Production Analyst: Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Production Analyst? A: Production Analyst is an advanced software application that manages information about plans, production, and performance of the supply chain. Using Production Analyst, companies can develop benchmarks to facilitate synchronization, optimization, velocity, agility and knowledge management of a continuous manufacturing enterprise supply chain. Q: How can Production Analyst help improve manufacturing operations? A: Production Analyst helps improve manufacturing operations by continuously tuning planning systems to match true operating capabilities and constraints. Production Analyst can determine what the optimal operational plan should have been for actual feedstocks and product shipments, and assess whether the actual operations completed were optimal for the given start/end conditions. This analysis, known as "backcasting," can produce planning model adjustments that better represent the "true capability" of your manufacturing facility. Q: How does Production Analyst “mine” information? A: Production Analyst can "mine" data about operational plans that accumulate through continuous use, allowing you to define and retain "projects" for future use. These projects contain planned, actual, and backcasted models. A searching function is available to help you find examples of the best historical operations that match current conditions, so you can optimally match the "true capability" of your manufacturing complex to expected demand. Q: Who are the typical users of Production Analyst? A: Production Analyst can be successfully applied in manufacturing facilities where the planning functions are automated with an LP planning tool—such as Honeywell’s RPMS, or equivalent. Production Analyst is suitable for, but is not limited to, the following processes: Refineries and other hydrocarbon processing plants Petrochemical plants Production Analyst is typically used by: Production Planners with a view to analyzing planned vs. actual performance and understanding the reasons why actual production and planned production deviate. Plant Managers, to monitor overall plant performance against plan. Engineers, to review actual unit throughput against planned throughput. Q: Does Production Analyst integrate non-Honeywell applications? A: Production Analyst is designed to allow non-Honeywell applications to be included in the Plan vs. Actual process. Interfaces to third-party planning tools (such as PIMS or GRTMPS) and third-party yield accounting/reconciliation tools (such as Advisor or Sigmafine) can also be written—some are available off-the-shelf.