Re: Exception reporting -- BPCS-L

>  From:    dddau@lozier.com (Dwight Dau)
client/server BPCS 6.004 , September cum on HP9000 unix

from Al Macintyre
mixed mode BPCS 405 CD Rel-1 AS/436

>  I would like to know if other users are using alternative programming or
>  bolt-ons to generate   exception reports.
>  
>  MRP200 reports are taking a great deal of time to generate and sort 
through.
>  Our line schedulers are dealing with printing and reading reams of paper
>  daily.  We would like to condense the information down into concise
>  reporting by planner/buyer code, item number, etc.  We would like the users
>  to decide what type and date range of action messages they could view. 
>  Any information, suggestions, or comments would be greatly appreciated.

We also have been challenged by the mass of data & how it is presented in 
some BPCS reports, and have struggled mightily to come up with better ways to 
present  data pre-digested to help our staff get the job done efficiently.

We use Query/400 very heavily.  Those MRP files & their exception codes can 
be used as the basis of simple listings in which we are only interested in 
certain types of exceptions & date changes that are not 1 or 2 days or some 
minimal thresh hold.

We adjusted the planner codes so that only the data relevant to purchasing & 
manufacturing personnel would show up on their reports & we adjusted the 
defaults on prompt screens, so that zero keying creates the report versions 
they need most often.

Our shop packet has been totally re-designed, so that there is a Job Ticket 
containing practically everything needed to make the part & move it.  One 
copy of the carbonless document is used for labor & inventory reporting - 
another copy stays with the WIP container for part identification.  There is 
a miniature where-used report on the job ticket itself that identifies end 
customer parts, currently on schedule, and intermediate common parts, 
currently in production, that this lower item is used on.

The job ticket prints routings in which the last line says "send to ....." 
identifying the shop floor department which is next in line to work with this 
WIP.  This results in WIP being rapidly moved to where it is needed, because 
it says precisely that on the inventory tag.

SFC230 Dispatch Report was resequenced.

The original version organizes data according to labor reporting & due date 
as of original order launching.  Our version lists by criteria important to 
setup of the types of parts we make - color guage length of wire & 
attachments on the ends - and by the rescheduled MRP date - 
instead of 3 categories = stuff you started on - stuff that is ready for you 
to start on & stuff you will be getting soon ... 
our 3 categories are = stuff you need to intercept because we no longer need 
it - stuff that is now past due behind schedule - and stuff that you should 
be working on in current date sequence ---- for each date due, the listing is 
by set-up criteria so those parts needing same kind of set-up are grouped 
together.

We have a new big picture production overview.

MRP buckets are used to present a summary of requirements in which the figure 
shown, by facility customer part # is quantity left to ship (order quantity 
minus shipped so far) with non-zero sub-totals double-printed for emphasis.

However, we still have door stop reports & bins filled with print-outs for 
recycling.

Since you are in a PC environment, you might consider using color printers 
with color coded values on reports, indicating their relative importance.

Currently we are not using any outside bolt-ons, other than our own internal 
modifications, but you might look at what is available from some of the BPCS 
3rd party packages, such as

http://www.unbeatenpathintl.com/services.html
Bucket Brigade & Paper Saver

You might ask brucebarker@iquest.net - who is on BPCS_L, & other consultants 
here, for copies of their BPCS newsletters - we also get Nex Gen & Crowe 
Chizek BPCS newsletters ... Mr Barker's has a list of BPCS enhancements that 
rivals what is on the Unbeaten Path web site.

Check out the web sites on the SIG line of some of the very helpful postings 
here ... there's hidden gems there.

Another thread talks about getting BPCS reports to PC spread sheet & other 
perspectives ... some of this is only for the 400 but I am sure there are 
many similar interfaces for Unix

Al Macintyre
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