Shopfloor scheduling app using leading Low Code platform

Location: Philadelphia
The Client : healthcare service provider that needed a quick solution for managing their PPE inventory

Overview

The client who has 17 different manufacturing lines for performing the different operations. The operators work in the different shifts, some works as Inside operator and some as outside operator depending on their competencies the Manager schedules the operators. The schedule is updated on the daily basis. Each machine has target quantity per day and for that quantity the number of operators is decided, as per the target quantity the job is allocated to the operator and carry it forward on the next day for remaining quantity.

How did it help the client?

Increase in Productivity
0 %
Saved in a month
0 hrs

The Challenge

The schedule sheet is updated actively by the team on excel sheet, according to that the manager allocates the operators on daily basis. The process to allocate is manual and the task at hand is repetitive, time consuming and error prone. Currently team manages all the information in the excel sheet and to maintain that sheets on daily basis was painful. Also, lot of back and forth to check the availability of the operators from the HR portal and production requirement from SAP.
The client required a very robust solution that can be integrated with the current HR portal to check availability, can fetch production planning from SAP and can allot operator based on competency of the operator and requirement of the unit.

The Approach

The client wanted the system to be intuitive and less time consuming. The team closely worked with the client and gathered all the required information. During the information gathering the team understood that solution needs to develop quickly and must secure as per the client’s global policy. The team decided to develop the solution utilizing low-code platform which is secure and can be turned around rapidly. The team choose Outsystems given its ability to build serious applications quickly and efficiently. A visual, model-driven development environment with industry-leading AI-based assistance ensures apps are built in days or weeks instead of months or years.

The Solution

The solution was developed in the Outsystems in 6 weeks, from project management to going live.
The app gets availability of the operator for the day from the HR portal using APIs. Based on the availability and pre-defined line requirement creates a schedule for the shopfloor. The app is easy to use given that manager just needs to fill the dates and choose required lines.
The solution is user friendly; they can schedule the lines in advance and can make changes with few clicks. The dashboard provides bird-eye view of line activites and manager can have a deeper analytical view on every manufacturing line and operator.

The Result

The solution helped the client to save lot of time as previously they were spending approx. 2 hours daily for scheduling now it takes hardly 10 mins to complete the overall process. The operators receives the notification on their mobile phones at the time of allocation, earlier they asked to their managers about their work as it takes 30-40 mins of them but now in just 2 mins they received all the information.
The solution saves around 2 hours of everyday for everyone and increased the productivity by 100%.