Manufacturing Scheduling Software for

MxAPS knows your equipment and machine centers. MxAPS will automatically select the most suitable machine to use when choosing a machine during the scheduling process. For example, if you have a work center with four different machines, all you have to do is schedule your work at that work center, and MxAPS will choose the most appropriate machine for the job.

MxAPS manufacturing scheduling software will adapt if a specific machine or work center is unavailable. For example, MxAPS may recommend a task be subcontracted, and while this may not be ideal, subcontracting may be preferred over missing a deadline.

MxAPS understands job parameters and will consider priority, setup time, job parameters, and other variables to optimize schedules. Let’s say you have five different jobs. Three of the jobs require minor tooling changes. MxAPS will group the three similar jobs to minimize setup time. Sequencing also includes running jobs from light to dark or hot to cold.

For some manufacturers, lot splitting is important when operating in a high-volume environment. Let’s say you have an order for 10,000 widgets, and you know you cannot run all of the units on one machine because it will tie up that machine for a week. MxAPS manufacturing scheduling software will split the job up in a few different ways, including smaller lots, specific lot quantities, across multiple machines, over several days, or other specified rules.

When equipment is unexpectedly taken out of service or scheduled labor becomes unavailable, production planners may scramble to rebuild schedules to keep the utilization rate as high as possible while delivering orders on time. With MxAPS, it only takes a minute to re-run the production schedule based on the available equipment and labor. MxAPS understands your work and machine centers, including capacities, available labor, and order due dates. MxAPS manufacturing scheduling software uses this information to generate re-jigged and realistic production schedules automatically.

When you lack the labor to work your equipment, MxAPS will use fractional labor models. For example, you may have enough orders to run on six machines; however, you only have enough labor to operate three. In this case, MxAPS will constrain production orders to the resources available. Suppose you lack labor to produce larger jobs or run your equipment at nearly 100% utilization. In that case, fractional labor is often a good idea in manufacturing when a company wants to produce a large number of products in a short amount of time.

With MxAPS, users can add parameters for those that require non-production scheduling. The benefit is that non-production activity gets appropriately scheduled, and the time allocated to non-production tasks is tracked. Take injection molding, for example. Re-tooling the injection molding equipment may take two hours, whereas a color change may only require 30 minutes. In this case, running the job with the color change will be more efficient before re-tooling for another job. MxAPS manufacturing scheduling software will consider the same tooling used for different production orders and group them when it makes sense.

MxAPS enables you to quote realistic delivery dates and stick to them. MxAPS will help optimize production, so that customer orders are produced and delivered as efficiently as possible, which leads to increased satisfaction. If problems arise during production, sales managers can respond proactively instead of being surprised by unhappy customers.

Improve your cash flow and reduce inventory costs by reducing raw material, work in progress, and finished goods inventories. MxAPS can help determine the best time to purchase materials and component parts. It also provides realistic data for how many customer orders will ship, allowing you to base your expenditures on realistic revenue expectations.

The benefits of using MxAPS to manage material resources are many and varied. MxAPS provides planners with a highly detailed material requirements plan. This plan gives planners a granular view of what materials are needed, when they are required, and in what quantities. This level of detail is invaluable in ensuring that the purchasing department can procure suitable materials at the right time. Additionally, MxAPS gives the purchasing department real-time visibility into the priority and quantity of required materials. This information can help the department more effectively allocate its resources and ensure that critical materials are always available when needed.

MxAPS helps provide cost savings by ensuring that raw materials are only shipped when needed and that finished products are only shipped when they are ready. MxAPS enables your shipping department to use the most cost-effective methods available rather than expediting items, which drives up costs.

MxAPS allows your HR department to plan hiring campaigns, temporary worker allocations, and overtime strategies without over-hiring or being caught short-handed. Scheduled vacations retrieved from HR systems are accounted for in production plans, ensuring no labor shortages or surprises. Your HR department can focus on other strategic initiatives, knowing that MxAPS has its back regarding workforce planning.

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