This morning we met with IT to pitch the idea - they like it. They're working on a system to offer real-time monitoring of order completion status on the shop floor, so we'll design our system to integrate with theirs. We'll flesh out the algorithm over this coming week, and present on Monday.
Right now our priority is to determine the appropriate characteristics to use in order prioritization, as well as their relative importance. Since we have no programming skills, Robert and I will develop the program as a system of logical and mathematical arguments, and IT will turn it into a computer application. Right now we're using Microsoft Excel as a platform. Tomorrow we hope to go back to the shop floor to gain a more in-depth understanding of the manufacturing process.
This project is moving much quicker than I expected - once we determine the characteristics and their weights, we just need to plug them into the spreadsheet we've developed, try some test cases, and play around with the system until it outputs a prioritization ranking that makes sense. Ajay said he can give us data from 7-8 real orders as test cases, I'm curious to see how well our algorithm works. I'm sure it won't work the first time (or the second or third time, for that matter), but I have high hopes for its eventual effectiveness. I think Robert and I could really make a difference here.
In unrelated news, I'm starting to run out of clothes. Laundry was taken two days ago and we haven't seen it since...
Andrew, this blog is great! Thanks for so effectively documenting what's going on - a real improvement from the ENGI course ;).
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's interesting to hear about you and Robert shaping up to play somewhat of a consulting role with Virgo. I'll be curious to hear about what contributions you guys end up making.