GLOBAL COMPETITION

The current trends in manufacturing are aimed at lowering inventory levels to reduce costs, while still being able to respond to shorter lead times and thereby satisfy customer demand. This forces companies to find ways to optimize production operations by reducing or eliminating non-value-added activities such as setup or waiting time. Highlighting potential problems allows action to be taken to balance demand and capacity.  Preactor has been developed over 16 years to meet this need. It is used by small companies, mid-size and large corporations to help meet demands made by their customers and beat the increasingly global competition.

PLANNING v SCHEDULING

Capacity Planning applications are very different to true Detailed Scheduling systems.  Capacity Planning tools work in buckets or periods of time such as a shift, a day or week and load demand based on simple constraints, typically hours of capacity, into those periods.  There is no concept of sequence of loading within each period which for many users is critical to producing an optimal schedule.
 

A Detailed Scheduling tool considers not only hours of capacity for each resource but also the sequence of loading each operation on each resource.  It will produce a dispatch or work-to lists for each resource that shows at what time each batch or lot is to be started and completed during the schedule horizon. It has not limited by periods or buckets of time. 

Detailed scheduling systems use rules to generate the schedule that follows specific logic or algorithms to meet the needs of the company using Preactor for QAD.   No matter what your planning and scheduling needs are, Preactor for QAD can be set up to meet them.

INTEGRATION

Bi-Directional communication at key integration points minimizes duplicate data entry and maximizes the impact of Preactor for QAD’s scheduling algorithms by consistently updating MRP information.

The Preactor for QAD interface provides for a two way exchange of information.   Typically QAD ERP exports a list of operations that need to be completed to produce all new and existing demand.  Preactor for QAD creates the optimized plan that defines which tasks are completed, by which production resource, at what time. It then updates QAD ERP with the confirmed production schedule, revised route, sequence and timings.   In some applications additional information is held within Preactor for QAD and is added to the order during the data transfer. 

Preactor for QAD’s sequencing engine provides additional functionality over and above QAD’s capabilities.  For example drag and drop interaction with the Gantt Chart, multiple constraints such as machines, tooling, operators etc for each operation, attribute based sequencing for example to minimize changeover time, complex scheduling rules and dependencies between producing and consuming orders.

Preactor helps to:

•    visualize the current load;
•    see the impact of unexpected events;
•    ask ‘what if’ questions;
•    compare alternatives;

and all before the decision is made.

INTEGRATION HIGHLIGHTS

The following list highlights a few of the key data points involved to maximize the value-added of Preactor for QAD in the QAD environment.

Manufacturing Set-up Data
• Departments
• Work Centers/Machines
• User Defined Secondary Constraints
• User Defined Product Attributes
• User Defined Operational Attributes

Manufacturing Status Info
• Partial or Full Completions by Work Order Operation as reported in QAD 
• Completions by Repetitive Schedule as reported in QAD

Record Locking
Optional record locking indicates that a record is in use by Preactor for QAD and should not/cannot be updated during scheduling.

Update Frequency
Automated at user defined intervals and/or upon manual user request

Product Specific Data
• Primary Routing
• Alternate Machine(s)
• Alternate Machine specific run times
• Product Structure (BOM)
• Scheduling Variables:
 - up to 9 product attributes / item
 - up to 9 operational attributes / item
 - up to 12 secondary constraints / item
 - changeover matrix by attribute or item

MRP/Planning Data
• MRP Pegging Information
• Scheduled PO Receipts
• Firm and Planned Work Orders

Inventory Information
Inventory information will be passed as read only from QAD to Preactor for QAD for scheduling use only
• Available Inventory Balances

Scheduling Data
Updated Scheduling information will be passed from Preactor for QAD to QAD
• Updated Work Order Release Dates
• Updated Work Order Due Dates
• Updated Order Quantities
• Updated Repetitive Schedules

Error Logs
Any errors encountered during a data load will be captured and available by report or email

Audit Reports
Work Orders loaded from MFG/PRO® compared to Work Orders loaded back to QAD from Preactor for QAD.

The Preactor for QAD integration to is compatible with MFG/PRO® versions eb and later, and can be configured to work with earlier versions.

BUYING PREACTOR for QAD

This product is available only through accredited Preactor Partners.  

View the Preactor for QAD Webinar (external site, approx. 45min)

Download the Preactor for QAD Brochure (pdf, 2mb)

If you have any questions please feel free contact the following

EMEA
Valerie Goulevitch +33 6 1322 5136 valerie.goulevitch@preactor.com

NORTH AMERICA
Greg Quinn +1 814 880 164, greg.quinn@preactor.com directly. 

Other Countries
Mike Novels at Preactor +44 1249 650316, mike.novels@preactor.com