Scheduling Nests in OnRamp

December 15, 2021

OnRamp features Nest Scheduling, which allows you to organize and map your nest groups in a way that maximizes the efficiency of nested operations.

To do this, you must:

1. First, define the schedule groups.
2. Next, set up the work center availability.
3. Finally, setup the nest schedule groups.

Defining Schedule Groups

A schedule group is quite simply the group or work centers that will be scheduled together. Schedule groups are created on Shop Schedule Group [S2595].

1. Navigate to Shop Schedule Group [S2595].
2. On the screen task bar, click Add.
3. Enter the Schedule Group
4. Enter a Type of Nest.
5. (Optional) change the day value for the pre-set Scheduling Threshold color code.
6. Click
7. Select the Work Centers in Schedule Group
8. On Add Work Center, select the desired work center and click Add.

Notes

• A schedule group can consist of just one work center.
• Change the value in the Order field to update the work center scheduling order.

Setting up Work Center Availability

The work center availability is the number of hours per day that the work center is available to perform operations.

To do this, you have to:

1. Define which shifts to use.
2. Link the shifts to the work center.
3. (Optional) Fine-tune availability, scheduling, cut settings, and assign special capabilities to work centers.
4. (Optional) Alter shift capacity.

Defining Shifts

Shifts are setup on Shift Master [S2470].

To add a work center shift:

1. Navigate to Shift Master [S2470].
2. On the screen taskbar, click Add.
3. Enter the shift information.
4. On Used for OEE, toggle to Yes.
5. Click OK.
6. Select the Shift Detail
7. On the screen taskbar, click Add.
8. Enter the time when the work center(s) will be available for work.
   Note: This time must exclude all breaks and lunch/ dinner stops.
9. Click OK.
10. Repeat steps 7 – 9 to add multiple time frames.

Linking Shifts to Work Centers

With the required shifts created and the running times set, you have to link these shifts to the correct work centers. This is done on Work Center Availability [S2809].

To link the shift to the work center:

1. Navigate to Work Center Availability [S2809].
2. Select the Work Center.
3. Under Select Shifts, find the desired shift and click Add >>. Repeat to add multiple shifts.
4. Click Repopulate Availability from Shifts.

Notes

• To manually modify certain segments, select the day and the available segment and click Edit.
• To select multiple days, press Ctrl and click on the desired days.
• To remove all hours on a day, select the day and click Remove All Availability.
• To ensure automated processes do not overwrite your changes, on Work Center Master [S1019] > Scheduling, update the Avail Days Fwd Days within this range will not be overwritten.
• The schedule is color-coded:
  • Green – Working day
  • Yellow – Non-working day, i.e., where OnRamp is setup to see your shop as closed.
  • Orange – Days that will repopulate via automated process.

Fine Tuning

There are several features you can use to fine-tune the work center availability, the scheduling accuracy, and the cut settings. This is done on various screens.

For work centers, you can:

• Include the average time it takes to switch to the next group and the time it takes to load and unload plates. These impact availability and scheduling accuracy.
• Include a cut speed factor to account for work center cut speed difference or material difference, such as the different speed required to cut through a thicker sheet of metal.

To do this:

1. Navigate to Work Center Master [S1019].
2. Select the Work Center.
3. Select the Scheduling
4. On the screen taskbar, click Edit.
5. Set the following:
   • To update the amount of time it takes to switch groups, use the First Plate Delay Time, which is set in minutes.
   • To update the amount of time it takes to load and unload plates, use the Sched Delay Per Plate, which is set in minutes.
   • To update the time it takes to cut, use the Cut Speed Factor field, which is a time multiplier. For example, a value of two means that the process will be completed 2 times faster than the time set in routing.
   • To assign a special capability, use the Special Capability field to set the capability.

Notes

• You can also update the First Plate and Sched Delay Per Plate when adding the work center to the schedule group on screen 2595.
• Use Parameter Management [S2663] to manually add speed variables for work centers based on material thickness. These parameters must be within the Param ID of
• If a parameter is added along with a cut speed factor, then the parameter value takes precedence.
• Special Capabilities are Local Codes that are created by you on screen 1502. These special fields are set on work centers and part routing. When scheduling a part where a routing step has the Capability Required, the work center must have this Special Capability to be used.

Altering Shift Capacity

You can also define any changes in shift capacity. For example, if you have a shift where you only have one staff instead of two working on the weekend. This is done on Work Center Availability [S2809].

To alter the shift capacity for a shift:

1. Navigate to Work Center Availability [S2809].
2. Select the Work Center.
3. Under Applied Shifts, select the desired shift.
4. On the screen taskbar, click Edit.
5. In the Cap Multi field, update the value. 0.5 is half as many workers, 2 is double, etc.
6. Click OK.
7. Click Repopulate Availability from Shifts.

To alter the shift capacity for a specific day:

1. On Work Center Availability with the work center selected, under Manage Availability By Day, select the day.
2. Under Available Segments for Selected Date, select the shift.
3. On the screen taskbar, click Edit.
4. In the Cap Multi field, update the value. 0.5 is half as many workers, 2 is double, etc.
5. Click OK.

Scheduling the Nest Groups

Once all the setup is complete, you just have to schedule the nest group. This is done on Nest Scheduling [S2819].

To schedule the group:

1. Navigate to Nest Scheduling [S2819].
2. Select the Schedule Group.
3. Click Load.
4. Based on the available information, click and drag the scheduled groups to arrange the nests to the desired date and time to improve scheduling.
5. Once you have updated the scheduled groups, click Save.

Scheduling Tips

• With the nested work orders displayed, review the group numbers, the nest numbers, and number of plates in the nest. Hovering over the nest number displays the plate thickness for the work order. Clicking the nest or group number displays the nest and work order details on the respective tab.
• Groups are color coded by the minimum due date relative to today’s date, as defined on screen 2595:
  • Red – very past due
  • Yellow – past due
  • Green – on time
  • Blue – early
• Lines at the bottom for each group show the relation between the minimum due date and the scheduled completion date. For example, in the image above, group S38996 if left alone will be completed very past due.
• Lines at the top of each group show that there is an issue with components on the work order:
  • Yellow – There is enough material to start but not complete the order.
  • Red – You do not have enough material to start the order.
• Select the group to show the shortages on the Nest Details tab.
• Take due dates into account when scheduling along with material shortages.
• Where possible, keep track of part leads times to ensure you do not run into more material issues.
• Where possible, group the same plates together to reduce handling times.
• When one person is responsible for multiple machines, coordinate times so that loading and unloading does not generate a labor scheduling conflict.
• Unscheduled nests appear at the end of the schedule and have XXXX going through the bottom row.
  
• If there is a drop-in nest, the schedule will have to be reorganized.
• Review the nest schedule daily.
• If the schedule is changed, redistribute the schedule, as required.
• Implementing shop monitors that are running the nest schedule dashboard can improve usage by displaying the real-time statistics for the nest, including:
  • the current job, status, and time
  • the upcoming details and required material
  • the overall schedule status

Nest Schedule Reporting

To view your nest schedules, you can use:

• Schedule Nests by Schedule Group [R4784] – This report is a comprehensive to-do list for the work center operator.
• Work Center Nest Schedule [S2660] – This screen presents a real-time view of the nest schedule.