advice needed please!

[rsands]

It is only a tracking system as planning on the scale you are doing for 15 machines isn't as vital for us. Alot of our jobs are digital printing and are run off as soon as a job comes in as everyone needs very fast turnaround.

Although if someone wanted to use the system we can customise it to do anything. If someone needs an allocated button to allocate it to someone we can do that...then when they login they can see what jobs belong to them only. We can also make it allocated a job to a machine, etc

The system will grow heavily over the next few months as we add features and allow it to be more complicated, etc.

 

[jardo]

Dear rasands,
Sounds like you did a custom FilemakerPro DB, Yes?
If you have a modest background in FMP, I think that is the way to go. Even if you have to hire some of the programing out, it is done your way.

 

[rsands]

Hi Jardo - we built it from scratch using PHP/MySQL and then just host it off our internal server running the php server and mysql server.

 

[leetaylor]

Hi again eveyone.

Thanks for all your replies so far!

I think I will go with a T-Card board to put in the press room (as a visual guide for all staff to see) but I also like the idea of an excel spreadsheet to keep open on my mac/pc that I can update as jobs move on to the next process. Does anyone have a spreadsheet like this that they are currently using? If so would you like to share it?!!?

 

[Lee Hutchinson]

Speak to Optimus they ship Prestige Scheduler that links directly to Optimus and brings all your timings and cost centres on to a digital planning board. Live update from shop floor data capture (if you have this). Move jobs around on the plan view scenarios etc. Run works to list by resource. All pretty good but it is a full time job to do properly.

 

[Makk]

Advice needed

Advice needed

Congratulations on your promotion! I had the same sort of career path at one point in my life. It was awhile ago that I was running operations but I just made an excel spreadheet for myself with each operation as a column and a simple check mark before the operation if the job was ready to be proofed, out on proof, press ready, bindery ready etc etc. I could then share that with all of the production managers as well as the sales staff and I could sort it in anyway I needed to , by date or impressions or whatever. I am sure there are many new fangled tools out there but if I am ever fortunate enough to find myself back in a production job I think I would still use a spreadsheet.
Good luck - I'm sure you will do fine work.

Lisa

 

[republic]

We're about to start using Printsmith's Scheduler. We have used PS for years, and had the scheduling module, too. Only recently we've started to get serious with it since booking on the presses has become more critical. Unfortunately I don't know many details yet, nor do I have any feedback on how well it works because we're still cleaning up stock definitions, machine definitions, etc., in preparation for its use.

Maybe you can find more of what you want to know here: EFI Color Print Management Software PDF Digital Printing Offset

 

[David Ingram]

Hey, this is coming from a former Pre-Press production Manager (was at a service bureau) now at a medium sized printing co. We use a board with tags for each department, Prepress, 18". 28" and 40" presses,, Letterpress and bindery, the tags are cut to represent the time in each department.
each tag is numbered with each job number and cut to the size it will take for each department.
12" tag represents a 8 hr day so about 1.5" per hour. we put a yellow flag up on the press tag when paper is prepped and a green tag on it when plates are made. Its also nice cause you can start with the bindery tag, then figure, ok the letterpress has to be the day before that, and the press the day before that.

Makes scheduling easy!. Much better than dry-erase board, or excel imo. Only problem is the front office has to write up jobs & dockets properly... if only i could get the higher ups to stick with the schedule, instead of blowing it up all the time, shooting out plates for jobs with no dockets... but the board is horizontal, wrapping around a small office, with the days up and down.

 

[republic]

I always thought it would be fun (in a geeky work sort of way) to train a webcam on "analog" scheduling boards so other users in the plant could view an internal website to see the board without getting up to look.

 

[spongebobbyga]

Hello Lee, DGraves, and all others looking for a job scheduling/tracking/communications solution. You may to my Web page at Printing, Management Software, Online Printers, Website Storefronts, Internal Order Management, Web to Print Software and look at our RocketWorkflow solution. Here you will find an 11 minute video that explains the system and walks you through processing orders from start to finish, including those that have issues along the way and those that are outsourced for specialty processes. If you like what you see, we will you test drive it for 30 days to see what you think. Simply clck on the sign up now link and we will provide access to the full featured live application.

