APS System – What is it?
The APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) system is a production management software responsible for creating production schedules. These schedules specify the start and end dates of production operations included in orders, and consequently, the order completion dates.
Production scheduling in the APS system is:
- realistic,
- optimal,
- flexible.
Realistic production schedule
The schedule prepared by the APS system must be realistic, meaning achievable. This means that tasks are planned so that all necessary resources are available at the time of execution. It is based on actual production capabilities and constraints. It is crucial to avoid situations where there are shortages of materials, tools, or workers at the beginning of the operation because the system failed to account for these needs.
For a plan to be feasible, the algorithm must take into account the following criteria:
- Hierarchical structure of the product and technological operations, i.e. route, unit production time, changeover times, changeover matrix, waiting periods, transport time in intermediate operations,
- Machines – work calendar, occupancy, planned inspections, breakdowns,
- Employees – attendance calendar, competence matrix,
- Materials – availability, time parameters (e.g. delivery time), deliveries in transit,
- Tools,
- Implementation status,
Optimization of the production schedule in the APS system
Production schedule optimization in APS involves creating schedule variants that improve operational efficiency and minimize costs. Production plan optimization is implemented based on one or more criteria relevant to a given company. Examples include:
- improving the timeliness of orders,
- minimization of changeover times,
- shortening the production cycle (production duration),
- minimizing machine downtime,
The role of artificial intelligence in APS
Production scheduling and optimization is a computationally demanding problem. Thousands of production operations generate a vast, practically impossible to calculate, number of scheduling variants. Therefore, artificial intelligence algorithms are used to find optimal solutions in complex computational processes.
APS Flexibility – how does the system react to unexpected events and delays?
“No production plan survives contact with reality”
Another task of APS software is to react quickly and reschedule based on unforeseen events. When unexpected events occur on the production floor, such as machine breakdowns, raw material shortages, or delivery delays, the APS system analyzes the situation. Integration with the MES application provides the system with up-to-date data on machine status, raw material availability, and production progress. Based on this information, APS can quickly identify alternative production paths, shift tasks to other machines, or reprioritize orders to minimize delays.
For example, if a key machine breaks down, APS can automatically reschedule jobs to other available machines capable of performing the same operations. If raw materials are in short supply, the system can adjust the schedule to prioritize jobs that don’t require the missing materials, while also monitoring deliveries and updating the schedule as the missing materials arrive.
Thanks to these capabilities, the APS system significantly increases the flexibility and operational efficiency of a production facility. It enables rapid response to changes and minimizes the negative impact of unforeseen events, leading to better resource utilization and maintaining production continuity.
APS has done its job, what’s next?
Once the production schedule is approved, it is transferred to the manufacturing ERP system. The schedule is then used:- On the production floor, because it sets up a queue of jobs on a given machine,
- In the warehouse, because based on the production plan, tasks are created for warehouse workers. They are to deliver materials to their workstation at a specific time.
What is needed to run APS in your company?
APS operates based on data provided from ERP and MES systems.
- Firstly, the ERP system, and specifically its module responsible for production management, transmits to APS data such as: production orders, BOM and technologies, and material stock levels.
- Secondly, the MES system provides information about production progress and potential problems. This may lead to production re-planning.
To sum up, without a properly functioning ERP system and ongoing production process recording (MES), it is not possible to run real-time planning software.
What are the benefits of implementation?
Implementation of the APS Alice system allows for:
- shortening the production cycle, in other words reducing the level of work in progress,
- improving timeliness, resulting in improved customer satisfaction.
- reducing the time and number of changeovers, i.e. fewer production interruptions,
- improving work efficiency,
- better OEE indicators, and therefore improved machine utilization.
