A machine breakdown changes a constraint, not just a date on a calendar. Before moving every job to another slot, establish what has stopped, what can continue and which decisions need a planner's approval.
1. Confirm the current state
Identify the unavailable resource and the expected recovery window, including uncertainty. Confirm completed quantities, active work and material already committed. Avoid treating a partially completed operation as though it has not started.
2. Protect work already released
Agree which near-term operations should remain fixed unless there is a compelling reason to change them. Constant resequencing can create preparation work and confusion on the floor. Preserve the current plan while evaluating a revision.
3. Check alternatives against the real constraints
An idle machine is not automatically a valid substitute. Review tooling, process capability, operator skills, material status and setup time. If an alternative requires an additional inspection or approval, include that step in the proposed sequence.
4. Show the impact before approval
Compare affected delivery dates, bottleneck load and changes to other orders. If no feasible plan exists, show the conflict. The business may need to revise a commitment or approve extra capacity; software should make that decision clearer.
5. Publish one version and close the loop
After approval, release the revised schedule through an agreed channel. Keep the previous version, record the reason for the change and make the current version visible to supervisors. Capture actual progress so the next revision uses current information.
Use the incident to improve the model
Review what the planner knew that the software did not: perhaps a setup dependency, a shared operator or an unreliable duration estimate. Add verified process knowledge to the planning model and test it against representative orders.
Explore the production scheduling constraints guide and our planning and scheduling service. For a system connected to your factory records, discuss your workflow with Keen Systems.