1. Planning type and grouping period

The first step in rough-cut capacity planning is the correct configuration of the scheduling settings for the plant. In the Plant Definitions screen, 'Long-Term Scheduling' mode has been selected for the DEMOV2.5 plant and the grouping period has been set to 8 weeks.

This setting means that the APS engine plans jobs by grouping them into weekly blocks rather than with minute or hour precision. Capacity utilization is viewed in aggregate over an 8-week horizon, and strategic decisions are made based on this data.

Figure 1 — Plant Definitions screen: Long-Term Scheduling mode and 8-week grouping period setting (areas highlighted in red)

The longer the grouping period is set, the wider the horizon over which the system evaluates capacity. 8 weeks is a commonly used value for medium-to-long-term production planning.

2. Machine groups and efficiency coefficient

In rough-cut capacity planning, individual machines are not tracked separately; instead, machine groups (pool groups) are used. The efficiency coefficient assigned to each group represents the number of machines in that group.

Figure 2 — Machinery and Labor Groups tab: Efficiency coefficients (2, 5, 2, 2) represent the number of machines in each group

• DM_BOYA ALL → 2 (2 painting machines in the group)
• DM_ENJ ALL → 5 (5 injection machines in the group)
• DM_PRS ALL → 2 (2 press machines in the group)
• DM_MONTJ ALL → 2 (2 assembly lines in the group)

The efficiency coefficient tells the system 'this group has a capacity of N units.' APS performs loading calculations based on this coefficient.

3. Pool group and individual machine definitions

In APS, machine group definitions work with a two-tier structure: the upper group (ALL) and individual machines. Individual machines are linked to the pool group through the 'Resource Pool' field.

Figure 3 — DM_BOYA ALL pool group definition: Shift list, APS machine list, and labor list

Figure 4 — DM_BOYA 01 individual machine definition: Link to DM_BOYA ALL pool group in the Resource Pool field (red frame)

Thanks to this two-tier structure, the system distributes the load across the entire group. It tracks not which machine does what, but how much of the group's total capacity is being utilized.

4. APS session and backlog view

When the scheduling session is opened, the pending jobs and which machine group they are assigned to can be seen in the Optimization Center tab.

Figure 5 — APS Session DEMO3: Two jobs assigned to the DM_BOYA ALL group are visible in the Unassigned Jobs list

The 'Machine or Labor Group' column in the backlog screen determines which capacity pool the job will be directed to.

5. Grouping value for long-term planning

In rough-cut capacity planning, jobs are evaluated not individually but by grouping them according to stock code. This grouping is provided through the 'Grouping Value for Long-Term Planning' (GROUPING_VALUE) field.

When examining the jobs in the APS Job List screen for the session with document number KABA_İŞ_LİSTESİ and plant code KABA_PLANLAMA, the 'Plan Pool / Plant Code' column shows KABA_PLANLAMA, while the 'Grouping Value for Long-Term Planning' column shows stock codes such as APS M 0001.

Figure 6 — APS Job List: Jobs listed by grouping values in the session with plant code KABA_PLANLAMA. Each row carries the same stock code (APS M 0001) as the grouping value.

Using this grouping value, the system treats all operations belonging to the same stock code as a single capacity unit. For example, 5 different work orders belonging to stock code APS M 0001 are planned as a single group within the 8-week window, and the total workload is compared against the capacity of the machine group to which this group is assigned.

The benefits of this approach are as follows:

• All operations belonging to the same product are evaluated together, keeping capacity calculations consistent
• Priority order among work orders is determined on a stock code basis
• Stock codes that will create bottlenecks in the long-term plan can be identified in advance
• Different plants can be managed separately within the same job list through the Plan Pool / Plant Code

In rough-cut capacity planning performed without filling in the GROUPING_VALUE field, the system cannot group jobs and each work order is evaluated independently. This can lead to jobs belonging to the same product being spread across different weeks and an inaccurate capacity view.

6. Gantt chart and capacity utilization results

After optimization is completed, the capacity utilization percentage of each machine group and the assigned jobs are listed in the Gantt tab.

Figure 7 — Gantt chart: DM_BOYA ALL 96%, DM_MONTJ ALL 99%, DM_ENJ ALL 56%, DM_PRS ALL 16% capacity utilization

• DM_BOYA ALL → 96% — Critical, high bottleneck risk
• DM_MONTJ ALL → 99% — Critical, almost at the limit
• DM_ENJ ALL → 56% — Normal, moderate utilization
• DM_PRS ALL → 16% — Excess capacity, new jobs can be accepted

The capacity percentages on the Gantt screen provide a planning manager with the ability to see strategic bottlenecks without operational noise.

This screen shows the "Detailed Scheduling Operations" page where rough-cut capacity scheduling is performed in APS's long-term planning mode. There are a total of 941 work orders in the system, and these have been consolidated into 151 groups — meaning that instead of planning 941 jobs individually, the system merges jobs belonging to the same stock code and treats them as 151 capacity units.