Flow Sequencing Rules

You can define flow sequencing rules to influence how flow schedules that are assigned to a production line are going to be sequenced.

To ensure the solver considers the sequence you define, set the Scheduling Strategy to Rule-based sequence for the applicable production lines on the Production Lines page.

Define Flow Sequencing Rules

  1. On the Production Schedules page, select Manage Scheduling Organizations.
  2. On the Scheduling Organizations page, select the organization.
  3. Click the Actions icon.
  4. From the Actions menu, select Production Lines.
  5. Set the Scheduling Strategy value to Rule-based sequence.
  6. Click to open the Action menu for the selected production line.
  7. From the menu, select Flow Sequencing Rules.
  8. Select Add.
  9. In the side drawer, enter the rule priority, select a rule type, and specify the details for the given rule type. You can optionally enter a rule name.
  10. Select OK.

The flow sequencing rules are now defined for the selected production line.

You can also copy flow sequencing rules from one production line to another production line using the Copy Flow Sequencing Rules option. This will replace existing rules on the current production line with the rules from the other production line. Rules are copied from the selected production line only if their attributes are also assigned to the target production line.

The rule types and additional details required by each rule type are as follows:
Rule Type Additional details to specify
Minimum Run Minimum Run Size
Maximum Run Maximum Run Size
Must Follow Previous Attribute Value
Must not Follow Previous Attribute Value
At Least K of N At Least (K Value), Out Of Every (N Value)
At Most K of N At Most (K Value), Out Of Every (N Value)
Must be First -

Production Scheduling tries to respect all specified flow sequencing rules. However, this might not always be possible. You might define rules that conflict with each other, or the assigned flow schedules, production lines, days, and attributes might make the rules impossible to satisfy. If rule violations are necessary, then rules with lower rule priority are less likely to be violated than those with higher rule priority