CamStar Slates JobTime at User Conference

MES Vendor Introduces Finite Scheduling to AS/400 MESA Clients

Filling the gap between ERP  systems and activities on the Shop Floor, CamStar Systems, Inc. of Campbell, California has been providing software to help  manufacturing since 1984.   CamStar's Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) include MESA for the AS/400 market, and it's Insite product line for the NT market.  These MES products help manage the factories of Fortune 1000 companies in the semiconductor, electronics, food, metals, paper, textiles discrete and process industries.  

MES and FCS are sometimes thought to be competitive. But CSI and JSI both recognize how each system can complement the other.  Finite Scheduling has traditionally faced the challenge of keeping data sufficiently up to date, in order to support the accuracy of scheduling.  On the other hand, MES gives excellent visibility of "where we are now and how we got here".  But MES was not traditionally intended to extrapolate the future or predict the best sequence to pick lots from existing WIP.

The 7th Annual MESA Users Group Conference will be held in San Jose, California, August 16-18, 1999.  CamStar has invited JobTime Systems, Inc. to present the basics of Finite Capacity Scheduling, and to show how the detailed, short interval finite scheduling can be used to the benefit of Manufacturing Execution Systems.  Shops need constant visibility of each lot.  Detailed scheduling can increase visibility into the short-term future.

The presentation will show how detailed scheduling can help users pick lots from open WIP.  Consistent scheduling can also compress the Lot cycle time spent in the shop.  Different scheduling rules vary in their ability to compress cycle time and safeguard on-time performance.  Detailed Finite Scheduling is also likely to help shop managers answer tough questions every day, such as: which lot should I start next, which lots are most likely to be late? At what step should I raise the lot priority in order to meet due date? 

In addition, modern Finite Scheduling technology typically provides users with an  interactive Schedule Board to view the planned operations on each machine.  To react to last-minute changes, the user can simply drag and drop operations between machines, or change the planned operation sequence.  Periodic re-scheduling, on demand or perhaps once a shift, automatically retrieves a current snapshot of open lot status from the AS/400 and re-crunches the schedule. This keeps the shop plan current, and automatically revised.

All in all, the CamStar Systems User Conference represents an ideal opportunity for CamStar's MESA users to learn concepts of detailed finite scheduling and how this new technology can benefit Manufacturing Execution Systems.

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