Ver. 17.8 release date: October 01, 2024

In Ver. 17.8, the following features have been added.

1. 1. Scheduling Result Comparison Tool – Please use it for version upgrade difference comparison!
2. 2. Display production quantity on the status bar – You can easily check the summary of the selected operations in the Resource Gantt

1. 3. Auto-calc supports date and time types – The auto-calc for table cells now supports date and time types.
2. 4. Display expression for pivot tables – A display expression for internal calculated values can now be used for pivot tables.
3. 5. Internal functions: ParseDate/ParseTimespan – Expression for convert from string to date types and time types is now easier
4. Internal function: GetOverwriteCalendar – You can obtain the overwrite calendar for the specified resource and time
5. 7. Ignore the due date / EST – The scheduling parameters when coordinating with MRP become simpler.
6. 8. Resource teardown – Changeover teardown is now possible
7. System log output improvement – Better system logging to identify issues

 

* Users who are using Ver. 17.8 or earlier must have a maintenance contract in order to use “Version Restricted Features”.

 

1. Schedule Result Comparison Tool

By using the schedule result comparison (output) tool, you can incorporate it into the existing scheduling parameters and compare the results of the rescheduling. The main uses of the rescheduling result comparison tool are as follows.

You can compare the rescheduling results of different versions (to check if the allocation results are affected by the update).

Check whether the rescheduling results change unintentionally when modifying the planning parameters.

Comparisons can be made graphically as shown in the figure below.

Please use it for the upgrade to Ver. 17.8. For information, click here.

 

Display the manufacturing quantity on the status bar (version limitation feature)

I think that planners often fill in gaps manually and adjust the order after rescheduling with Asprova. At this time, if you know how much manufacturing time the selected task takes, you can instantly determine whether you can fill the gap. In this new feature, when you select a task in the resource Gantt chart, the total quantity and manufacturing time of the selected task will be displayed in the status bar.

 

The content displayed in the status bar can be specified by an expression, and various information can be displayed, including the total manufacturing time.

 

3. Correspondence of AutoCalc for Date and Time Types in Tables

There is a feature called AutoCalc that displays the total or average value of selected cells on the table in the status bar.

I have added date and time type data to the aggregation target of AutoCalc.

This allows you to check, for example, the earliest of the four selected delivery dates or the average of the selected lead times on the status bar.

4. Display expression for format conversion of pivot tables (version limitation feature)

There have often been requests to customize the display method in pivot tables. For example, I want to separate numbers with commas. Implemented the display expression properties in the pivot table.

The original number of the pivot cell can be obtained from ME.EvaluatedValue. Examples where this is useful include:
FORMAT(ME.EvaluatedValue, “##,###”)
You can display numbers separated by commas in a format like this.

 

Internal function: ParseDate/ParseTimespan

In the past, when importing dates from external systems, it was necessary to write as follows to convert a date string like “2025-01-23” into a datetime type.
DateS(
  FindNumberL(Left(ME.Prop, 4 ), 1),
  FindNumberL(Mid(ME.Prop, 6, 2 ), 1),
  FindNumberL(Right(ME.Prop, 2 ), 1 )
)

This removes the hyphen from the beginning of the string, extracts it in 4 characters/2 characters/2 characters, converts it to a number, and passes it to the DateS function as year/month/day. However, it becomes unnecessarily complicated and difficult to maintain.

From now on, the ParseDate function alone is sufficient. *In terms of speed, ParseDate is faster than DateS+FindNumberL.

ParseDate(“2025-01-23”, “YYYY-MM-DD”) ⇒ #2025/01/23 00:00:00#

Similarly, I have also added the ParseTimespan function to convert from string to time type.
ParseTimespan(“12:34”, “HH:mm”) ⇒ 12h34m

For a list of available format strings and other detailed specifications, please refer to the help (ParseDate function ParseTimespan function).

 

Internal function: GetOverwriteCalendar

You can now retrieve the applied override calendar for the specified resource at the specified date and time using an internal function.
In the new internal function, you can obtain the information of the overwrite calendar by setting resources and date and time as arguments.

Example of obtaining the overwrite calendar of the blue bar from the work of filling 1.
　　　GetOverwriteCalendar( ME.Operation.OperationMainRes, ME.StartTime )

Example of obtaining the overwrite calendar of the orange bar from the pink work of mixed 1.
　　　GetOverwriteCalendar( ME.TentAssignResource, ME.TentAssignProductionStartTime – 1s)
　By using these, it becomes possible to control things like “if there is an overwrite calendar that meets specific conditions just before the manufacturing start date, do not generate setup.”

For detailed specifications, please refer to the help (GetOverwriteCalendar function).

Ability to ignore order due date for backward assignment or order earliest start date and time for forward assignment

For example, if the delivery date of the parent order is later than that of the child order, allocating backward may cause the parent and child orders to become separated.

In the actual user’s case, the orders are imported from ERP, and initially, the parent and child orders were imported with the same delivery date. However, if the parent order is delayed for some reason, the delivery date of the child order remains the same, causing the parent and child orders to become separated. I want to combine parent-child orders and allocate them here to reduce inventory.

In the plan parameter settings, the property “Ignore order delivery date when backward allocation” has been added. If set to “yes” as needed, the child order’s delivery date can be ignored for allocation.

There is also a similar problem in the opposite direction. For example, if the child order is earlier than the earliest start date and time of the parent order, allocating it forward may cause the parent order to become detached.

 

 

In fact, there have been cases where the earliest order start (material arrival) was advanced earlier than scheduled, and the initial process was confirmed on a date earlier than the earliest order start date. However, there are cases where the subsequent process is planned after the earliest start date of the order, leading to many inefficient plans that are delayed.

In the plan parameter settings, the property “Ignore the earliest start date of the order when forwarding allocation” has been added. If set to “yes” as needed, it can be allocated ignoring the earliest start date and time of the child order.

 

1. Backward and forward dependent teardown (version limitation function)

In Ver. 17.3, we added the item post-setup and specification N post-setup functions, but from Ver. 17.8, resource post-setup has also become available.

You can set the post-preparation time on the post-preparation table in the same way as the resource pre-preparation settings.

The following example is designed to occur when the work is finished, outlining the necessary steps for removing the jig.

 

9. Enhancement of system log output content

The system log is a file that saves information related to the execution of Asprova and helps identify the causes of anomalies.

In Ver. 17.8, you can increase the output content through settings. By setting the value of “System Log Level” in the “Settings” tab of the project settings to “Information”, the internal codes of the commands executed during rescheduling will be recorded in the system log.

I have also made it so that a dump file is output in case of an abnormal occurrence. The system logs are stored under C:\ProgramData\Asprova\SystemLogs. In the unlikely event that Asprova crashes, please provide the log files and dump files. We believe that we can reduce the time and effort required for identifying the cause.