Asprova is a Japanese system for advanced production planning and scheduling (APS). It allows the use of lean production principles even in operations with a complicated production structure. Asprova has been deployed in all types of production from piece to mass production.
In Japan, the land of lean production, Asprova has by far the largest market share. According to the 2009 survey by Fuji Keizai Co., Ltd, the Japanese market share of APS systems is 52%. In Japan, Asprova is used by so many top manufacturing companies, that it is considered to be an embodiment of the Japanese know-how in terms of production planning and management.
ico Solution Possibilities
The ultra-fast planning algorithm plans with all boundary conditions (machine capacity, tool and tooling availability, staff capacity and qualification, availability of material and components, warehouse capacity etc.). Asprova fully integrates the planning of sales, production, inventory and purchasing. The abovementioned characteristics enable fast and easy creation of production schedule options and a what-if analysis.
Systems for production planning and scheduling deal with very complex issues. A prerequisite to a successful deployment is extremely fast and correctly designed algorithm, which performs and optimizes the allocation of operations to each individual work station. Asprova adds further features to such an algorithm, thus creating a unique scheduling system:
- Easy work with production data
Do you know what is the most time consuming activity in implementation and use of the APS system? The entry and maintenance of data. Asprova minimizes the time necessary for data entry and editing. It has a unique method of data editing in work sheets similar to those in Excel. The tables enable searching, sorting, filtering and at the same time editing, including fast multiple changes. The tables can be editted by users and aside from editing serve as reports with a wide option of graphical outputs.
- Flexibility of the planning algorithm
The method in which Asprova plans can easily be adopted to the reality of a specific production plant. What options does Asprova offer? From simple MRP, through long-term planning with a rough capacity plan through to detailed scheduling backward and forward. It enables planning by bottleneck and planning of special work stations such as furnaces and tanks. These methods can easily be put together into one planning run. For every production section and for different time horizons, it is therefore possible to select the best planning approach. Modifications to the planning algorithm are done by a trained planner, no program changes necessary.
- Fast and simple implementation
Asprova offers a vast range of functionalities and at the same time a fast and simple implementation. Our principle is to minimize the costs and risks associated with implementation of a planning system. We enable customers to evaluate suitability of Asprova for their specific plant and type of production prior to the final purchase decision and deployment of the system.
The implementation itself respects the „Kaizen" principle – gradual improvement. The system is deployed in such a way so as to achieve significant benefits within a short period of time. At the same time, users are trained so that they can either themselves or with minimal partner support further improve the system. The abovementioned characteristics – extremely simple data maintenance and flexibility of the planning algorithm, provide a fast track to optimal planning.
ico Competitive Advantages
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Fast creation of plans taking into account all restrictions such as for example workstation capacity, availability of operators, tools and material
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Quick response to changes in customer requirements
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Reduced running time
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Increased production throughput
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High supplier reliability and rapid determination of a possible delivery date
