Product Showcase Video: Tackle Bottlenecks with Fulcrum's Backlog View

In this video, Fulcrum Account Manager Quinn Anderson walks through how to use the backlog to know where you may need to shift or allocate resources.

Transcript:

Hi, I'm Quinn, an account manager here at Fulcrum. Today, I'm going to be talking about the backlog report, which can be found under the scheduling dropdown in your left-hand navigation bar. This report is a powerful decision-making tool designed to help manage production bottlenecks. By pulling together capacity data from your shift setup and equipment, along with production data from live orders in the system, you can identify potential delays across different departments on your shop floor, ultimately preventing order delays and unhappy customers.

The backlog report helps you pinpoint areas where resources can be added or redistributed, if capacity is available, to resolve bottlenecks. It provides an overview of each department, showing both the number of labor hours you've allotted and the hours available on equipment that can be run unattended. By looking ahead in your backlog, you can see where jobs are likely to be late and take proactive steps, such as rearranging operators, adding overtime shifts, or renegotiating due dates with customers.

For example, if the assembly department is using 100% of its capacity and all jobs are delayed, but the laser department has available capacity around the same time frame, you can move labor hours from the laser department to the assembly department. This can help solve or reduce the bottleneck, allowing you to meet deadlines more effectively.

By drilling down into specific departments, you can see how many hours are scheduled for each piece of equipment, and how many hours are assigned to on-time versus late jobs. You can also check how many hours are available for scheduling. In cases where every department is backlogged and there are no resources to redistribute, you’ll know right away and can proactively discuss adjusting due dates with your customers.

Using this tool to manage production not only helps you save costs on overtime but also increases overall throughput. It helps you meet on-time delivery goals and maintain strong, long-lasting relationships with your customers.

This transcript was written with the help of AI.