The webinar started with a presentation by Avner Ben-Bassat, President of Plataine, discussing the benefits of integrated optimization in Upholstery manufacturing. It was followed by a case study presented by Cliff Thorn, VP of Upholstery Manufacturing at Ethan Allen.
A summary follows:
Integrated & Dynamic Optimization in Upholstery Manufacturing
The Business Problem:
Two main issues, common in upholstery fabric cutting processes, limit manufacturers from reaching optimal decisions in the daily production cycle:
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A gap exists between the market and the production floor, which is caused by two separate software systems and the teams that operate them: ERP systems, contain the customer order and inventory information, but lack any product (geometric) knowledge; the CAD/CAM systems contain the geometric information of the products and in some cases a library of static markers, but have no information about the ‘Business’. In many cases today, there is little or no integraton between these two aspects of the business.
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This limitation breeds a second challenge - the common practice of addressing various decision points in the process serially (i.e. one at a time), where each step limits the potential for optimization of the steps that follows. For example, if rolls for cutting are selected after creating the markers (nests), the opportunity for a better nest on the given rolls may be lost.
A Different Approach:
Plataine’s technology enables a more holistic approach that simultaneously looks at all aspects of the problem in real time:
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Integrated (multi-factor) Optimization – Making production decisions based on multiple factors, such as order mix, customer specifications, actual inventory, machine capabilities etc.
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Dynamic (real-time) Optimization – Making these decisions based on the actual status of the above parameters as they change from day-to-day and minute-to-minute.
This generates a complete and optimal decision: which order will be cut when, with which material roll(s) using which machine and while creating the optimal marker.
Three scenarios were presented to demonstrate these principles:
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Nesting based on actual fabric width – Considering actual fabric width enables considerable savings compared with the current practice of assuming a standard width (e.g. 54”), and wasting any excess fabric. Previous benchmarks conducted by Plataine showed that using dynamic markers created according to actual width typically yield 1-3% material savings for each additional inch of marker width.
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Better Short-End Roll Utilization – Traditionally, each style has one marker on a single roll, leaving a growing stock of short end-rolls.
With real-time access to inventory and dynamic nesting, one can better utilize all rolls in stock by nesting the same given style over multiple rolls.
- Balancing tradeoff with true optimization - When asking what is the "optimal solution?” different answers will be given depending on production and business constrains and policies. For example:
- Is using two short-end rolls better than one roll even if this increases the marker length? To what extent?
- Is saving 5% on material yield by combining two orders with different due dates on one roll , better than having one week of Work-In-Process (WIP) inventory for the later order?
Answering these questions consistently requires the ability to integrate the optimization decision in real time, while considering predefined guidance from the business.
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