Plain-English introductions to the methods behind our tools, no jargon required. Here are the core techniques we use in planning and scheduling work.
Finite-capacity scheduling builds plans that respect the real, limited capacity of your machines, people and resources, unlike simple plans that quietly assume infinite capacity and then fall apart on the floor.
Where we use it: production, maintenance and resource schedules that have to actually run.
Constraint solvers are engines that find schedules satisfying many hard rules at once, shifts, skills, spacing, sequencing, and then optimise within what's feasible. They handle the tangle of rules that defeat manual planning.
Where we use it: rosters and schedules with dense, interacting rules.
This uses optimisation (LP, MIP or CP) under the hood so the plan isn't merely feasible but close to the best possible on what matters, cost, service or throughput. The result is a plan you can defend, not just one that fits.
Where we use it: high-value plans where "good enough" leaves real money on the table.
Plans go stale the moment reality moves. Rolling-horizon re-planning re-solves as time advances and new information arrives, so the schedule stays current and trustworthy instead of drifting away from the truth.
Where we use it: day-to-day operations where conditions change constantly.
Rostering assigns people to shifts while honouring fatigue rules, skills, availability and award conditions, and still meeting forecast demand. Done well it lifts service and fairness at the same time.
Where we use it: workforce planning in healthcare, transport, resources and operations.
Sequencing decides the order in which jobs or tasks are done to minimise changeovers, lateness or total time. The right order can recover hours of capacity a day at no extra cost.
Where we use it: production runs, batching and any setup-heavy operation.
Scenario planning tests a plan against several plausible futures rather than a single forecast, so the plan you choose is robust, it holds up whether demand is high or low, not just tuned to one lucky guess.
Where we use it: capacity and resourcing decisions under genuine uncertainty.
Heuristics are fast, practical rules that produce good schedules quickly. When a plan must be remade many times a day, a smart heuristic that answers in seconds often beats a perfect answer that takes hours.
Where we use it: real-time and high-frequency scheduling, and as a fast first pass.