Queue time is the number of hours that a work ticket sits in front of a work center before it starts. It also includes the "move" time required to physically move partially completed items from the previous activity to the next work center. Queue time is expressed in production hours. Increasing the queue time can reduce the number of hours committed at overloaded work centers. Queue time is used only for scheduling purposes and does not affect the work center capacity.
In most manufacturing companies, the actual "lead time" through the shop is composed of over 90 percent queue time. By varying the amount of queue time you plan into your work tickets, you control the planned lead time of a job. Queue time is entered in the Queue Time (Hours) field in the Work Center Maintenance window.
Example
A work ticket has two steps to be performed at a work center. The work center has a capacity of 8 hours per day, and the queue time for the work center is 4 hours. The Ignore Queue Time check box is cleared for the first step and selected for the second step. The start day for the first step is 5/11/28. If the first step requires 2 hours of activity and the second step requires 6 hours, the work center is scheduled as follows.
|
Date |
Queue Time |
First Step |
Second Step |
Scheduled Hours |
|
5/11/28 |
4 hours |
2 hours |
2 hours |
4 hours |
|
5/12/28 |
|
|
4 hours |
4 hours |
If the Ignore Queue Time check box is selected for both steps, or if the queue time for the work center is 0, both steps would be scheduled during the first day.
For more information, see:
