Scheduling Mixed Rates -- BPCS-L

Al Macintyre 405 CD AS/400 Mixed Mode v4r3

We generate custom turn-around job tickets to track raw material & direct 
labor consumption but do not yet factor in setup time or indirect labor.  In 
some departments we have machines to handle most of the work very 
efficiently, with the excess done by hand which is very slow.  The supervisor 
keeps the machines busy with whatever they can accept out of our highest 
priority work, then keeps direct labor busy with the excess work that is not 
right now on any machine, then when the supervisor has time also pitches in 
with indirect labor.

This was clarified for me because periodically they want me to adjust the job 
printing program which predicts volume of job tickets appropriate to print 
based on standard time to product the order quantity, crew size, and some 
supervisor estimated needs by work center, a formula which needs tuning.  
However, there is a larger issue of scheduling work efficiently through our 
factory & capturing correct costs,

The operations are routed a particular way, but sometimes the work occurs on 
the fast machines, sometimes on the slow by hand direct labor, sometimes via 
indirect supervisor, with the selection which made after the shop order 
paperwork hits the shop floor.  If the costs were correctly captured on any 
given part, the variances would not make any sense to anyone after the fact.  
We also have a work force that is cross-trained to the point that when there 
is underload in one work center, some of the workers can be moved to another 
work center.

It seems to me that I have described a level of work center rates depth that 
is beyond BPCS comprehension.  Ideally capacity planning should know that we 
have a cluster of high rate machines that can handle work volume up to some 
load within first shift, and a mobile work force that can perform in any 
number of work centers on machines that are not automatic unmanned (actually 
we have some humans who service several machines concurrently) once setup 
completed, and give a fair estimate of how long some work volume should take 
to get through the mixed rate operations and when impending volume dictates 
advance warning reccommendation of overtime or 2nd shift work force on the 
higher speed machines,

Am I expecting too much of BPCS planning, or should we be able to hold CAP to 
the same standards of accuracy & precision & ability to back track to which 
we hold INV?

Al
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