Skip to main content
Question

Parallel production in 1 operation

  • April 15, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 32 views
1
Sidekick (Partner)
Forum|alt.badge.img+6

Hi all, 

We are trying to model parallel production within a single shop order operation in IFS Cloud, and I would like to understand whether there is a standard solution for this.

Example (calculation will not be perfect, its just an example) :

  • 1 product
  • 1 shop order operation
  • shop order quantity = 26 pieces
  • all 26 pieces can be produced within 1 day
  • throughput time through the work center for 1 piece is 3 hours
  • the work center is staffed by multiple operators, all working in parallel on the same operation
  • currently, machine time is set to 3 hours and 1 labor resource is set to 3 hours

The issue is that IFS calculates the operation start and finish as if the full quantity is processed sequentially, which does not reflect the real situation.

I also tried increasing the work center efficiency to 1000% because there are 10 workplaces/operators available, but this did not change the operation lead time or the start/end time as expected.

What I want to achieve is:

  • one single operation
  • multiple pieces from the same shop order being processed in parallel within that operation
  • realistic operation start and finish times based on parallel capacity

What I do not want is:

  • splitting the operation into 10 separate parallel operations

Is there a standard way in IFS Cloud to model this correctly?

Any guidance or best practice would be appreciated.

Kind regards, 
Willem

www.linkedin.com/in/willemduiker

    1 reply

    Lakshan Thiranagama
    Hero (Former Employee)
    Forum|alt.badge.img+7

    Hi,

    In your example, the machine is capable of processing multiple pieces simultaneously. Instead of defining machine run time per piece, you can use Units per Hour as the factor unit and specify the number of pieces that can be produced per hour in the Shop Order operation (routing).

    If you require a fixed run time of 3 hours, you can set the factor unit to Hours and keep the runtime as 3 hours.

    You have not mentioned any scheduling requirements. However, if you are using a shop order scheduling engine such as APB, and if the machine or work center has finite capacity, this must be taken into account during scheduling. Alternatively, you can define the work center as an infinite capacity resource. In that case, APB will still consider the labor requirement as mandatory for scheduling.

    The Shop Order Infinite Scheduler does not consider labor hours during scheduling. Therefore, it is important to maintain accurate machine times to ensure a feasible and realistic schedule.

    Thanks!

    Lakshan

    Lakshan Thiranagama
    Terms & ConditionsCookie settingsAccessibility statement