KiiltoClean: Strategic scheduling and capacity management with ROB-EX
”We needed a tool for detailed scheduling, as our AX system does not facilitate this. We also needed a tool for scheduling manpower and materials. Our scheduling was carried out manually, and it was slow and cumbersome to make changes in our plan,” explains production planner at KiiltoClean A/S, Søren Arevad Barnkob, and he continues: ”We operate in three shifts and schedule everything from mixing to filling. We produce to order and to stock, and we are able to control and trace all batches in AX. With ROB-EX Scheduler we have improved routing between mixing and filling operations, and we save time and resources.”
Motivation for implementing ROB-EX in the entire KiiltoClean organization
”We initiated the process of implementing ROB-EX in our production in March 2014, and we were up and running by the autumn of 2014,” says Søren Arevad Barnkob. ”The objective was for ROB-EX Scheduler to improve efficiency in our scheduling, so that we could meet agreed delivery dates while still maintaining a high degree of flexibility and retaining our ability to make quick changes in production. We wished to reduce our stocks, and to make preparations for us to handle increased complexity and larger volumes in the future. And we succeeded beyond our wildest expectations. We were even able to expand our product portfolio and increase production volumes concurrently with the implementation process,” he says smiling, and continues:
”We are well underway, and we can expand our utilization of ROB-EX further, for example by rolling out the managing of material in the rest of production. We only use part of what ROB-EX has to offer. In the future, we will also schedule manpower, machines and materials in ROB-EX Scheduler.”
KiiltoClean keeps stocks low and releases capital with ROB-EX
ROB-EX Scheduler has already become an important tool in strategic planning and purchasing at KiiltoClean. Via ROB-EX Scheduler the company gets a full overview of the capacity. An overview that provides insights that improve decision-making in a broad range of production-related functions: from recruiting, expansion of calendars and assessment of the need for weekend shifts to deciding whether to bring in sub suppliers during peak production periods. ”We run a much more flexible production. We are able to adapt to changes at a much earlier stage,” Søren Arevad Barnkob concludes.
Microsoft Dynamics AX is the information hub for stocks, purchasing, HR and sales. Orders are opened for production in AX, and they are scheduled based on delivery dates on the individual production lines in ROB-EX Scheduler. Production dates are updated in AX. The AX updating is a key element for KiiltoClean A/S. The scheduled production dates constitute the input for decision-making in purchasing. ”We are able to keep our stocks low and to release capital,” says Søren Arevad Barnkob.
KiiltoClean gets a comprehensive overview of scheduling – and this saves time
KiiltoClean A/S has an average of 1,000 production orders in the production plan; a timeframe of two weeks for detailed scheduling and a 4-month framework for initial scheduling. Søren Arevad Barnkob adjusts the plan daily and then releases it so that the next week’s production is viewable. He is delighted to carrying out scheduling in the Gantt chart instead of in AX columns. ”It provides a much more comprehensive overview, and it is much faster,” he says. ”I am able to do the detailed scheduling on all 1,000 production orders in a matter of 15 seconds – it is simply brilliant!”
Søren Arevad Barnkob uses ROB-EX Scheduler to carry out detailed scheduling on several parameters, including capacity, manpower, materials, start/finish and the specifics relating to each production order. When the detailed scheduling is completed, he releases the plan to production. Transfer of the plan to production is carried out via an HTML report and is viewable on a large screen via ROB-EX Viewer.
