Introduction
Resources are defined as assets used in production. They can encompass machines, special tools or dies, labor, or even floor space. A helpful way of thinking of Resources is that they are anything in the production process that is doing work. Remember that Resources are the most fundamental building blocks of the factory model and can therefore be used flexibly in order to create a working model of the manufacturer.
Key Concepts
Each Resource, on top of having a specific Capacity Type, will also have at least one Capability. A Capability is defined as the type of work that a Resource can do. For example, if our Resource was called “Saw 1,” a basic Capability that it would have might be “Cut.”
It is important to note that Capabilities and Resources are not automatically tied to one another. Both objects can be imported separately. This allows for the user to manually assign Capabilities to Resources in the case that the ERP or back-end system does not, in fact, have a logical link between Resources and Capabilities in its database tables.
A Resource can have any number of Capabilities and each Capability can be assigned to any number of Resources. An example of this would be a skilled labor Resource that can perform a number of different tasks.
Scheduling actual Operations to the Resource is a function of both the Resource and it’s Capability Assignments as well as the Job Objects and how the Job’s Operations are defined.
Resource Availability — Capacity Intervals
Resources must be assigned Capabilities and must have a defined Capacity Type. The last step for the Resources in factory modeling are to give it a shift schedule, what APS refers to as a “Capacity Interval” — a defined amount of time that determines the availability of the Resource to do work.
Tips from APS Consultants
- As Resources are one of the most basic building blocks of the factory model, don’t be afraid to be creative in determining what to set up as a Resource. It can be helpful to think of Resources as essentially anything that needs to be scheduled, from machines all the way to floor space.