Hello!
We have a single operator working the same operation on multiple machines (2). Is there any way to show and record this in Epicor outside of having both machines in the same resource group?
One way is to just clock into multiple jobs.
Its the same job, same operation, running on 2 machines.
Could your proposed solution still be applicable?
No you would need to split the job or create multiple jobs doing it this way. Is the operation always done on 2 resources or do some operators only use 1?
EDIT: It looks like an employee can clock into the same job/operation again by clicking overrides and selecting a different resource.
The job is always one this way.
1 operator on 2 machines doing the same operation.
We don’t have MES or a “clocking in” system.
We are a smaller company so this is all manually recorded.
Ah gotcha. Do you use Time & Expense entry then or are labor records totally absent from Epicor?
Time and expense entry are used to show current progress on jobs so its reflected in the job scheduling board.
So end goal is to improve the schedule? Do you have other operations that use these resources, but not at the same time?
End goal is to get a more realistic look at how jobs are progressing.
Other jobs could potentially come into the shop that use those machines for different operations.
The products we make are low volume, high cost.
We do little to no stock jobs at all.
Can you add both resource groups to which the machines belong to the operation? Or the resources themselves?
In my trials, I’ve only been able to add 1 resource group per operation.
We are going to test splitting the total qty over 2 operations while keeping the est times the same.
I believe this will capture the same time and efficiency data effectively as a workaround.
Thanks all for the helpful suggestions!
You should be able to add more two resource constraints to your operation. If you want to add more than two, you need the Advanced Planning and Scheduling Module.
Adding both resources is good, but I have difficulty understanding how having two resources on one op will capture time more efficiently if the op is showing the full time of the op for both resources.
With this method, wouldn’t the pcs or times still need to be split?
What do you mean capture time more efficiently? If you have a job for 100 pcs and the operation requires 2 machines, why can’t you just add both of those to the operation as a resources? You’ll just select one of those as primary reporting resource for the operation. Then, when you’re entering time and labor entry records, you’ll just report how many they completed total. This should allow you to schedule load across both resources and not have to record labor entries against both pieces of equipment. Is there something else you’re looking for?
The scheduling board still shows full qty and full time for both resources. With it being on two machine resources, my assumption was that it would split those values between the two.
My apologies for all the questions and lack of understanding. I’ve only been using EPICOR for about a year.
Sorry Kyle. I was misunderstanding your process. I was under the impression that all parts had to go through both machines (e.g. shear cut and then pierced on machines that are right next to each other). However, it appears that your each part in your process only needs to go through one machine and your operator is running both at the same time. Is this correct?
If the two machines are in the same Resource Group, there is a setting at the Resource Group level you can select for “Labor = Burden” or “Split Burden”.
If the two machines are in DIFFERENT Resource Groups, Epicor does not have an out-of-the-box functionality to do what you want.
That is correct.
1 operator. 2 machines. Same operation.
We have the advanced scheduling module.
Does this give us the functionality to do what I’m desiring if the machines are in two different resource groups?
You may be able to use scheduling blocks with capabilities if these machines are not in the same resource group. To be fair, I’ve never done this so I can’t confirm if this is possible. Additionally, even if this is possible you may need to override the schedule but I don’t think it would necessarily schedule the two blocks at the same time.