Software optimizes production cycle.April 18, 2008 -
D-Opt helps manufacturing companies optimize production scheduling of multiple parallel production lines to balance conflicting objectives of maximum production efficiency against minimum inventory and optimal customer service. Scheduling functionality supports drag-and-drop of orders into campaigns and optimisation-based logic. Latter addresses processes that entail manufacture of multiple products, fluctuating demand, and switchover costs.
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Original Press release
Greycon
2100 SouthBridge Parkway, Suite 650
Birmingham, AL, 35209
USA
Greycon Releases D-Opt Block Scheduling Optimisation Software
Patent-Pending Optimisation Technology Reduces Stock-outs, Inventory, Setup Costs
LONDON, April 15 -- Greycon Ltd., specialists in optimised production planning and scheduling, announce the release of D-Opt, its new production cycle optimisation solution. With D-Opt, manufacturing companies can optimise production scheduling of multiple parallel production lines to balance the conflicting objectives of maximum production efficiency against minimum inventory and optimal customer service.
"Most people believe this is a problem that can't be solved," said Constantine Goulimis, CEO of Greycon Ltd. "Designing an optimal production schedule for manufacturers is a very difficult combinatorial problem that overwhelms the capacity of the human brain. As a result, most manufacturers use labour-intensive manual methods to plan their production schedules. But through use of D-Opt's unique optimization algorithm we have been able to deliver amazing results for our customers. We have customers who are enjoying 90% stock-out reduction, 15-35% inventory reduction, and 15% setup cost reduction, not to mention a 400% increase in planning productivity."
At its simplest, D-Opt is a block scheduling tool that lets production managers create and maintain campaigns for a number of workcentres. In this mode, D-Opt offers all the usability issues that one would expect, including drag-and-drop of orders into campaigns. However, it goes beyond standard block scheduling to provide optimisation-based logic capable of handling highly complex manufacturing situations, including processes that manufacture multiple products, fluctuating demand, and significant switchover costs when transitioning production lines from one product to another.
Originally developed for Kimberly Clark, a Greycon customer that needed to optimise production efficiency while minimising inventory and switch over costs, D-Opt was first released as an add-on module to Greycon's S-Plan software. Upon the successful implementation of D-Opt at Kimberly Clark, Greycon proceeded to build the proprietary technology into a standalone application from the ground up using test-driven technology in a Microsoft .NET framework. The new version takes advantage of multi-core CPU's to arrive at optimised schedules quickly and has consequently allowed Greycon to achieve Intel Software Partner status.
D-Opt, which is shipping now, was recently shortlisted in the Most Innovative Vertical category by SoftwareCEO.
About Greycon Ltd.
Greycon Ltd. (www.greycon.com) are global specialists in optimised production planning and scheduling, with offices in England, USA, Canada and Uruguay. Greycon customers, concentrated in the paper, printing, film and nonwovens industries, span the globe with more than 400 plants using its products and services. Greycon originates from the Industrial Systems Group of Imperial College of the University of London, where one of its founders and the current CEO developed the first version of the company's flagship product X-Trim. Today, Greycon has increased their product portfolio to include software and services supporting customers throughout the supply chain.
CONTACT: Debbie Kinghorn of Greycon Ltd., +44 207978 0700, Debbie.kinghorn@Greycon.com
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