "what if" risk analysis, and make decisions based on real-time data.

When it comes to production control software tools, they can be used in both discrete and process manufacturing settings. These tools are well-suited for plant floor control, material requirements planning (MRP), work order management, inventory management, drafting bills of material (BOM) entries, and barcoding. As they connect business-critical processes, people, and systems to drive company-wide compliance and efficiency, manufacturing scheduling software can often complement or replace other planning, scheduling, and management tools within a manufacturing and warehousing setting.

For instance, they share some of the functionality of ERP Systems, MRP Systems, and Job Shop Software tools. As explained in the article titled Benefits of ERP Software for Small Businesses, these categories of software applications were once reserved for large organisations, but have become accessible to smaller businesses as well in recent years.

Depending on the setting, the production control software can also take over from Supply Chain Management Software or Warehouse Management Software. In fact, in most manufacturing settings, production planning software could easily replace proprietary Inventory Management Software or Order Management Software. However, at its core, this type of programming application shares most of its functionality with tools specifically designed for this industry, such as Manufacturing Execution Software and Manufacturing Software.

Given the diversity of these tools, manufacturing professionals hoping to complement or replace their existing software solutions with dedicated scheduling software may have difficulty identifying a suitable application. But whichever the type of manufacturing setting, be it automotive, aerospace, electronics, furniture, medical devices, fabricated metals, plastics or beverage production, a good scheduling software tool should be able to carry out and streamline these basic tasks:

• Facilitate flexible capacity planning to accommodate demand fluctuations
• Allow users to set up manual and automated scheduling for people, processes, and machinery
• Produce inventory and production capacity forecasts relevant to Material Requirements Planning activities
• Perform "what if" analysis and other types of risk assessment
• Streamline coordinated efforts to implement change management techniques
• Enable collaboration between team members, departments, and facilities

What is Production Scheduling Software?

Production scheduling software is an application that can assist manufacturers in planning and organising production schedules, monitoring resource utilisation, and optimising production time to reach maximum capacity. In simple terms, this tool can forecast demand, plan production levels, monitor the plant floor, assign tasks to machines and workers, keep an eye on inventory levels for raw materials and finished products, pinpoint bottlenecks, and iron out problems in the production cycle.

Businesses of all sizes and sectors of the manufacturing industry use product planners and schedulers to streamline their operations. This includes discrete manufacturing businesses like automotive, aerospace, furniture, toy, smartphone, medical device, rubber, plastics, and fabricated metal producers. It also includes process manufacturing companies like cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, beverage, and paint producers. Whether they run large-scale, Engineer to Order (ETO) operations or they work with smaller-scale Make to Order (MTO) or Make to Stock (MTS) models to produce custom items or small batches, these businesses stand to gain from the use of scheduling software manufacturing tools.

Manufacturing planning software includes job scheduling, inventory tracking, and plant floor monitoring modules. But this software is often also equipped with reporting, forecasting, and analytics tools that promote and enhance the company's business intelligence (BI) efforts. Furthermore, some tools include quoting, online proofing, accounting, and payment processing modules. As such, production planning software can also sometimes be used by distributors and logistics service providers to lower their costs, boost sales, improve customer experience, track leads, and collaborate on documents.

But the bulk of a production scheduler's capabilities is related to keeping track of production status across workstations, plant floors, departments, facilities, and time zones. This may entail scheduling tasks in real-time from a centralised dashboard, creating visual workflows with drag-and-drop tools, and sequencing processes and operations to balance the workload and bring the department closer to meeting the target. Production schedulers collect historical and up-to-the-minute data and relay it to manufacturing managers in a relatable format. Documentation like purchase orders, invoices, and bills of material are collected and stored for easy, paperless access through the dashboard, minimising errors and duplicates. These tools also track inventory items in real-time across locations, granting inventory managers visibility into processes and transactions taking place globally.

Built-in scheduling algorithms allow a production planner to automate many processes common to manufacturing environments. Also, as capacity planning software for manufacturing businesses produces accurate plant floor information in real-time, it enables managers to review delayed tasks, stop or speed them up immediately, and pinpoint bottlenecks and resource conflicts before they escalate. With workflow building modules for specific departments and locations, risk analysis features like "what if" scenarios, automated Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and on-demand Percent Planned Complete (PPC) reports. Furthermore, a production scheduler makes it easier for manufacturers to promise delivery, schedule production, plan capacity, and meet deadlines than they would do otherwise.

Depending on the tool and the industry vertical, manufacturing planning software may also feature Quality Control (QC) modules, EDI document exchange options, built-in Warehouse Management System (WMS) tools, Human-Machine Interface (HMI) modules, and tools for managing quality, maintenance, production, and inventory. But the mainstay of a production planner software tool is the ability to take proactive steps to prevent worker overload, resource conflict, bottlenecks, and other capacity constraints that might affect throughput, lead times, and on-time delivery metrics.

