Manufacturing Scheduling Software for

Creating Realistic Production Schedules

MxAPS is highly responsive manufacturing scheduling software that creates realistic production schedules and is priced for job shops and smaller manufacturers.

Advanced Planning & Scheduling isn’t just for the Fortune 500

The right planning and scheduling software will transform any mediocre SMB manufacturer or job shop into a highly responsive operation that maximizes utilization and meets deadlines while minimizing downtime. MxAPS from Insight Works is advanced planning and scheduling software chocked full of features to mitigate headaches typically associated with production planning.

MxAPS positively impacts your organization’s many departments, including sales, finance, purchasing, shipping, receiving, maintenance, HR, and production.

  • Improve customer service levels by creating more realistic production schedules.
  • Improve resource and equipment utilization while unlocking revenue potential.
  • Minimize the cost of production.
  • Reduce WIP, finished goods inventory, and lead times.
  • Increase throughput, machine utilization, and inventory turns.

Easy-To-Use Interface

MxAPS Graphical Scheduler-2

What Job Shops & Manufacturers are Saying About MxAPS

MxAPS has helped us take our manufacturing business to the next level. The software is easy to use and helps us stay organized and efficient. We highly recommend it!

Cory M

MxAPS has helped us save time and money. We used to waste a lot of time and resources on scheduling, but now it’s all taken care of. We couldn’t be happier!

Robert E

MxAPS has completely changed the way we do business. We highly recommend it to any manufacturing company.

Charles W

We were skeptical at first, but MxAPS has completely changed our business. We’ve never been more organized or efficient. It’s an essential tool for any manufacturing company.

Laurie R

MxAPS FEATURES & BENEFITS

Forward Scheduling Based on Available Resources

MxAPS enables smaller job shops and machine shops to create forward finite production schedules based on your available resources. Maybe one of your machinists is out sick, and your secondary vertical milling machine is down for repair. No problem. MxAPS will consider the lack of resources and create an optimized schedule to meet deadlines.

Forward Scheduling Based on Available Resources
Automatic Assignment of Machines in Work Centers

Automatic Assignment of Machines in Work Centers

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.

Optimized Batching & Sequencing

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.

Optimized Batching and Sequencing
Dynamic Lot Splitting

Dynamic Lot Splitting when Required

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.

Help Drive Preventative Maintenance to Avoid Unexpected Downtime

MxAPS helps avoid unexpected downtime by calculating machine hours to help drive a predictive maintenance schedule. For example, based on your production schedule, a specific machine may accumulate 1,000 hours by month-end and require maintenance. Or, maybe you schedule regular monthly maintenance without knowing run hours. Perhaps the machine only has 600 hours and can go another 400 hours before maintenance is required. With MxAPS, maintenance downtime can be optimized and scheduled only when necessary.

Avoid Unexpected Downtime
Unplanned Machine Downtime

Adjust Easily to Unplanned Machine Downtime and Labor Shortages

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.

Account for Fractional Labor When Needed

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.

Account for Fractional Labor When Needed
Manage and Track Non-Production Scheduling

Manage and Track Non-Production Scheduling

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.

Increase Customer Satisfaction with Realistic Delivery Dates

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.

Realistic Delivery Dates
Minimizing Inventory Levels

Optimize your Working Capital by Minimizing Inventory Levels

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.

Streamline Material Purchasing

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.

Streamline Material Purchasing
Reduce Shipping Costs with MxAPS

Cut your Incoming and Outgoing Shipping Costs

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.

Reduce Staffing Costs with Detailed Labor Plans Based on Skill Sets

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.

Reduce Staffing Costs

Interested in Learning More?

Reach out to us and we’ll connect you with one of our advanced planning and scheduling experts.

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