We are a job shop, high mix, low volume. Schedule is continuously changing. We have played with the Epicor scheduling a little bit, but are not thrilled. Has anyone integrated a 3rd part scheduling software with Epicor? Or are you a big fan of Epicors scheduling, and I am missing something?
Just curious for your input. Thanks!
We use V8, my understanding is that the scheduler is pretty similar in V10.
I love the Epicor scheduler, it is quite powerful. I’ve never had a program that allowed me to mix between finite and infinite when scheduling - on the same job!
What sort of trouble are you having?
There are a few things that I ran into that I was not crazy about. When we initially create the job. We do not know what machines it will run on. We have a general idea, but that is usually a day of decision (There is a lot of room for improvement here for us, I know). It is a pain to have to go to the job, un-engineer it, change the resource on the operation, change the operator running it, etc.
Another thing is that we will often start jobs after the proposed start date by Epicor, but it does not automatically shift the schedule up based on the actual start date. It doesn’t adjust based off of the work we have or haven’t done.
In reality, we don’t schedule, and that is a big big big issue for us. We know it is something that needs to change and be fixed. Our planner will typically have a list of jobs that he knows he needs to get done, this is given by the CEO. I would love for him to be able to have a visual representation of the shop floor, and assign operations and operators to machines for given days. I know this doesn’t really exist, so I am trying to see what does, and adapt from there.
Nick - A few thoughts…
Be mindful of the effect on the shop when scheduling forward versus scheduling backwards. Scheduling forward will fill up your resources regardless of need. Scheduling backwards will define the resource load necessary to meet the schedule - allowing you to retain open capacity to adjust jobs, add more work, shift manpower around, etc.
I would say that you can group equipment by type, which would allow you to narrow down what machines parts run on. If ops don’t specify equipment, it’s kind of challenging for a scheduler to load up your shop.