ProductionPlanning
AI-supported production planning for the process industry
1
Determine the Waiting Time over Time
Fluctuating performance demands are usually characterised by employees having more to do in certain phases and less to do in others. This is often reflected in a fluctuating proportion of waiting time over time.
A
Motion-Mining®
Motion-Mining® can be used to show the distribution of activity over the course of a day or measurement.
B
Process Observation and Time Recording
In a process observation, the duration and frequency can be recorded using a stopwatch or an app. In contrast to Motion-Mining®, the recording can usually only be done at different times, as continuous observation is not possible.
2
Validation by Means of Order Data
The reasons for fluctuating wait times can be many and varied. Therefore, the activity distribution should be validated on the basis of the order data. To do this, it is necessary to determine the number of orders during the hours or days in question.
A
High Waiting Time with Low Order Situation
A pattern can be seen if the waiting time was mostly high on days/hours with a low order situation and mostly low on days/hours with a high order situation. In this case the waiting time is due to the fact that there are not enough orders for all employees.
B
High Waiting Time with High Order Situation
The opposite pattern can be seen if the waiting time was mostly high on days/hours with a high order situation and mostly low on days/hours with a low order situation. This is often the case when an automated system is overloaded by high order volumes and blocks itself. This results in waiting times for staff at entry and exit points.
3
Determination of the potential
The potential lies in comparing the average waiting time with the waiting time in the optimal hour. The chosen action should aim to reduce or increase the order load per operator to the number of orders in the hour/day with the lowest waiting time. If this is done consistently, the average waiting time can be reduced to the optimal waiting time. The difference is the maximum potential.
4
RoI calculation
For the RoI calculation, the savings potential per day and person is extrapolated to the number of employees and working days per year. This is compared with the costs of the measure.
