Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Scheduler Users Guide - Manual (Page 93)

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Schedule Analysis
In Chapter 6, we covered the basic procedures for using the FactoryTalk Scheduler
system. In this chapter, we will show you how to edit some of the underlying data and
many of the features that will allow you to perform schedule analysis.
Comparing different schedules
Once you have generated a schedule, FactoryTalk Scheduler provides several ways to
evaluate its quality. Most of these were discussed in the previous chapter: performance
metrics, charts and graphs, Schedule Analyzer, and reports. Although these allow you to
evaluate a single schedule, they do not allow for easy comparison between different
schedules. In order to make such comparisons easier, FactoryTalk Scheduler includes a
net change feature that allows for direct comparisons between two different schedules.
In most applications, this type of analysis would not be performed on a daily basis.
Typically, it is performed for a new application and then revisited if conditions change;
e.g., product mix change, new resources, etc. The idea is to determine which scheduling
method(s) or rule(s) will provide the best solution and then use this method(s) or rule(s)
on a daily basis. For our tutorial, let’s assume that we have a new application and it’s not
clear what will provide the best results.
Before you begin an analysis, we recommend that you examine the set of orders to be
scheduled to determine which orders need to be completed on time. Our tutorial system
has a total of 70 orders, but only 33 of these orders are end items or customer orders.
FactoryTalk Scheduler allows you to control which orders are included in the performance
metrics by activating the order-filtering capability. You can activate this feature by using
the Setup > Performance Parameters menu option, which will open the Performance
Parameters dialog shown below. Checking the Activate Order Filtering option will cause
FactoryTalk Scheduler to filter out unwanted orders when calculating performance
metrics.