Press Release - 3 September 2003
A Smarter Way to Plan

New planning and scheduling solution brings advanced optimisation capability within the reach of all companies.

Production Modelling Ltd. http://www.simulation.co.uk a leading UK provider of simulation, planning and scheduling solutions, has launched Version 3 of its Orchestrate planning and scheduling software. The major developments incorporated in this release have created an advanced solution that can be cost effectively and easily deployed throughout any company, from multi-national to SME.

Orchestrate now offers a genetic algorithm based optimiser, powerful systems interface capability, links to simulation software, seamless migration through the various planning levels (from long term plan down to detailed short term plans), and an interactive, graphical user interface. These features combine to provide a powerful system that can be interfaced with any existing business database and rapidly applied to a range of complex configuration, planning and scheduling tasks. These can be anything from high level Supply Chain Optimisation (i.e. efficiently allocating production across factories), and sales and operations planning, to being adopted by the shop floor as an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system to more effectively develop detailed production sequences for the whole shopfloor, down to individual machine level.

“What now makes Orchestrate more unique (in its class) is the use of genetic algorithms for the optimisation process,” states Mike Straiton, Technical Director at Production Modelling.

He adds, “This offers many advantages over the traditional rule-based scheduling systems, which can be inherently inflexible, and unresponsive to change. For instance, not only does Orchestrate offer managers the ability to easily develop schedules based on a variety of end requirements, from lowest cost to shortest lead time, but the speed with which schedules can be produced means that real-time optimisation and analysis, and the ability to react to changes in demand or capability in a timely fashion, are a realistic prospect.”

Furthermore, the system can tackle extremely complex planning and scheduling problems, and it contains continuous constructs that enable the system to cope with the particular requirements of the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Overall, ‘Version 3’ offers a solution that can enable any company to plan and develop schedules that will deliver the performance improvement most are looking for, but at a fraction of the cost of adopting the more sophisticated planning modules typically associated with this type of capability.

According to Straiton, “There are many businesses where the drive to meet improvement objectives is often severely hindered by the lack of effective planning tools. Walk around any business, even those that have invested heavily in ERP, and you will find plans and schedules for major business activities that are still undertaken manually on a planning board or using a (sometimes highly complicated) spreadsheet! Despite the obvious drawbacks with this approach, managers typically believe that specialised planning modules are just too complicated in terms of integration and application, and over priced, and that the more general planning systems are not up to the job. However, with the latest version of Orchestrate we believe we have now developed a solution that offers an extremely viable alternative for all those companies.”

Key Developments
Features in Production Modelling’s Orchestrate Version 3, include the following:

• Integration with ERP systems and Shop-Floor Monitoring systems.
  On going development of Orchestrate means that this latest version is a complete stand-alone planning and scheduling solution. It offers universal application, and incorporates capabilities to enable it to simply interface with any business system database through SQL enquiries.
   
• Unique Schedule Optimisation.
  Orchestrate’s optimisation process encompasses genetic algorithms for “goal - based” solutions that match business objectives. Unlike standard capacity planning and scheduling solutions, where the user has the often complex and time consuming task of determining a rule-base for scheduling, Orchestrate users simply specify the required outcome, which might be to minimise cost, maximise on time delivery, maximise the efficiency of a particular section of the process, maximise weekly throughput with minimum cost. The state-of-the-art genetic optimisation engine will then automatically take into account current work demand or forecast, current organisational or plant structure, current process constraints and real time disturbances and rapidly work through multiple schedules to determine and then present the planner with the one that best meets the objective.
   
• Visualisation of Plans and Schedules.
  Orchestrate offers highly advanced plan and schedule visualisation capability. Its interactive, graphical user interface enables companies to easily gain detailed insights into the planning and scheduling issues that they will be facing. The system also provides for the effective communication of plans and schedules, around an organisation, without loss of detail. For example, using the system, a central planning department can develop an optimal production allocation plan for the year, segment this plan, and then pass relevant parts of the plan down to individual factories. These factories can then do some additional detailed planning and scheduling to reflect local circumstances. Any changes or updates are passed back up to central planning where the individual plans can be merged back together to review the big picture.
   
• Link to ProModel simulation for rapid “What-if?” analysis.
  Orchestrate can be linked to ProModel, and so enable simulation models to contribute more effectively to both the project based design of improved configurations, and to the development of new day-to-day scheduling schemes. In this way it can be used to explore different ways of scheduling the factory without incurring the tremendous cost associated with making real changes, either to the physical equipment or to the computer systems that may already be used for scheduling.
   
• Customisation capability
  The system also incorporates Microsoft’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This powerful toolkit provides customers and partners with the industry standard development environment to easily extend functionality, customise and modify user interfaces, and integrate the Orchestrate product with other key business applications.

" The Orchestrate planning and scheduling software is a powerful business planning tool that can help any company to improve business performance, gain significant competitive edge, and increase bottom line profit,” concludes Straiton.

End.