★ APPLICATIONS ★ BUREAUTIQUE ★ Scheduler ★ |
| Scheduler (The Amstrad User) | Applications Bureautique |
We are very mindful of the number of commercial users of the CPC464 system. A good number have chosen the CPC464 as it can span home and business applications more readily than most of the alternatives. Many such users have the machine at home to develop their programming skills and write their own applications so here's a very interesting application that puts work efficiency theory into practice. IThe specific application may not be exactly tuned to your requirements, but you may well be able to tailor the format to suit a wide variety of planning applications in commercial (and private) situations. This program is for use in workstudy/production control. Being implemented on a micro, it should be applicable to the practically minded manager who would normally be intimidated by trying to get to grips with a large company computer terminal. The program will provide an efficient method for determining a sequence for processing a set of jobs, or maybe a customer, either of which will place demands on organisational resources. Under certain conditions that problem will be solved, or a least an optimum solution will be found. Sequencing Sequencing is the order in which jobs are placed for processing. Sequencing jobs involves the ordering of jobs through one or more processes, so that specific performances, (optimum performances), such as minimal idle time, total machine time, and time delivery dates are reached, variations of which can produce significant results in costs and productivity. The sequential ordering of the start and finish of jobs is called a schedule. This schedule is only formed when the processing sequence has been established, noting that a job does not start until the previous job has finished. The machines provide the process by which the jobs are completed, and machines need not be mechanical, they could be human, (visual quality check, and so on). It is important to note that all jobs must go through the same process. The process time is the amount of time that a machine will need to complete that process, the times for these processes are then collected. These times are then manipulated to obtain the configuration requiring the least amount of processing time: maximum efficiency. Assuming that the least amount of processing time is the result required! Total facility processing time is the total machine time plus the machine idle time. Therefore reducing the total facility processing time also reduces the machine idle time. The method used to solve this problem was developed by S.A. Johnson and later extended by W.A. Stark, (number of jobs - 1 method). These two algorithms are used in the program to obtain the results. The Johnson algorithm finds the shortest processing time for two machines, the Stark algorithm is then used to get the shortest processing time from the total number of jobs. By using the Johnson algorithm on the first two times and the last two times, another sequence is obtained. Stark's algorithm is repeatedly applied to the Johnson algorithm, (1 to number jobs-1). This procedure will develop several sequences, allowing some discretion as to the best sequence for one's purposes, considering that holidays and maintenance must be accounted for. The program itself The program will ask for the number of jobs you have to process, say 4 cars for a service at a garage - or four items for assembly into a final product. Then the program asks for the number of operations: the example garage operations are: service, oil change, wash/clean, polish (Really? You must let me have the name of your garage: ed) The assembly operations are:
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