S-Plan APS: Run Optimiser
Product Overview
This module is designed for operations such as paper machines or rolling mills in metals, where there is a conflicting need to minimise switchovers (minimise grade / alloy changes) against customer service requirements (earliness / lateness).
The Run Optimiser presents an alternative to the traditional block-scheduling techniques (as available with the Campaign Manager module). It is an optimisation-based tool that intelligently re-evaluates the schedule.
This alternative uses advanced optimisation technology to promise a scheduling mode that is more aligned to the conflicting needs of production and sales than a rigid policy of pre-announced campaigns.
The user can influence the results of the optimisation through a number of parameters, which affect the trade-off between customer service and switchovers, while aiming to achieve minimum run sizes and other real-world constraints.
The optimisation can be run on demand and it is initiated from Campaign Manager. The results often show savings of the order of 30% on the objective function.
