User interface including scheduling hint and material sufficiency indicator for production planning

#This description is directed generally to production planning, and in particular, to a user interface that includes a scheduling hint and a material sufficiency indicator which may be used for production planning.

#Production planning may involve, for example, efficient planning of production processes in such a manner so as to optimize (or at least improve) output or profit, and/or best meet the company's objectives or customer demand. For example, production planning may include the efficient planning, allocation and/or scheduling of various resources, materials and operations or processes. A result of production planning may, for example, include a set of production orders that are designed to best meet customer demand while respecting raw material availability and other limitations on production.

#In one general aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product is tangibly embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and includes executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause at least one data processing apparatus to display a chart for production planning, the chart including a timeline, a material area associated with each of one or more materials and a resource area associated with each of one or more resources, wherein an operation identifier is provided at a location within one of the resource areas to indicate a time that an associated operation has been scheduled to be performed using the associated resource. The chart also includes a material sufficiency indicator provided within one or more of the material areas to indicate whether or not a sufficient amount of the associated material is available at one or more identified times to meet a demand of the one or more scheduled operations. The chart further includes a scheduling hint that is displayed within a material area when an operation identifier has been selected or dragged for scheduling an associated operation within the chart. The scheduling hint identifies one or more portions within the material area for a material as providing either sufficient material or insufficient material for performance of the operation associated with the selected operation identifier.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system in which a chart is displayed including a scheduling hint and a material sufficiency indicator for production planning.

#FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for displaying a chart for production planning according to an example implementation.

#FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a chart 300 for production planning according to an example implementation.

#In the following, a detailed description of examples will be given with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that various modifications to the examples may be made. In particular, elements of one example may be combined and used in other examples to form new examples.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system in which a chart is displayed including a scheduling hint and a material sufficiency indicator for production planning. A production planning computer 112 may be used for production planning, and may include a processor 114 and memory 116. Input devices 124 may provide input to computer 112, and may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, or other pointing device or other input device. A display 126 may be connected to production planning computer 112, and may be used to display a chart or graphical planning board, such as a Gantt-chart 128, that may be used to perform detailed scheduling for production planning. In some cases, Gantt-charts may include a bar chart to illustrate a project schedule, and may be used to show how tasks and resources are allocated over time.

#Computer 112 may include display logic 118 to display information on display 126, such as a chart (e.g., Gantt-chart) or other information, which may be used for production planning. An indicator generation logic 120 may be provided to generate and display a material sufficiency indicator on the Gantt-chart 128, e.g., to indicate whether or not a sufficient amount of a material is available at one or more identified times to meet a demand of the currently scheduled operations. Indicator generation logic 120 may generate and display on chart 128 other types of indicators, such as a material supply indicator that may identify a supplying of a material from a source or from an output of an operation, and a material demand indicator that may identify demand or usage of material by an operation.