Systems and methods for production planning with sequence independent setup activities

A computer readable medium comprising program code instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform a method for planning production processes, the method comprising:

• planning a sequence of processes running on a resource, the planning taking into account setup times for the resource for a process depending at least on predecessor process information;
• storing the sequence of processes;
• and
• defining time intervals for the resource within which setup times for processes are held constant independently of the predecessor process information.

A system for planning production processes, the system comprising:

• a scheduling unit arranged for planning a sequence of processes running on a resource, the planning taking into account setup times for the resource for a process depending at least on predecessor process information;
• a storage unit arranged for storing the sequence of processes;
• a fixing unit arranged for defining time intervals for the resource within which setup times for processes are held constant independently of the predecessor process information;
• and
• an execution unit arranged for retrieving the sequence order from the storage unit, executing the processes on the resource, and reporting process progress to the storing unit.