Version 3.3 features many evolutions!
Between exclusive functions and optimisations, we focused our efforts on Direct Planning’s usability and customization options to help you schedule with ever more efficiency.
Jobs display
Current route
From the Home tab of the ribbon, the “Current route” button (Ctrl-G) opens a small window that you can position freely. You can minimize this window by clicking “See less” or by double-clicking on the header.
“Current route” button under the Home tab
“Current route” window
When you select a job in the schedule, this window displays all jobs belonging to the same route. Double-clicking in this table allows you to browse through the schedule by accessing quickly the jobs of the route:
Job localised via double-click in the list
The “Highlight” button allows to highlight instantly the jobs of the route:
Highlighted route
By accessing the contextual menu of this table (right click), you can also modify a job or change instantly its progress status :
Contextual menu for a job
Locator
From the Home tab of the ribbon, the “Locator” button (Ctrl-L) opens a small window dedicated to quick search. You can minimize this window by clicking “See less” or by double-clicking on the header.
“Locator” button under the Home tab
“Locator” window
A “Search” tab allows you to define your most used search criteria (e.g.: File number, Tool number, Special technical data, etc.). In addition to more traditional input methods, the “Selected job” button allows you to populate a criterion automatically based on that of the currently selected job, thus avoiding keyboard inputs:
Selection of the Cutting-die code as the search criterion, then
click on “Selected job” to choose a reference job
Selection of a reference job
Filter on the Cutting-die code of the selected job
The “Result” button allows you to execute that search and display the resulting list of jobs. The columns in this list can be customized by right clicking on the header:
From the list, a double-click enables quick navigation to the job:
Localisation via double-click
Right clicking allows to modify that job (through the “Job details” option):
Contextual menu for a job
The “Highlight” button allows to highlight all found jobs:
Moving jobs
Locked jobs
Up until now, when a first job (A) came to push a second job (B), the latter forced to overlap a third locked job (C) , then B would be moved beyond C:
In this example, the duration of A is increased. B is pushed against C (locked) (Direct Planning 3.2)
As a result, it is moved behind it (Direct Planning 3.2)
This cascading mechanism could greatly disrupt those plannings which include numerous locked jobs, moving jobs too far in the future. So we changed this mode of operation. Now, in our example, the second job (B) will not be moved beyond the locked job (C), it will be unplanned. This will not only trigger a warning message for the planner, but an alert will also be created on that job to indicate its unplanning due to a displacement on a non-movable job (locked or started):
Same example, the duration of A is increased. B is pushed against C (locked) (Direct Planning 3.3)
As a result, it is unplanned (Direct Planning 3.3)
Search and custom lists
Multiple selections
In search windows and custom lists, you can now select multiple lines (Ctrl or Shift+Click). The contextual menu (right click) will then propose grouped actions for all selected lines (Complete, Schedule, Delete, etc.) :
Example of multiple selection in the list of jobs with alerts
Total rows
In search windows and custom lists, where relevant, total rows have been added for columns:
Total row in the list of jobs with alerts
General configuration
Jobs
A new check box now allows to never calculate automatically the duration for jobs located in the past, so as not to displace both present and future jobs.
The configuration of jobs was also revamped, with the inclusion of a menu dedicated to the jobs’ configurable areas:
Configuration of jobs in the General configuration
Transition times
We will soon remove the “Transition times between jobs” function. The check box “Enable transition times between jobs” is not available anymore for the creation of new plannings.
As a reminder, this function will be removed in the next version of Direct Planning.
The programmable formulas for the calculation of set-up times based on precedence replace and enhance this former functionality.
Activating programmable formulas
Version 3.3 removes the check box for enabling programmable formulas. The buttons for configuring programmable formulas are now always displayed in the Configuration tab:
Programmable formulas available under the Configuration tab of the ribbon
Programmable formulas
Technical constraints
The “Technical constraints” programmable formulas are meant to offer custom controls over machine compatibility. These controls are performed when the planner moves a job from a machine to another. This allows you to verify that the technical data of the moved job are compatible with the destination machine.
In addition to these controls, you can define clear messages detailing the origin of the incompatibility to the planner.
Warning message when moving a job towards an incompatible machine
You can specify on each machine record the formula governing its compatibility rules.
Set-up time
When entering “Set-up time” programmable formulas, you could already use Process Information data. Now, you can also use data related to entities:
Programmable formula for set-up time making use of entities’ characteristics (Cutting die in this example)
Process Information
The Tache.Ressource.Est_IP_Actif(X) function informs you whether a Process Information (IP) is active or not for the machine associated with the job.
Colours
The new functions ChaineVersCouleur, ChaineVersNumCouleur and NumCouleurVersCouleur allow you to combine a character string (ListeTeintes in the example below) with a colour from Direct Planning’s mosaic of colours:
This programmable formula lets you apply the same colour for jobs sharing their first 4 colours.
Misc.
- The programmable formulas editor now opens in full screen.
- In the dictionary, colours are now available for operations, entities, sections, machines and markers.
- In the programmable formulas editor, a “Configurations” button is now available to access instantly the configurations of the reference data, entities and Process Informations.
Other evolutions
- The Purging window was modified to allow selecting the reference data to purge. Besides, the special calendars dedicated to the condensed timescales are now also purged.
- In a display mode, you can now impose the colour for a specific line of the job. If you impose the colour of 2 consecutive lines governed by the same rule, its appearance will be more stylish, without any line separating the two:
Direct Planning 3.2 / Direct Planning 3.3
- Now you can open the configuration of a plugin even if it is not activated.
- In database administration, when a database in “protected mode” is detected, the “Lift protected mode” button becomes available.