 

[jardo]

Rsands,
Nice job. I saw the screen shots. It is always better to do it home grown when you have the talent.

 

[WBlaue01]

Scheduling Solution

Scheduling Solution

You may want to look at a truly dynamic scheduling system that automates data entry, workflow analysis and scheduling and provides shop floor data collection to allow everyone in the shop to see the job status in near real time. Scheduling is automated to the point where it takes less than 20 seconds to schedule even complex jobs. Manual schedule manipulation is as easy as moving a block on the screen via drag and drop. The representation of schedule information is similar to that of the board you mentioned. And it's so easy to learn that even inexperienced employees can schedule jobs in less than 5 minutes. See here for details: In Scope Solutions, Inc. Home, PSched, Dynamic Scheduling for the Printing Industry, for small and mid-sized commercial Printers, inhouse Print Shops and other Manufacturing Industries

But don't take my word for it. Feel free to contact Drew Bergen at Zip Print in Amarillo, TX for an objective evaluation.

 

[past_print]

We have scheduling boards in every department. Plus a job tracker on the computer.
Once a job is written, it automaticly shows up as new in the tracker. From there the manager physically moves it to the next appropriate step/ dept. (ie. repeat jobs can go to prepress for new plates)
Employees punch into and out of each job. Once a job is punched out as 100% complete for that dept, it is automaticly moved to the next function/dept in the tracker.
When the manager first moves the job, the scheduling ticket goes on the scheduling board in that dept. All info is on the ticket as far as customer, press size, final size, paper, ink color(s), and due date. When an employee is done, they can put the scheduling ticket on the main board for the manager to move to the next function. He/she can then put the scheduling tickets in the order they want the stuff done. If scheduling for press, they can be scheduled by press size, common inks, due dates, etc.
We are a relatively small shop. Scheduling is pretty easy. It works well for us, but I guess it depends on how your shop operates.

 

[Morning Flight]

I think I will go with a T-Card board to put in the press room (as a visual guide for all staff to see) but I also like the idea of an excel spreadsheet to keep open on my mac/pc that I can update as jobs move on to the next process. Does anyone have a spreadsheet like this that they are currently using? If so would you like to share it?!!?

Good call, leetaylor. Two years ago, I sold the print shop I had established back in 1969. Despite the fact that we had our own, home-brewed computer estimating and order entry system up and running ten years later (two years before IBM introduced the PC), our job tracking system never left the oversized corkboard and pushpin system on the shop wall. Not because job tracking would have been difficult to code, but because in all those years I never felt the need for it. There's some information that just works better on paper than it does on a monitor. We, of all people, should know that. We make our living putting information on paper.

And we're not the only industry where that's being recognized. The U.S. government has spent billions modernizing our air traffic control system. Yet when you board the plane for your next business trip, you're in the hands of ATC controllers who keep track of your airplane on strips of paper. The reason that time-tested system is still in place is not because the FAA hasn't tried to deep-six it. They just haven't come up with anything better.

Bondmaster put his finger on another key factor: Tracking is only half the solution if it doesn't tie in with scheduling. I'll point out a third. Any job tracking/scheduling software, including that spreadsheet you mentioned, will be cumbersome and error-prone if not fully linked to your order entry system. Just think of all the duplicate entries you'd have to make to keep your MIS customer and order files in sync with your Excel tracking file.

Now, does job tracking work on a computer screen? Sure it does. It will work phenomenally well once we can shuffle jobs around with our index finger on a 50-inch plasma. Until then, if you're still interested, check out the Job Tracker that's built into the Gold Edition of Morning Flight (Version 2008.3 with New Booklet Module - The Morning Flight Lounge). It's a free beta download that won't expire at the end of the test cycle, a quick and painless way to stick your toe in the water.

Me, honestly? If I had to start another print shop, I'd go back to the corkboard. And wait for that 50-inch touch-screen.

Hal Heindel