Schedule and manage works orders with planner enhancements
More ways to schedule & manage works orders with new planner enhancements
For those manufacturers operating busy works order schedules, it is important to always have a clear view of their current build capacity, so that they can always plan and organise work successfully. However, without a digital management system in place, some manufacturers may find that they lack the visibility they need to schedule works orders correctly. Therefore, to avoid situations that can ultimately cause production delays and incur significant additional costs, manufacturers must ensure they have a clear, accurate schedule that allows them to be reactive to changing circumstances and customer demands.
To help with this, in April we introduced the new OrderWise Works Order Planner that gives our Manufacturing users the ability to better manage their schedule by grouping similar works orders together within an advanced workflow management tool. With an easy-to-use drag & drop interface, businesses using the Works Order Planner can gain a more accurate indication of their manufacturing capacity through one-view visibility, allowing them to better organise their time and meet tight production deadlines.
Now further extending the functionality available, this month sees two new additions to the Works Order Planner, offering even further scope to how businesses can use this dynamic production scheduling tool.
Even greater flexibility with plan by works order or works order group
When it comes to scheduling works orders, manufacturers may find that blocks of production time can sometimes get over or under booked. To avoid this happening and to help further optimise their scheduling, businesses may want to group works orders with similar processes together so that work can be consolidated for greater efficiency. However, if the works orders that are being scheduled are for large volumes of items, it may be better to keep these bigger builds scheduled individually.
Therefore, to give businesses the flexibility to choose how their production is scheduled, there is now the option to decide whether works orders are scheduled as individuals or groups in the OrderWise Works Order Planner. Controlled by a system setting, users can now simply select which scheduling method they wish to use.
By being able to determine whether it is more beneficial to group works orders together or have builds booked into their own individual timeslots, businesses using the OrderWise Works Order Planner can further optimise their production for maximum efficiency based on their own unique processes.
Gain instant insight into build progress with new card colours
As well as the ability to choose how production is scheduled, the second new feature added this month offers users at-a-glance insight into the status of each works order. This has been facilitated by new colour pickers that can be set within the OrderWise system settings.
Additionally, users can now also set colour identifiers for the works order type, allowing production managers and supervisors to gain an instant indication from the planner of what works orders they have on, and how far along the build has progressed. Through this insight and the ability to schedule works orders suited to their own manufacturing process, businesses using the OrderWise Works Order Planner can ensure that builds are always completed cost-effectively and on time.
To learn more about the OrderWise Works Order Planner, speak to one of our specialists.