Many of the production scheduling applications available today are at least partially customisable in terms of interface and integration with popular CRM, MOM, MES, and WMS tools. As such, they can be hosted in the cloud or deployed on-premise and meet the unique needs of most businesses. However, cloud-based tools are more flexible to demand and usage fluctuations, and providers will often enable users to upgrade or downgrade their subscriptions as needed. Still, many manufacturers will opt out of cloud hosting and set up on-premise or hybrid infrastructures instead to ensure that the data collected by the production scheduler stays on company servers.

What are the benefits of production scheduling software?

The benefits of production scheduling software are felt not only by the shop floor but also by those in charge and the broader economy. As explained in Benefits of ERP Software for Small Businesses, companies of any size can put ERP systems Keeping Track of Projects is Easy with Our Free Gantt Chart Template to good use. By extension, production schedulers can offer similar benefits. But they can also prove beneficial in other ways. Here are some of the many benefits of production scheduling applications:

• Improves resource utilisation: Production planning software offers accurate and detailed information on resource availability in real-time. This includes raw material, equipment, worker, and machine status. With all this information available to managers at a moment's notice through a centralised interface, manufacturers are bound to optimise their resource allocation and utilisation, boosting productivity and margins.
• Promotes collaboration: Production planner software is used by workers across departments and facilities, not just the shop floor. From procurement to production, sales, and dispatch, the tool enables all team members to add value to manufactured items by collaborating on document drafting, budget approval, product status tracking, and other essential processes. As they make their contributions in real-time and synchronise their work across the globe, workers collect information from different locations, unify it into the central database, and ensure that they reference new and relevant information at all times from this single source of truth (SSOT).
• Identifies bottlenecks: With production scheduling software, managers have visibility into workstation performance, raw material stocks, worker capacity, and maintenance issues. Not only can they track incoming parts shipments, workforce operations, and machinery status to estimate capacity, but they also address any concerns in real-time. Whether it's a reminder to replenish stock, a machinery maintenance alert, a workstation overload notification, or a worker performance notice, a production scheduler can send visual or auditory warnings to managers whenever an unexpected variation occurs. This helps remove bottlenecks, prevent resource conflict, and protect workers from overload, resolving the production cycle.
• Boosts visibility: Production schedulers offer invaluable insight into the running of the business to all those who have access to operational information. This enables branches and departments to compare their performance and find appropriate ways to streamline processes. It is maybe difficult to synchronise information sourced from different tools across the organisation. Furthermore, using a single software tool enterprise-wide means that departments can work together, use the same data to draft their reports, and speed up decision-making processes for all those involved.
• Streamlines processes: Instead of using disparate information and working separately, departments and teams can coordinate their efforts with production scheduling software. As the information is updated in real-time, reducing the risk of human error, boosts operational efficiency, and speeds up most operations, from quote drafting to ROI reporting.
• Reduces cost and waste: Using outdated or inaccurate information risks wasting valuable time and resources, and demotivating workers. With up-to-date data fed through the system continuously, managers can reduce administrative costs, simplify data entry processes, and ensure that senior management can make informed decisions as soon as they are needed.
• Enhances security: Automating data collection, storage, and sharing results in a more secure work environment. As business information and personal employee data are kept safe through encryption, geo-redundancy, 2FA, one-time passwords, and other cybersecurity mechanisms, production scheduling tools can offer businesses and their worker's peace of mind.
• Improves traceability: All organisations must abide by certain financial, fiscal, H&S, and data protection regulations, no matter where they are located. With a production schedule software tool, compliance and traceability are guaranteed because there is a permanent audit trail.

What are the features of production scheduling software?

The features of production scheduling software span a very broad spectrum of capabilities and technologies. As software developers try to adapt to trends like consumerism, eco-awareness, and viral marketing, manufacturing software is becoming more modular and flexible. But there are a few basic features of production scheduling software that go beyond trends and reflect urgent necessity:

