Cable & Wire Harness
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Cable & Wire Harness

Cable Manufacturer Cuts Changeover Time by 35% with Sequence Optimization

How intelligent scheduling transformed extrusion line efficiency at a Turkish cable producer

35%
Changeover Reduction
From 6 hours to under 4 hours of daily changeover time.
12%
Throughput Increase
2+ hours saved daily translates to meaningful capacity gains.
91%
On-Time Delivery
Up from 81%. Realistic scheduling means reliable promises.
75%
Planner Time Saved
From 4 hours to under 1 hour for daily scheduling.

The Challenge

A cable and wire harness manufacturer in Turkey operates 4 extrusion lines producing power cables in multiple diameters (1.5mm to 240mm) and 12 standard colors. Changeovers between products were consuming significant production time.

1
6 hours of changeover time daily across 4 extrusion lines
2
Color changes taking 15-40 minutes depending on color sequence
3
Diameter changes requiring 30-75 minutes based on size difference
4
Planners manually sequencing 200+ SKUs in Excel with rule-of-thumb logic
5
No systematic approach to minimizing total changeover time
6
Missed delivery dates due to optimistic capacity assumptions

The Solution

GenOpsX implemented sequence-dependent setup optimization, automatically finding the production order that minimizes total changeover time while meeting all delivery deadlines.

Measured and modeled actual changeover times for every color and diameter transition
Built 50x50 color transition matrix and 30x30 diameter transition matrix from shop floor data
Constraint solver optimizes daily sequence across all 4 lines simultaneously
Automatic consideration of material availability, due dates, and minimum batch sizes
Real-time schedule updates when demand changes or disruptions occur
Integration with SAP for order pull and production confirmation

Implementation

10 weeks including 6 weeks of changeover time measurement

1

Data Collection

Measured actual changeover times across every color and diameter transition. Built accurate setup matrices.

2

Model Development

Built constraint model with sequence-dependent setups, line capabilities, and business rules.

3

Single Line Pilot

Deployed on one extrusion line for 4 weeks. Validated model accuracy and operator acceptance.

4

Full Deployment

Rolled out to all 4 lines. Integrated with SAP for automatic demand sync.

Results & Impact

Qualitative Improvements

Operators understand and trust the optimized sequence
No more manual Excel manipulation for production sequencing
Line supervisors involved in validation - strong buy-in
Night shift automatically receives optimized schedule
Capacity freed up for additional orders without capital investment
“The first optimized schedule ran 30 minutes faster than our best manual attempt. After that, everyone was convinced. We have not touched Excel for scheduling since.”
Plant Operations Director·Cable Manufacturing Company

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