GE introduces operations management software

A GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms UK product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 20, 2009

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, has announced Proficy Scheduler - powered by ROB-EX.

This interactive, visual tool is designed to help planners create and maintain more dynamic and effective production schedules based on resources and asset capacity.

The software provides an integrated view of the production plan and resources across the plant that enables optimising and balancing the plan with the impacts and constraints of resources such as materials, energy, labour, equipment and delivery times.

It graphically shows the consequences of the plan into the future, in order to produce a better plan.

The system can: reduce order lead time by up to 30 per cent; improve delivery date conformance; improve plant operational efficiency by up to 20 per cent; decrease time spent on planning activities by up to 50 per cent; increase responsiveness to production variations; reduce order inquiry response time to minutes; detect and avoid bottlenecks and materials shortages in advance; and reduce inventory safety stocks and expediting.

Proficy Scheduler was developed in conjunction with Novotek Planning Systems of Denmark, a company with deep domain expertise in production planning and extensive experience integrating its products with Proficy solutions across Northern Europe.

Proficy Scheduler operates as a stand-alone system or fully integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and/or manufacturing execution systems (MES), such as GE Fanuc's Proficy Plant Applications.

While useful as a stand-alone planning tool, combining Proficy Scheduler with Proficy Plant Applications creates a combination for real-time tracking of actual production, consumption, and events with their impact on schedule adherence.

The solution also integrates with ERP systems, closing the loop from the enterprise to the plant and back to the enterprise.

Orders and bill of materials come down from the ERP; Proficy Scheduler helps planners then balance and optimise the plan and resources; Plant Applications tracks everything in real-time, and reports consumption and production back to the ERP, closing the loop in real time.

'Proficy Scheduler provides visual interaction and rule management that enable the planner to better leverage their knowledge and experience to quickly create and adjust production schedules,' said Coleman Easterly, product general manager for GE Fanuc.

'It brings more agility to the scheduling function and results in more viable schedules that take into account the impact on resources and the impact from resources,' he added.

Proficy Scheduler is flexible, with easy-to-use tools to define equipment and personnel resources, primary and secondary resource capacity calendars, and product routings.

It can be configured to the needs of manufacturers of varying types and sizes, and they can accomplish tasks such as: advanced schedule optimisation; forward and backward planning; extended plan horizons; project resource planning; manpower planning; material and inventory simulation; sequence and group planning; and booking of facilities and equipment.