What is CorrOpti

CorrOpti is a corrugator scheduling tool that generates optimal corrugator schedules. It provides various optimization criteria for the user to select from, including:

• minimum trim ratio
• maximum profit
• maximum profit rate
• maximum utilization
• minimum time
• minimum cost
• minimum cost per unit area
• maximum profit per unit area
• Minimum trim area

CorrOpti is a true optimizing scheduler. It is mathematically guaranteed to generate schedules that are unsurpassable on the selected criterion. Despite performing absolute optimization, CorrOpti is amazingly efficient. On a typical desktop PC, it generates a schedule for tens of orders in unnoticeable time.

The efficiency and responsiveness of CorrOpti make it usable in various what-if scenarios related to corrugator scheduling. Examples of such scenarios include:

• How would adding order X to the run affect the run-time and the profitability of the maximum-profit-rate schedule?
• How less will the profit be if we minimize time instead of maximizing profit?
• How will upgrading order X and including it in the run affect the profit rate?
• How will the trim ratio be affected if we use a single roll-size to avoid roll-size changes?

When maximizing the profit or the profit rate, CorrOpti not only accounts for the cost, but also for the revenue. Furthermore, CorrOpti takes advantage of the allowed quantity overruns and underruns to decide on the exact quantities that will optimize the schedule on the selected criterion.

To cope with real world situations when optimizing on profit or on profit rate, CorrOpti allows variation in pricing for orders of the same board type. Orders of the same board type may vary in price for various reasons, including discounts and quality upgrades. Such pricing discrepancies, if any, are perfectly accounted for in generating an optimal schedule.

For order-split control, CorrOpti provides a tool that lets the user interactively maneuver through different sequencings of the schedule steps, and visualize the effects on order splits along the way.

CorrOpti is easy to use for anyone familiar with the corrugated cardboard industry. A typical session of use starts with entering the scheduling input through a multi-tab window, and then clicking the schedule button. The generated schedule is then detailed in another multi-tab window.
 

Features

• Various optimization criteria to accommodate different production circumstances
• Simultaneously generating schedules based on all optimization criteria and comparing them
• Optimization of the actual profit and profit rate directly, not only via their correlates (trim ratio and utilization)
• Scheduling for corrugators with 2 or 3 cut-off knives
• Usability in various what-if scenarios
• Optimal use of the permissible overruns and underruns
• Accounting for both revenues and costs when maximizing the profit or the profit rate
• Providing cost and revenue breakdowns for each schedule
• Supporting multiple-sheet box designs
• Visual tool for order-split control