We designed new features in ProcessModel using advanced capabilities in Excel. These new features are so advanced they are unavailable in ANY other software. What makes these additions so valuable? They combine many features into a single object that is easy to learn, quick to implement, and solves a complex problem.
Why Would ProcessModel Use Excel?
Changes to ProcessModel software require hundreds of hours of planning, development, and testing. And hours spent by ProcessModel is just the tip of the iceberg. After releasing a new version, corporations invest thousands of combined hours on internal software security. That software “iceberg” happens before any new version of ProcessModel is released to the end-user.
We use Excel to develop and deliver new capabilities quickly, sometimes in a single day. How can we provide new features so fast? These features are a result of combining existing ProcessModel capabilities uniquely. Since we are using existing capabilities, we can bi-pass all security testing. The base software doesn’t change. The ProcessModel engine depth allows some “really cool combinations” users wouldn’t be able to recreate on their own.
So… What Can You Do for Me?
These new capabilities are valuable to you because they combine existing features in a novel fashion to model things that are too difficult or too time-consuming for most users (and, in some cases, for any user).
For example, below are just a few of over 200 objects that speed the modeling process:
Rebalance a system when the schedule, product mix, or staffing changes. Use the people with the proper skill-level to maximize total throughput, revenue, or quality. The model rebuilds automatically with new assignments and new logic in seconds. People with training in multiple positions might have different levels of skill at each position. The thought of reassigning workers to best optimize the system is daunting. Changing complex resource assignments would take hours if done manually. Now reassignments, and the associated time and quality changes, takes only minutes to perform. The users don’t even need training in ProcessModel to rebalance the line.
Create Detailed arrival patterns from raw data (date and time of past arrivals) in about 2 minutes – Output detailed daily arrival patterns. Define arrival distributions for every hour of the day and every day of the week. Conversion of raw data into arrivals usually takes hours to prepare and format.
Read in a Schedule with product codes – Output the flow, setup times, and processing times for unlimited entity types (patients, parts, customers, orders, repair, etc.). You provide a code or series of words, and ProcessModel assigns the production time, setup, and where entities need to go for processing. Think of a truck assembly with unlimited combinations of options. Use codes to describe the options of the truck. Short words (codes) change the assembly time (range of times) at each station. Or, think of a surgical suite, having a different setup, surgical time, and turnover based on the type of surgery. Surgery names or abbreviations change how long it takes to set up a room, the range of surgery times, and the removal of equipment and cleaning. This object is simple to set up and easy to use. Optimize the use of surgical suites with this object.
Identify Customer Driven Staffing Needs – Many businesses evolve into staffing for the staff’s convenience rather than customers’ needs. The result is long waiting times, customer frustration, and staff dissatisfaction. This problem is challenging to solve because staffing may include several departments, each needed at different times of the day. Changes to any part of the system ripple through the remainder, requiring recalculations. Accurately calculating multi-department staffing need is almost impossible with manual methods. This object automates the staffing calculations, showing how many and exactly when staff is needed to optimize the system. This feature is easy to implement and easy to use, providing a statistical method of finding the customer-defined staffing needs.
I mentioned just four of the powerful model objects. Two hundred additional objects help you to improve your systems at a record pace. See the new capabilities.
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