How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Industry: Manufacturing company specializing in cabin construction

Who it is for: Production manager and planners. The system is also used by supervisors overseeing specific departments such as welding and assembly.

Area: Manufacturing

See it on video

A step-by-step walk through the module — the same screens this write-up describes.

What is in the recording

0:00Manual plans consuming hours
0:05A manager's daily reality and the end of chaos
0:25All data and specifications in one place
0:41One-move planning on the Kanban board
1:01Resource analysis and bottleneck elimination
1:55Full operational control on Gantt charts
2:42Foundation of flexibility and simple configuration
2:48Reclaim time for production management

The Challenge

Replacing scattered spreadsheets with a single visual system gives the team back their time and provides full control over plant efficiency.

Before implementation, production planning relied on scattered spreadsheets, making it impossible to quickly assess machine and workforce utilization. Changing the deadline of a single order required manually updating numerous linked documents and resolving issues over the phone. In addition, technical specifications stored in PDF files were kept separately, extending the time needed to access key order information.

Key challenges:

Production planning relied on scattered spreadsheets, making it impossible to quickly assess machine and workforce utilization.
Changing the deadline of a single order required manually updating numerous linked documents and resolving issues over the phone.
In addition, technical specifications stored in PDF files were kept separately, extending the time needed to access key order information.

Business impact: Production managers, planners, and operations directors at manufacturing companies who waste time manually updating spreadsheets.

The Solution Process

A ProcessApp system was deployed with a production planning module that completely replaced the existing files.

An interactive Kanban board was launched for order forecasting, along with Gantt charts for operational task management using drag-and-drop. A resource load analysis module was also activated, providing real-time visualization of individual department availability on charts.

The implementation team mapped the company's production processes, with particular focus on the specific workflows of the welding and assembly departments.

Employee profiles, their skill sets, and the parameters of the cabin models being produced were then configured in the system.

Finally, the order database along with all attachments was migrated into a single, centralized environment.

Actions Taken

Dashboard and daily start

Gathering data from the shop floor used to require dozens of phone calls. Today, the manager starts the day with a single, clear dashboard. The planning module immediately displays key metrics: the current number of orders, statuses, and material requirements. Instead of hunting for information across different departments, the team gets a complete picture of the situation within seconds.

Competency mapping

The foundation of the change became a digital database of employees, their skills, and the parameters of the cabins being produced.

Order centralization

The problem of lost documents and emails has disappeared. When opening order details from the list, the planner has everything in a single window. Customer data, current status, and technical specifications in PDF format are always at hand. No more searching through folders.

Kanban forecasting

Manually changing a schedule used to mean tediously rewriting spreadsheets. Now forecasting is smooth work on an interactive Kanban board. The planner simply drags an order card from the unplanned pool to the appropriate month. A single click lets them preview the details. Planning has become visual, fast, and error-free.

Load analysis

Assessing production capacity used to be guesswork, and staffing shortages were discovered too late. Today the system independently calculates the current load of all resources in real time. On the analytics dashboard, the manager gains clear charts and tables that precisely show the availability of individual departments. This immediate feedback allows planners to react proactively, eliminating risk before bottlenecks form on the shop floor. Scheduling decisions are based on facts.

Gantt schedule

In the past, shifting even a single deadline triggered a cascade of phone calls and the need to manually update dozens of linked documents. Today it takes just one simple mouse movement. Opening the progress view on the Gantt chart, the planner smoothly browses and edits tasks. Dragging an element along the timeline instantly updates the entire operational plan for the company. Every authorized employee immediately sees the new version of the schedule. This saves hours of unnecessary coordination and completely eliminates communication chaos.

Department management

This digital order extends directly to the shop floor level. The manager gains dedicated views for key departments such as welding and assembly. The application allows real-time verification of operation completion reporting by individual teams. By analyzing work broken down by specialization, the manager smoothly shifts tasks on the chart to match the team's actual capacity on any given day. This complete, uninterrupted oversight allows the company to eliminate production bottlenecks well in advance.

Results Achieved

What changed

Before the deployment

Production planning relied on scattered spreadsheets, making it impossible to quickly assess machine and workforce utilization.
Changing the deadline of a single order required manually updating numerous linked documents and resolving issues over the phone.
In addition, technical specifications stored in PDF files were kept separately, extending the time needed to access key order information.

After the deployment

Planners can now reschedule with a single mouse movement, and the system immediately reflects those changes in the operational plan.
The production manager has a live view of welding and assembly workloads, enabling proactive identification of bottlenecks and staffing shortages.
All order data, including statuses, financials, and PDF specifications, is accessible to authorized employees directly from the planning view.

Screens from the deployment

Dashboard and daily start — How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Dashboard and daily startOverview of the application's main dashboard and navigation to the Planning module with visible key metrics and statuses. Gathering data from the shop floor used to require dozens of phone calls. Today, the manager starts the day with a single, clear dashboard. The planning module immediately displays key metrics: the current number of orders, statuses, and material requirements. Instead of hunting for information across different departments, the team gets a complete picture of the situation within seconds.

Click to enlarge

Competency mapping — How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Competency mappingA brief overview of the configuration of employees, their skills, and the cabin models being produced. The foundation of the change became a digital database of employees, their skills, and the parameters of the cabins being produced.

Click to enlarge

Order centralization — How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Order centralizationOpening the order list, previewing details in a modal window, and accessing attached technical documents. The problem of lost documents and emails has disappeared. When opening order details from the list, the planner has everything in a single window. Customer data, current status, and technical specifications in PDF format are always at hand. No more searching through folders.

Click to enlarge

Kanban forecasting — How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Kanban forecastingDragging order cards on the Kanban board to the appropriate months and quickly previewing details. Manually changing a schedule used to mean tediously rewriting spreadsheets. Now forecasting is smooth work on an interactive Kanban board. The planner simply drags an order card from the unplanned pool to the appropriate month. A single click lets them preview the details. Planning has become visual, fast, and error-free.

Click to enlarge

Load analysis — How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Load analysisAnalytics dashboard with charts and tables showing the current workload of individual resources. Assessing production capacity used to be guesswork, and staffing shortages were discovered too late. Today the system independently calculates the current load of all resources in real time. On the analytics dashboard, the manager gains clear charts and tables that precisely show the availability of individual departments. This immediate feedback allows planners to react proactively, eliminating risk before bottlenecks form on the shop floor. Scheduling decisions are based on facts.

Click to enlarge

Gantt schedule — How a cabin manufacturer eliminated chaos in production planning

Gantt scheduleProgress view on the Gantt chart, smooth browsing and editing of tasks over time using drag-and-drop. In the past, shifting even a single deadline triggered a cascade of phone calls and the need to manually update dozens of linked documents. Today it takes just one simple mouse movement. Opening the progress view on the Gantt chart, the planner smoothly browses and edits tasks. Dragging an element along the timeline instantly updates the entire operational plan for the company. Every authorized employee immediately sees the new version of the schedule. This saves hours of unnecessary coordination and completely eliminates communication chaos.

Click to enlarge