TABLE OF CONTENTS Success in one plant does not always mean the same type of success elsewhere. Think about a Class A MRP-II implementation versus a non-Class A one. Both can be successful, but success means something different for each. Scheduling tools have the same issues with defining success.
Success measures should be determined before the project starts and then tracked.
There are five levels of possible success. Each higher level requires greater investment and effort with a greater potential return on investment.
You have thought about it, generated the requirements, and have a scheduling tool now installed. Or, you might be thinking about doing this. The previous chapters gave you some suggestions to think about in terms of what you should do or could have done. In either case, you need to think about success and failure.
Success, partial success, or failure, that is the return on investment. Scheduling systems cost a lot of money, although usually not as much as ERP systems. The cost to install, customize, and keep scheduling technology running is often at least double the basic purchase or licensing fee. Unfortunately, as far as we can make out, more systems are sitting and gathering dust than are used. Or, if they are used, many are being used for tracking and reporting, not for actual schedule generation that will be followed and executed. If a schedule is generated and used, many are changed so much in the manual editing phase that there...
