GlobalReader’s digitalisation journey is designed to guide companies from fire-fighting production issues to achieving smart, paperless operations. By adding new features in every step of the digitalisation process your factory moves towards becoming a Smart Factory. One key milestone in this is to master predictive capacity with Production Scheduling Software - the ability to anticipate what will happen next in the production process.

At the heart of predictive capacity are GlobalReader’s Planner and Maintenance. Tools that simplify production planning by allowing easy order entry, workstation assignments and maintenance. With the Planner, managers can streamline workflows, increase transparency, and optimise resource allocation. With Maintenance you can schedule maintenance so you do not have unexpected downtime. This crucial fourth step in digitalisation ensures that you’re not just reacting to challenges, but actively predicting and preventing them, helping you move towards smarter, more efficient production. 

What Is Production Planning & Why Is It Important?

Production planning is the process of organising and managing resources, workflows, and production schedules to meet demand efficiently. It ensures that the right materials, people, and machinery are available at the right time to achieve production goals. In essence, it’s about balancing demand with supply while optimising every step in the production process. This critical function allows manufacturers to reduce downtime, improve resource allocation, and streamline operations, leading to better product quality and customer satisfaction.

All manufacturing companies are inefficient! 

It’s a strong statement, but the truth is that every production process has areas of waste—whether it's downtime, overproduction, or inefficient use of resources. The key to overcoming these inefficiencies lies in proper planning for both manufacturing and maintenance. By organising and managing workflows, resources, and schedules, your team can identify bottlenecks and waste, making smarter, data-driven decisions to improve overall efficiency.

GlobalReader’s Planner takes production planning a step further by utilising real-time data that allows manufacturers to continuously monitor and adjust their operations. Instead of relying on static, outdated schedules, the Planner delivers live feedback, helping manufacturers quickly adapt to unforeseen changes. Whether it’s an unexpected shift in demand or a machine breakdown, production planning software like the Planner ensures you're prepared to respond quickly, keeping production smooth and efficient. 

Globalreader’s Maintenance tool is designed to optimise equipment efficiency through proactive and predictive maintenance. Imagine you have a production machine that runs for 1,000 hours before it needs maintenance. Instead of waiting for it to break down unexpectedly, predictive maintenance helps you keep an eye on how it's performing in real time. It looks at things like temperature, vibrations, and wear to spot any signs of trouble early.

By combining this real-time data with what happened during previous maintenance periods, the system can predict when the machine is likely to need a repair. For example, it might notice a pattern that shows the machine tends to need a tune-up after 950 hours of work.

With this information, you can schedule maintenance at 950 hours, do it quickly, and then get the machine running again without any surprise breakdowns. Learn more about strategies to reduce downtime and keep production moving smoothly!

What Is a Production Plan?

A production plan is a comprehensive roadmap that outlines how a company will meet its production goals by forecasting demand, allocating resources, and scheduling activities. These three components—demand forecasting, resource allocation, and scheduling—are crucial for ensuring that manufacturing processes run smoothly and efficiently.

• Demand Forecasting: This involves predicting the quantity of products that will be needed in the future. Accurate demand forecasting helps manufacturers avoid overproduction and shortages, ensuring that production is aligned with customer needs.

• Resource Allocation: Once demand is forecasted, the next step is to allocate the necessary resources, such as raw materials, labour, and machinery, to meet production targets without overextending capacity.

• Scheduling: Finally, a detailed schedule is created to map out when and how production will take place. This ensures that production steps are coordinated, minimising downtime and delays.

GlobalReader’s Planner simplifies these aspects by integrating real-time data with an easy-to-use interface. The Planner’s demand forecasting tools enable manufacturers to anticipate future needs based on historical data and trends. With production planning software, you can quickly add orders, assign resources, and adjust schedules on the fly, ensuring your production stays on track even when things change unexpectedly. By providing live insights and flexible order management, the Planner helps manufacturers optimise their workflows and keep production efficient from start to finish.

