System and Method of Managing Complexity in Factory Planning

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

• partitioning, by a computer comprising a processor and a memory, a planning problem into ordered subsets based on a prioritization scheme;
• applying, by the computer, a planning algorithm to optimize a first subset of the ordered subsets and freeze a corresponding plan;
• determining, by the computer, whether there are any remaining subsets that have not been optimized;
• in response to the determining that there are any remaining subsets that have not been optimized, loading, by the computer, a next subset ordered according to the prioritization scheme;
• optimizing, by the computer, the loaded subset without disturbing the frozen plan;
• and
• in response to determining that there are no remaining subsets to optimize, running, by the computer, a final pass of the planning algorithm to improve one or more global plan metrics.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software, the software when executed is configured to:

• partition, by a computer comprising a processor and a memory, a planning problem into ordered subsets based on a prioritization scheme;
• apply a planning algorithm to optimize a first subset of the ordered subsets and freeze a corresponding plan;
• determine whether there are any remaining subsets that have not been optimized;
• in response to the determining that there are any remaining subsets that have not been optimized, load a next subset ordered according to the prioritization scheme;
• optimize the loaded subset without disturbing the frozen plan;
• and
• in response to determining that there are no remaining subsets to optimize, run a final pass of the planning algorithm to improve one or more global plan metrics.