Block Planning is the planning or pre-assignment of resource capacities for products with specific attributes, with the purpose of using the capacities more rationally. The attributes are described using characteristics from the SAP system.

In block planning, you define blocks on a resource that have a specific duration and attributes, for example, a duration of 2 days per block on which you manufacture products in various alloys of the same alloy group.

A block is defined as a period of time, in which a resource processes one or more activities with the same attributes. The attributes are represented by CDP characteristics.

The maintenance of block definition is done in the master data of the resource

• Block basis definition: /n/SAPAPO/REST01• Block reference cycle: /n/SAPAPO/REST01k

The actual block schedule maintenance is done from planning board• Block schedule: /SAPAPO/CDPS0 with double-click on block• Extended block schedule: /SAPAPO/CDPS0 with heuristic “Extended Block

maintenance”

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

APO Resource: Block Planning

• Create block basis definitionYou specify the characteristic requirements for the class in the block basis definition. A block definition refers to the class, not the current resource. If you change the block basis definition, the system changes the characteristics requirements of all blocks that use this block basis definition for this class. If you delete a block basis definition, the system replaces all blocks on resources that have used this block basis definition by free blocks.

• Define reference cycleYou can group several block basis definitions with relative durations in a reference cycle, and use them for recurring block sequences.

• Create and process blocksYou can create the blocks individually with the corresponding block basis definitions, or add a predefined sequence of blocks using reference cycles. You can process the blocks you have created in a table or in a graph.

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Block Planning: Settings

SAP_CDPBP_01: Plan blocks Rescheduling of activities on block-planned resources if block attributes have been changed.

SAP_CDPBP_02: Adjust and plan block limitsAdjust block to fill level

SAP_CDPBP_03: Enhanced block maintenance Insert/Delete blocks

Enhance; Shrink blocks by different units

Manage block settings

SAP_CDPBP_04: Block maintenance, access interactively Insert/Delete blocks

Enhance; Shrink blocks

Manage block settings

Material stages

Overview Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Block planning heuristics

Capacity Planning

Block planned casthouse resource

TLA6• Blocks per Alloy series (ALLIN_1_DIGIT)

10 charges of alloy 2xxx and 7xxx 30 charges of alloy 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx

TLA7• Blocks per Usage (Short billets or long

billets) Characteristic POUZITI_LB 8 charges for short billets 12 charges for long billets

ITS8-9• Block per main Alloy (ALLIN_4_DIGIT)

5 different block definitions

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Decin Local Content

Step 8: Maintain blocks

Explanation: The block is defining a time period on a resource where only activities with specified characteristics can be scheduled. The block is defining as well wether it is fixed (no new orders); where the activities are to be scheduled (block border) and whether a block can be overbooked (%)

The actual maintenance job of blocks can be done out of the Planning Board (/n/SAPAPO/CDPSC0) or from the resource master (/n/SAPAPO/RES01)

Switch to tab “Intervals”

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Step 8B: Maintain Blocks by ref cycle

Choose line where you want to change and press to insert a reference cycle

Specify • when to insert cycle

• How many times to insert

• Whether existing blocks are to be overwritten

• Downtimes to be considered

Press to insert

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Step 8C: Maintain blocks

You can maintain the block schedule from the resource master and set additional fields of the blocks from there. But it is recommended to use the planning board for this daily maintenance

Press and define to display all fields

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Step 8D: Additional settings of blocks

Block Is Protected

If you have set the protection indicator for a

block, you cannot change the properties of that block

on the maintenance screen.

NOT used by I2P

Schedule Component/Operations Dates for Block Limits

If you set this indicator, the system schedules component and operation dates on the block limits as follows:

Input and output component of operations in the block

The requirements date for the input components is scheduled to the start of the block, while the receipt date of the output components is scheduled to the end of the block.

Use the consumption type At Activity End for receipt components and At Activity Start for requirements components; do not use any offsets as the system will adjust the dates

accordingly at the block limits. System behavior may become unpredictable.

The predecessor and successor operations of operations in the block

The predecessor operations end at the start of the block at the latest, while the successor operations start at the end of the block at the earliest. The minimum intervals in the

relationships of the predecessor and successor relationships for operations in the block refer to the start or end of the block.

Use end-start relationships between the operations as the system will adjust the dates at the block limits accordingly. System behavior may become unpredictable.

Dependencies

Scheduling at block limits can be overwritten by the setting Schedule Operation on Block Limits in the strategy profile.

Input or output components with continuous consumption are not scheduled to block limits; the same applies to the minimum or maximum offsets in relationships.

The system will only schedule at block limits if the relevant activity lies in a compatible block.If the activity only partially lies in a compatible block, then the compatibility at the start of the block is valid for relationships to successor activities and requirements components, and the

compatibility at the end of the block is valid for the predecessor activities and receipt components.

This indicator cannot be set at the first or last block on the resource. If required, add additional blocks at the beginning or end if you want to use scheduling at block limits. If you delete

blocks, the indicator might be set for the first or last block. The system ignores this setting, however.

If you set this indicator, the system considers the temporal tolerance that you have defined for the blocks.

With block tolerance, the system can schedule an operation in the block in such a way that the operation extends beyond the

block limit in the planning direction. A prerequisite is that - depending on the planning direction - the start or end date of the operation lies within the block limit, and the operation does not

extend further than the tolerance beyond the block limit.

NOT USED

If a block is marked as fixed:

•The activities in the block can no longer be shifted.

•The activities will not be planned in this block if the

activities are scheduled again in a fixed block.

•No additional activities will be planned in this block.

Block schedule

Block schedule maintenance is done manually by using• Block schedule (double-click on block in planning board)

• Block maintenance heuristic (mark resource in Planning Board and choose “Enhanced Block Maintenance” Heurisitic

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

Mark resource

Choose menu “Functions””Heuristics””Enhanced Block

maitenance”

Enhanced Block maintenance

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting

List of BlocksUtilization in % Assigned definition

Maintenance mode 2:If a block is enlarged either shrink

subsequent block or move subsequent blocks

Maintenance mode 1:How to enter change - either •Time•Equivalent (e.g. # melts)•Sequence

Allowed overload in %

Enter changed block size here (in unit

defined in Maintenance mode)

Schedule at block end

Insert BlockDelete Block

Insert Reference Cycle

Block schedule

When a block setup is changed the orders are not automatically re-scheduled. You need to run a schedule heuristic

E.g. within planning board mark resource, choose “Deallocate” and choose “Function” “Heuristics” “Schedule Operations”

Material stages

Overview Capacity Planning

Scheduling Conversion Reporting