Look-ahead for MES instructions on shop floor

[Alexander]

My company is looking to install an MES with computer screens at each workstation to display what they are supposed to work on. We haven't even purchased it, and already I'm getting into debates with other managers about how much the screens should display. I say that the screens should show the current order plus a look-ahead to the next 3 or 4 orders, so the guys at the workstations can start to think about what they need to do, look around to confirm they have the parts they'll need, etc. Some people agree with me, but my manager says that the screens should show only the current order, because otherwise the first-shift guys will cherry-pick the upcoming orders that they WANT to work on and leave the tough stuff for the second shift.

Who's right? I'm sure we're not the first people to have this debate, so how does it play out?

[SteveW]

It's not necessarily an either/or -- your MES system should give you the flexibility to vary the display by department. That way you could provide many of the workstations with a look-ahead, as long as the first workstation did [U]not[/U] see a look-ahead. Generally speaking, if the first workstation completes and releases orders according to the scheduled sequence (which they would have to do if they don't see a look-ahead), then that should dictate the sequence which the downstream workstations must follow (even if they do see a look-ahead).