A microcomputer-based data management and capacity-planning system

A microcomputer-based information management and capacity planning system for discrete parts manufacturing is described. The two primary components of the system are: (1) framework for information management and schedule generation, and (2) heuristic methods for workload balancing. The databases facilitate streamlining and standardisation of the information used on the production floor. The schedules generated by the system help the user in developing machine level capacity plans. The automatic workload balancing heuristics provide an effective way to refine the initial schedules to balance the workload and to satisfy user specified constraints.