Scheduling Methods for Production Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations or Dynamics AX

Editor's Note: This article is drawn from the recently published book by Dr. Hamilton about master planning in manufacturing. The contents apply to those firms using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations or previous versions of Dynamics AX (starting with AX 2012) because the functionality related to scheduling methods has essentially stayed the same.

The choice of a scheduling method represents one of several key interrelated policies for master planning and production scheduling. The choice - between job scheduling and operations scheduling -- determines whether you can use the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) capabilities for time reporting. Several differentiating factors can also influence the choice. However, these differences and several nuances in the use of scheduling methods are not widely understood.

This article provides a comparison of the scheduling methods, and starts with several common scenarios for managing day-to-day operations. It covers several nuances about inheritance and calculation options, and provides some suggestions for using a scheduling method. These considerations are reflected in the following sections within the article.

1. Common Scenarios for use of Scheduling Methods
2. Comparison of Scheduling Methods
3. Inheritance of the Scheduling Method
4. Need for Different Resource Requirements by Scheduling Method
5. Identifying the Source of Capacity Loads based on Scheduling Method
6. Some Suggestions for using a Scheduling Method

The contents of this article apply to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations and the previous versions of Dynamics AX (starting with AX 2012) because the functionality related to scheduling ...