The production plan out of one person's spreadsheet
A schedule known only to the planner and their file is an operational risk.
Not because the planner plans badly — because nobody else can answer a customer's question about a date.
Who this is for
- Plants planning production in a spreadsheet
- Manufacturers who don't know the real cost of a job
- Companies after a failed production module rollout in a boxed ERP
What it covers
- Works orders and routings
An order broken into operations, workstations and times.
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Versioned, because the technology changes and the accounting of old orders has to stay correct.
- A schedule with workstation loading
A plan visible to sales and to shift leaders, against real machine availability.
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A customer's date comes from the plan, not from a call to the planner.
- Time and consumption recorded at the workstation
A panel usable in two taps, in gloves.
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If recording takes more than a few seconds, people stop doing it and the data stops being true.
- The real cost of a product
Material, machine time, changeovers and scrap calculated from data that is being produced anyway.
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Margin known before the next quote, not after the quarter.
In depth
Where we start
With one line or one workstation. Not with the whole plant — because the first rollout exists mainly to check whether the data we collect is true.
The biggest project risk
It isn't the technology, it's acceptance on the floor. A panel that demands a login for every operation or twenty fields to fill in will be worked around with a piece of paper. We design it with the people who will stand at it.
Questions about this scope
How is this different from the production module in our ERP?
Mainly in that it describes your process instead of imposing its own. If the ERP module handles your exceptions — stay with it. We build where the plant would have to change how it works to fit a form.
Will you replace our ERP?
We advise against it. Replacing an ERP is the most expensive and most dangerous project a plant can take on. More often we build the production layer alongside and connect it to what already runs.
How long does a rollout take?
A first working version — usually recording at one workstation — after a few weeks. Full scope depends on how many exceptions the routings hold, which surfaces in the workshop.
The parent service and related scopes
Got an idea? Let's talk.
The first call is free. We reply within one business day.