Case Studies
Manufacturing Metal Bars and Tubes Through a Furnace

Overview

Metal processing plants are continually seeking methods of refining their production and scheduling techniques in order to remain competitive in today’s market. Visual8 has developed an Adaptive Planning and Scheduling system for a manufacturing facility that processes metal pieces through a series of furnaces that enables it to excel within the industry.

The Challenge: Balancing Performance Criteria

Furnace treatment requires schedulers to balance several potentially conflicting priorities. These include meeting client due dates, optimizing furnace efficiency, and minimizing piece delays and overall cost. For one metal treatment plant, the tension of maintaining equilibrium between due dates and efficiency has always posed a problem.

Due Dates
In order to meet customer demands, the scheduler forced a less efficient furnace lineup for a short period of time. However, inefficient furnace usage ultimately resulted in greater delay times between products in the long term; attempts to meet customers’ requirements one week were detrimental to meeting those needs for subsequent weeks.

Efficiency
Generating an efficient schedule was also a challenge. Pieces are processed through a series of furnaces, but an optimal sequence through one furnace is not necessarily optimal through another. Even the definition for “efficient” was a debatable issue. Is an efficient system one in which the delays between pieces are minimized? Or, is an efficient system one in which the heating and cooling curves of the furnaces are as smooth as possible?

Planning was performed by a single scheduler using simple intuition with no forward-view of when pieces might be completed, and the process provided little flexibility to adapt to unforeseen situations. Obtaining acceptable sequences was a manually-intensive process that could not be easily modified because the plant lacked the manpower. As a result, the plant was consistently behind schedule and attempted to make up for this by dictating inefficient lineups that appeased customers in the short term.

A more flexible, timely, and integrated scheduling method was required in order to better manage the metal treatment process.

The SIMUL8-Planner Solution

An on-site assessment helped to establish the current state of operating conditions at the facility and revealed a high potential for success; a SIMUL8-Planner system could easily be linked to the SQL server database that integrated directly to the Level 2 automation system on the shop floor. This enables the production data used by SIMUL8-Planner to be updated automatically through external data links. The results from the sequencing system could then be converted to an actual order lineup within the system as well.

A detailed production model was constructed to accurately capture the flow of material through the furnaces and surrounding equipment. Routing information and processing times were incorporated into the model as well as properties specifically developed for this particular facility; such as information about matching furnace temperatures and speeds to piece parameters, the delays inherent in heating and cooling the furnaces between orders, and furnace speed change delays. All values are alterable using the fully customizable user interface. Changes made in the system are transferred back to the SQL system.

Upon completion of the detailed production model, the SIMUL8-Planner system can be used to quickly evaluate the performance of different sequencing rules. The impact of a particular rule can be analyzed based on the delays incurred between orders, fuel and energy consumption, and due date conformance. Custom sequencing rules designed to minimize delays while smoothing the furnace-heating curve and meeting due dates, and custom reports on Key Performance Indicators were developed to address the client’s specific objectives.

Training, installation, and extended support were also provided to ensure successful integration of the Adaptive Planning and Scheduling system into the daily operations of the plant.

The Benefits

The SIMUL8-Planner Adaptive Planning and Scheduling system has transformed this metal furnace plant’s scheduling process from an inflexible, manually-intensive procedure into a highly-adaptable, integrated process.

Easy system downloads provide quick access to the current order requirements for the facility. Using this information, the SIMUL8-Planner system generates a feasible order sequence based on the selected combination of sequencing rules. The scheduler can choose to download a generated sequence as an actual lineup or to continue experimenting with different sequencing rules until s/he obtains the desired Key Performance Indicator values. If an order is changed or a resource becomes unavailable (a machine breaks down, for example), the scheduler has the flexibility to rapidly generate a new schedule.

Using complex scheduling rules for the furnace system, customized reporting options, complete system integration, and rapid schedule generation, the SIMUL8-Planner Adaptive Planning and Scheduling System has provided this metal manufacturer with responsive scheduling capability. This allows the scheduler to successfully balance a range of performance criteria, satisfying both customer expectations and the plant’s operating constraints.

Contact Us

To learn more about SIMUL8-Planner Adaptive Planning and Scheduling systems, contact us toll-free at 1-800-878-3373 or by email at simul8-planner@visual8.com.