Production Dispatching with Long-Term Schedule Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing production scheduling systems struggle to balance short-term and long-term objectives, particularly in high mix low volume production environments, where complexity increases with the number of tasks to be planned, and there is a need to avoid late deliveries while not completing orders too early.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for providing short-term dispatching decisions that consider both short-term and long-term aspects by using a distributed system with a processor configured to iteratively calculate operational dispatching decisions based on real-time feedback and a long-term production schedule optimized for due dates, resource usage, and production constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If detailed production scheduling software is used to optimize manufacturing performance, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to sophisticated software solutions and production modeling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the production scheduling system into two distinct components: an offline production scheduler that handles long-term planning and optimization, and an online dispatching system that handles real-time short-term decisions. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific time horizons and objectives, improving overall manufacturing performance while distributing software complexity across separate modules rather than requiring one monolithic complex system.
2Ease of operation
If short-term dispatching decisions are made independently without considering long-term objectives, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential conflicts with long-term goals such as due dates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the offline production scheduler generate a long-term production schedule that establishes due dates and sequencing decisions in advance. These pre-determined long-term decisions serve as constraints and guidance for the online dispatching system, ensuring that short-term operational decisions automatically align with long-term objectives such as order due dates, thereby maintaining reliability without compromising operational simplicity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the production schedule is frequently re-calculated to adapt to real-time changes, then adaptability is improved, but loss of time increases due to continuous computation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scheduling horizon into offline long-term planning and online short-term dispatching. The offline scheduler computes the long-term schedule infrequently, while the online dispatcher handles real-time adaptations within the remaining time horizon. This segmentation allows the system to be highly adaptable to real-time changes through the online component without incurring the high computational costs of frequently re-calculating the entire long-term schedule, thus reducing time loss.
4Reliability
If the planning horizon is extended to include long-term objectives, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need to coordinate multiple time horizons
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the planning horizon into distinct offline long-term and online short-term components, each with specific objectives and constraints. The offline scheduler handles long-term due dates and sequencing, while the online dispatcher focuses on immediate dispatching decisions. This segmentation allows the system to reliably consider long-term objectives without requiring a single complex multi-horizon scheduler, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention claims a system for providing dispatching decisions for operating a number of resources involved in a number of production processes, each production process comprising a number of production operations, whereby the system comprises at least one processor which is configured to perform the following steps : a) obtaining a long-term production schedule containing production operations for a set of production orders by using forecasted values for production operation durations; b) deriving dispatching recommendations for suitable order release dates, dispatching sequences and/or resource choices of all subsequent operational dispatching decisions from the obtained long-term production schedule; c) obtaining a released subset of the set of production orders having each a release date and a due date and including information of all possible dispatching sequences and logical dependencies between them to produce a requested product; d) iteratively calculating a limited number of subsequent operational dispatching decisions based on operational constraints which are monitored during the said operation of the number of resources involved in the number of production processes and on the derived dispatching recommendations which support a decision-making in favor of optimizing the overall production process with respect to long-term objectives; e) outputting, by the at least one processor accessing an output device, each calculated operational dispatching decision to a production executer which can be connected to the output device and which is enabled to execute the released subset of production orders by operating the number of production processes according to the said subsequent operational dispatching decisions.