Hi
Can anyone please explain how the Freeze Time Fence works? I've had a look at it and I'm a bit confused.
Thanks in advance
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Basically if you had a planned purchase order fulfilling a sales order and the sales order required date was moved outwards, but the purchase order fell into the freeze time fence then the planned purchase order is replanned to the end of the freeze time fence with messages indicating hte requirement cannot be met.
This is obviously more of an issue if the sales order date is moved nearer to today,
Basically it is used to stop fluctuating committments, so it also is applicable to transfer and production orders and is a statement that all fulfillment orders within this period are fixed and additions cannot be made within this time fence.
Umm. Not sure I agree with Weaveriski's response. I thought that the freeze time fence was a period forward from today within which master planning will not create planned orders. So it could be used in an environment where the next week's production plan is fixed (frozen). If a new sales order appears and has a delivery date which would force master planning to create a planned order within the freeze time fence, the planned order delivery date (maybe even start date, I'm not sure) will be the first day outside the freeze time fence, and the planed order will be maked as being late by a futures message. Not really sure it helps the planner though - might be best to let them see the planned orders inside the frozen period by not setting the freeze time fence. So we got around this by having two master plans - one for production (no freeze time period) and another for purchasing, which was run after the planned produciton orders had been firmed for the finsihed goods (top level) items, and only recalculated items which were not finished goods. This means the the purchasing plan only sees demand from firmed production orders.
Hmmm re-reading what I wrote I am not sure I agree with it, got lost trying to give an example. Anyway my understanding is the freeze time fence is from the requirement date and not forward from today, but to be honest I have never tested in.
It also only affects planned not actual but my text implies actual - once you have an actual it is one, it is the lack of allowance within the time fence. The production example is better, but it also applies to purchasing and inventory which was a point I was making badly. Tim's description of the movement to the end of the freeze time fence with a future message is the best way of describing it.
Apologies for the confusion of my poorly worded initial reply.
Thanks to both of you for your respective replies - helps a bit. The following is from the help:
Specify the period in which new planned orders are not to be created and where planned orders from previous requirement calculations are not to be changed. All requirements not covered in this period will be covered by a purchase--or a production order created at the end of the period with an action message that it is to be moved back in time. If an earlier requirement calculation created a planned purchase order in the period, that planned order will remain in the period and will not be moved, even if there is no need for it. The time fence is expressed in days and is calculated from the requirement calculation date.
Example
The locking time fence is 10 days. A sales order is to be delivered in 7 days, and there is no inventory that can cover the requirement. The requirement calculation will suggest that the planned purchase order be delivered in 10 days
Couple of additional points:
1. If I do a regenerative run each night and my freeze time fence is say 20 Days - does that mean.
If I start on the 1st - the period will be 1st to 20th the next night it will be 2nd to the 21st and so on.
2. If so - what kind of environment does this capability suit? The freer time fence would actually move each day. In addition the idea of "that planned order will remain in the period and will not be moved, even if there is no need for it." also seems a bit strange.
Liam
1. Tim says yes, I say it does it from the requirement date. Mine is from the manual, Tim's from his experieince. I would believe Tim, but I would also test it.
2. Many production plants will freeze the plan, this enables the potential smooth running and not expediating everything. In this manner production is the priority and not sales - sales always want it now. I have worked with businesses who do this, although none would have the system control this - they see the requirement and make a judgement call.
I have a follow-up question - Have you ever been asked to generate a report that shows future messages with the corresponding Action messages below it. I guess a bit like the Explosion form. An exanple would be that I have a Production Order/ Sales Order for a multi-level BOM. One of the purchased components on one of the lower levels has been delayed. So I get an Action message against this component and a future message against the top level item. Do you have any ideas on how I could get this info on a report? Report showing Future message with "reason" below - the Action message.
Nope never been asked for a report like that and I am not a developer.
Never once thought you were a developer :) What is the best/ recommended way of using Future/ Action messages? I have empathy with planning colleagues who are dealing with many future messages and are looking for a quick way to determinre the cause. The report was only an idea - however I think it may be difficult to develop.
Thanks for assistance - been very useful
Glad I give off the correct non-developer impression :-)
To be honest the pegging is the best coupled with the explosion. There is also the setup button on the explosion where you can see the delay graphically.
However it does depend on your setup as well. I have many clients that start with it all on and very quickly ignore all messages because they are not planners, they just run planning and action it.
Yes I've experienced that too - can be frustrating.
In regard to Action Messages and Basis Date. Can I run something past you. I usually setup with Basis Date = Futures Date as I usually have Futures switched on. This makes sense to me - what is your experience?
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