Products of Influence
Managing Capacity with Custom Products and Grids in Cienapps
To properly manage capacity and installation scheduling in Cienapps, it's essential to set up your products in a way that allows time to be calculated and scheduled as early as possible—even before technical drawings or bill of materials (BOM) are available.
Assigning Time Through the Product File
You can assign time to a product manually under the Manufacturer > Capacity tab.
However, if a group time is already assigned, the fields will be grayed out and managed through that group instead.
The main issue: You might want to schedule your jobs before importing your BOM—manual time assignment won’t support that.
Recommended Solution: Use a Dedicated “Capacity” Product
To overcome the above limitation, create a non-stop quantity product named “Capacity”.
This product uses a grid, a customizable form that asks key questions (e.g., material type, number of sheets, complexity).
Based on the answers, formulas in the grid automatically calculate time values for capacity, and can also be used for installation or shipping if needed.
Example Workflow:
In an order, add the Capacity product.
Click Apply Features to answer grid-based questions:
Example questions: Cabinet interior material, sheet count, sheet good material, complexity level.
Based on your inputs, Cienapps calculates time values (e.g., 100 min and 180 min) that appear under Planning.
These time values are now ready to be used in your calendar scheduling, even without a BOM.
Key Benefits:
Early scheduling: You don’t have to wait for technical details to start planning.
Consistency and automation: Customizable grids ensure standardized, rule-based time calculations.
Scalability: Similar grids can be used for various workflows like installation or shipping.
This method is highly recommended for accurate and early-stage planning, and the next sessions will show how to build and configure these grids.