More than ever before, the expectation of modern production involves flexible and fast action and reaction. To do justice to this, it is necessary to start with production planning. Far too often, however, planning is still done in purely desktop environments, which slows down the necessary flexibility. In order to always have all data relevant to production as well as comprehensive planning functions available regardless of time and place, it has long been possible to fall back on appropriate solutions on the market. The Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system GANTTPLAN from DUALIS, for example, can easily guarantee this with its service-oriented architecture. At HANNOVER MESSE 2023 in Hall 15, Stand E34, DUALIS will be demonstrating how it can make the leap from digital to smart production planning.

Smart production planning for the smart factory
The interactive GANTTPLAN APS system from DUALIS is designed entirely for modern production planning, as called for at the outset. In addition to the pure desktop application, the planning tool is also available as a web variant. This means that material, workplaces, personnel, shift models and production order networks, among other things, can be easily planned via a web browser. This gives users planning reliability, even from their home office. In addition to visualisation and reporting, further automatic and manual planning functions are available. All previous and new functionalities can be used in conjunction with GANTTPLAN as a future-proof three-layer target architecture.

Dr. Kirsten Hoffmann, product manager for the GANTTPLAN product family at DUALIS GmbH IT Solution, comments: "For production planning, all relevant data must always be available - regardless of time and place. A future-proof APS system must therefore have a service-oriented architecture. With GANTTPLAN, we pave the way from digital to smart production planning."

Automatic and manual planning made easy
With the GANTTPLAN Web Client in its latest expansion stage, automatic and manual planning can now be carried out completely. There are special functions for this. It is also possible to work with planning scenarios for optimisation-based selection of production alternatives. In this way, other prerequisites can be created and their effects tested, for example, additional shifts or machines, simulation of a large order under discussion and much more.

Capacity utilisation and bottlenecks can be quickly identified
Up to now, the Web Client was especially suitable for visualising planning results. What is new now is that planning runs can also be carried out. The planning runs can be created, edited and deleted in a clear planning menu. Compared to the desktop client, the web client enables faster display, easier navigation and online viewing of the control centre on any mobile device. Graphical reports directly in the control centre can be viewed simply by mouseover. In this way, utilisation and bottlenecks can be quickly recognised.

"Our Web Client has interfaces with which ERP and MES solutions can be easily connected. This makes it ideal for partner migration. This means that it can be docked with the same interfaces as the desktop version. This represents a first important step towards APS from the cloud, which brings advantages in terms of costs and flexibility," adds Dr Kirsten Hoffmann.

More transparency and the same level of information for everyone
A major advantage of the Web Client is that it enables independent, simultaneous planning of the sub-areas, taking into account the entire value chain. The three-layer architecture used in this process is intended to bring a high degree of transparency and, for the first time, enable true collaborative planning. This means that employees can work together on a result, both live and time-delayed. Heike Wilson, Managing Director of DUALIS GmbH IT Solution, says: "The use of the GANTTPLAN Web Client brings all participants to the same, up-to-date level of information. Those responsible for planning thus not only have their work made easier by digitalised and automated processes, but also have greater transparency. At last, true collaborative working is also taking hold in planning. Several employees can exchange information on reactions to changing conditions without delay. More robust forward planning is much more possible.

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