Forum Discussion
Creating production schedule in Project
Hi, I am struggling to find right software for a production scheduling application, for a fast moving manufacturing environment. Eventually I reached to Microsoft Project plan 3 free trial. I find i...
mkjain,
Let me offer my input, some of my colleagues will likely jump in with their thoughts.
Is Project a good app for production scheduling? That's kind of up to you as it depends on what features you need for your production scheduling.
You are correct in that there are perhaps way too many different versions of Project. Separate stand alone Project desktop is still available directly from Microsoft or from authorized third party suppliers. The latest version of Project 2021 but you may not actually need the latest, again, depending on what features you need/want. Project plan 3 or 5 are subscription versions of Project. Both of those include the Project desktop client. Unless you need enterprise capabilities, plan 3 will work fine.
In Project machines are work type resources, just like labor. Project also has features that can be used for rented/leased equipment. There are also cost type resources (e.g. travel, training, etc.) and material resources (e.g. fuel, bricks, anything that is consumable).
That's kinda the short list. If you have specific requirements, tell us about them and we'll try to answer.
John
Let me offer my input, some of my colleagues will likely jump in with their thoughts.
Is Project a good app for production scheduling? That's kind of up to you as it depends on what features you need for your production scheduling.
You are correct in that there are perhaps way too many different versions of Project. Separate stand alone Project desktop is still available directly from Microsoft or from authorized third party suppliers. The latest version of Project 2021 but you may not actually need the latest, again, depending on what features you need/want. Project plan 3 or 5 are subscription versions of Project. Both of those include the Project desktop client. Unless you need enterprise capabilities, plan 3 will work fine.
In Project machines are work type resources, just like labor. Project also has features that can be used for rented/leased equipment. There are also cost type resources (e.g. travel, training, etc.) and material resources (e.g. fuel, bricks, anything that is consumable).
That's kinda the short list. If you have specific requirements, tell us about them and we'll try to answer.
John
Thanks for your prompt input.
I am fine with Project 3, except that I am not able to see how to add machines. I just see assignment resource where I can add users to assign the task, but how to create other resource?
I am almost ready to buy plan 3 if I can at least get this functionality. Is it possible to add machines in Project 3?I am assuming Project 5 should have that, but I can not try independently because that asks to contact a partner for trial!
- Update:
I believe Desktop client is needed to add resources, finally I could install that and now started learning. Since I need online version, so I believe I need to add resources, make the projects and then publish it. Hopefully then online I would see all resources including machines etc I created in Desktop.
Incase you have advise on how to make initial learning curve smoother please suggest.- mkjain,
You do NOT need plan 5 as plan 3 has what you need. But I'm a little confused when you say you need "online version" since you initially asked if the stand alone desktop version is available and in my response I told you stand alone versions are still available.
I do not use Project Online (subscription version) so I can't help you with how best to use it for your production planning. However, I will ask my colleague Dale Howard to jump in as he has expertise in that area.
John
