Production scheduling for a machining job shop
Which order runs when on which machine — so that assemblies get their components in time and every order ships on time?
Drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom. The schedule below plays the plan; hover a bar for details. Plan computed with a Timefold model.
The planning question
A precision machining shop makes small series of hydraulic blocks, gear shafts, welded brackets and pump assemblies. Two CNC mills share the milling work centre, pump housings and shafts are made as component orders for assembly, and AGVs carry the material between the stations. Workers with different qualifications run the machines in shifts.
How we plan it
A Timefold model plans machines, workers and transports together, because a good machine sequence is worthless if the operator or the AGV is not there. Planners can still move operations by hand; the plan is re-checked immediately.
What the plan shows
| KPI | Optimized plan |
|---|---|
| late orders | 0 |
| tardiness (min) | 0 |
| set-up (min) | 320 |
| AGV empty travel (m) | 1,181 |
Decisions
- machine and start time per operation
- worker per operation
- AGV transport between the stations
Constraints
- routing (operation sequence) per order
- component orders finished before assembly
- machine and worker qualifications, shift times
- set-up times between product families
- one AGV job at a time
Objective
no late orders, little set-up, short lead times, little empty AGV travel
Questions
Can planners still change the plan?
Yes. Operations can be moved on the Gantt chart; the solver checks the constraints and can re-optimize around the manual decision.
Does it connect to our ERP?
Yes. Orders, routings and work centres usually come from the ERP (e.g. SAP PP); the plan goes back as dispatch list or production orders.
More use cases
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