Same factory, same orders, same people. The only difference is how work is released and sequenced. First come, first served pushes every order onto the floor the moment it arrives. An APS balances the plan against the capacity of each work center, releases work at the pace of the bottleneck and groups similar products to cut changeovers.
Each square is a production order. Its shade is the product family. A changeover is needed every time a work center switches family (shown in dark brown). SF03 – Wood Assembling is the constraint: labour-heavy with the highest direct labour cost in the wood department. Both factories start with the same backlog on the floor – about 6 weeks of orders.
Same annual volume per work center (from the 12-month production data). First come, first served lets demand peaks hit the floor unfiltered – overload one week, idle the next. APS levels the load under the capacity line by pulling work forward into free capacity.
Work is released when the bottleneck can take it. Queues shrink, the floor is calmer and orders stop getting lost in piles.
Orders are sequenced by due date and flow instead of waiting. Delivery promises can be kept – and quoted shorter.
Grouping families at Wood Assembling cuts changeovers, turning set-up time into productive hours at the constraint.