The Difference Between Production Planning and Production Scheduling

While often used interchangeably, production planning and production scheduling are distinct processes, both crucial to optimising manufacturing efficiency.

• Production Planning involves defining what needs to be produced, forecasting demand, determining the resources required, and outlining the overall steps to achieve production goals. It sets the broader strategy, focusing on long-term objectives such as managing resources, anticipating future demands, and optimising capacity.

• Production Scheduling, on the other hand, deals with the execution of the production plan. It’s about assigning specific tasks to workstations, determining exact timelines, and ensuring that each production stage happens in the right order and at the right time. Scheduling is more short-term and detail-oriented, ensuring the day-to-day operations flow smoothly.

As a production planning and scheduling software, GlobalReader’s Planner excels at both tasks. It not only allows users to create detailed production plans but also handles the scheduling of tasks by assigning workstations and monitoring real-time feedback on progress. With live insights, the Planner helps you adjust schedules instantly to avoid bottlenecks or delays, ensuring smooth and continuous production. Whether it’s setting up long-term plans or fine-tuning daily schedules, the Planner provides a comprehensive solution to keep your factory running efficiently. 

Common Mistakes in Production Planning & Key KPIs for Success

One of the most common production planning mistakes is failing to account for equipment downtime. Machines inevitably need maintenance or repairs, and not factoring this into your production plan can cause delays and bottlenecks. Another critical mistake is not leveraging real-time data for adjustments. Relying on static schedules can leave you unprepared for unexpected changes, such as a shift in demand or a machine breakdown. Additionally, many manufacturers overlook proactive equipment maintenance, resulting in sudden equipment failures that disrupt production. GlobalReader’s Planner and Maintenance tools help avoid these issues by offering predictive insights and real-time updates, allowing manufacturers to schedule downtime intelligently and adjust production schedules on the go. 

Tracking the right production planning KPIs is essential to ensuring operational efficiency. Key metrics include: 

• downtime, which measures the time equipment is not operational; 

• setup time, which tracks how long it takes to prepare machines for production; and

• production rate, which calculates output over a set time period. Additionally,

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is crucial for evaluating how well manufacturing operations are performing across availability, performance, and quality. By monitoring these KPIs, manufacturers can identify inefficiencies and take steps to improve their processes.

GlobalReader’s Planner excels at tracking these metrics in real time, providing insights into where improvements can be made.

Other important KPIs include rejection rate—the percentage of defective products produced—and on-time orders, which indicates how reliably production meets delivery deadlines. By optimising production based on real-time feedback, you can minimise downtime, improve OEE, and ensure consistent, high-quality output. This approach not only boosts efficiency but also leads to better customer satisfaction and profitability. 

Optimise Your Production with GlobalReader Production Scheduling Software: Planner and Maintenance tools

GlobalReader’s Planner seamlessly integrates with your existing systems to enhance predictive capacity, ensuring smarter, more efficient production planning. By combining real-time data, predictive analytics, and easy-to-use scheduling tools, the Planner enables manufacturers to make proactive decisions, optimise resource allocation, and anticipate potential disruptions before they happen. Whether you’re focused on improving equipment utilisation, streamlining production processes, or achieving higher levels of operational efficiency, the Planner offers the flexibility and insights needed to transform your factory into a truly smart factory.

Alongside the Planner, GlobalReader’s Maintenance tool keeps your equipment running smoothly by scheduling and monitoring maintenance tasks based on real-time performance data. Instead of reacting to unexpected machine breakdowns, the Maintenance tool uses predictive insights to schedule repairs before issues arise, significantly reducing downtime. With seamless integration between production planning and maintenance, you can optimise not only your resource allocation but also the health and longevity of your machines.

Ready to take your manufacturing processes to the next level? Explore GlobalReader’s Production Scheduling Software tools for production planning and maintenance tools to start digitising your operations today. Leverage the power of predictive analytics, real-time monitoring, and proactive maintenance to optimise production, reduce downtime, and boost efficiency. Make the move to the 5th step of digitalisation - become a fully digitised Smart Factory and future-proof your production line with GlobalReader.

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