• Automated scheduling: Set up rules for production plans based on built-in algorithms and pre-established parameters. Production schedulers can enable managers to determine the level of involvement they can commit to when scheduling business processes. For instance, managers can hand over most scheduling tasks to the algorithm, trusting it to allocate materials, machinery, and workers to specific projects independently or take over for certain types of projects.
• Manual scheduling: Assign workers and machinery to specific projects, scheduling their work and booking their slots digitally. This enables managers to make adjustments in real-time, prioritise processes, and keep tabs on productions.
• Dynamic resource allocation: Enable the system to adapt the allocation of staff, machinery, and materials to changes in demand. On this basis, production scheduling tools can connect the best available worker to the nearest workstation or machinery that needs to be manned or serviced, while keeping costs to a minimum.
• Ready-made templates: Generate documents, policies, and workflows automatically, giving shop floor workers and other colleagues access to this information instantly. Production scheduling applications often enable users to create documents like work orders, Standard Operating Procedures, Bills of Materials, Raw Materials Specifications, and Master Batch Records automatically. Some come with one-click charts similar to the ones made available in the Capterra blog post titled Keeping Track of Projects is Easy with Our Free Gantt Chart Template.
• Intuitive dashboards and analytics: Provide a Single Source of Truth (SSOT) database with a centralised dashboard and visuals available to authorised users of all skills and abilities. This enables workers across departments to track projects, resources, inventory, and process flows without relying on the IT infrastructure as much and boosting resource efficiency. With handy charts and real-time visibility into operations, downtime, delays, quality issues, and labour gaps, data analytics can lead to savings on overheads and other costs.
• Capacity planning: Check staff and machine availability in real-time, sharing the information with users and recommending slots and tasks for each available resource to maximise capacity. Production schedulers can enable managers to gauge capacity levels throughout the workday, keeping sight of demand fluctuations and recommending alternatives based on available resources.
• Real-time reports: Check capacity and performance in real-time, displaying the information to users and pinpointing missed opportunities. Production schedulers may feature workflow trackers, live WIP information, real-time inventory data, batch tracking, and other tools essential for floor-level control.
• Material requirement planning (MRP): Analyse the availability of raw materials to plan for project completion. With manufacturing scheduling tools, managers can more easily anticipate materials requirements by accessing all project data from a single pane on the computer. They can also reassess their needs constantly, tweaking budgets, planning well ahead, and deploying materials as needed to avoid wastage.
• "What-if" analysis: Help gauge potential risk and find alternatives to the existing schedule. Production managers can access quantifiable time and profit data when they compare their schedules using a production scheduling application. With alternatives to their best-case scenario ready to hand, disruptive events have a lower chance of impeding production.
• Change management: Analyse the impact of adverse events and help identify ways to support implementing changes that can address them. As they can view the impact of a disruption on the production cycle in real-time, production scheduling tool users are well equipped to pinpoint preventive measures and find ways to implement them.

Production planning software can boast many other features, some unique to the developer or specific to its vertical market. As the Capterra software directory will show, there is no shortage of production scheduling systems. Browsing, filtering, comparing, and carrying out self-guided research on this directory is the best way for readers to find the ideal manufacturing scheduler.

What should be considered when purchasing production scheduling software?

When purchasing production scheduling and planning software, cost os a critical consideration. For those interested in bringing down costs, the Capterra blog offers advice on how to Get Resources Under Control with the Cost and Resource Planning Excel Template. But even some of the more expensive manufacturing schedulers can prove to be good value once they help bring down wastage and redundancy. Whatever the fee structure of the production planning software tool, there are a few critical aspects to consider before committing to a payment plan:

• Is it easy to use and universal? The user base for production scheduling tools ranges from non-tech savvy shop floor workers to sound engineers, and the manufacturing industry has a high churn rate. To accommodate people with diverse skill sets and abilities, production schedulers should be user-friendly, multi-language, multi-currency, and multi-ability enabled. This helps shorten the learning curve for users, and it's something managers can effectively achieve with test runs and free introductory workshops for employees.
• Does it come with any support and service commitments? When there's a software failure, every moment counts. To mitigate the risk of severe disruptions, production managers can shortlist vendors who offer round-the-clock support through chat, phone, email, and social media.
• Is it accessible remotely? As product managers and engineers go to and fro checking every workstation and machine on the shop floor, they need to have their production schedules to hand. A production scheduler that seeks to accommodate this 'water strider' approach to manufacturing must be accessible on tablets, smartphones, and even smartwatches or other wearables.
• Is it multisite compatible? The software should be usable across departments and facilities, even when these facilities produce different items. Whether plants and warehouses produce and store made-to-order, made-to-stock, or engineered-to-order products across regions, the business will often need a single tool to manage all these different manufacturing models and processes for the sake of consistency, efficiency, and compliance.

What are the most relevant production scheduling software trends?

Some of the most relevant production scheduling software trends reflect broader changes in the manufacturing industry, now firmly entrenched in the Industry 4.0 era of cloud computing, cyber-physical systems, and smart factories. Here are some of the most prevalent production scheduling software trends in the age of real-time production monitoring:

• The impact of IoT on manufacturing: Manufacturers embrace IoT technology in production operations. As IoT devices collect a vast array of data in real-time, including temperature readings, performance thresholds, and facility security information, the data can be analysed in real-time, and instant adjustments can be made to improve the production cycle.
• Predictive analytics based on Big Data: It's not just IoT but also machine learning algorithms that feed vast amounts of data into a manufacturing company's database. This includes equipment information, machine running status, raw materials costs, and demand fluctuations. Using predictive analysis, organisations can then put this data to good use, tweaking schedules, reallocating resources, and adjusting budgets.
• The need for mobile readiness: Mobile-first applications are gaining traction as shop floor managers take on more and more responsibilities. With demand, fluctuations come greater workloads, which production managers can more easily manage if their production scheduling application is available on a mobile or wearable device. Applications that display checklists, forms, reports, GPS data, and analytics on smaller and smaller screens have a clear advantage over conventional ones.