SequenceAnvil
Executable schedules for high-mix job shops, with an explanation and a replan in seconds.
- Category
- Production scheduling
- Model
- SaaS
- Core platform
- ALIA Constraint Engine
- Status
- IN DEVELOPMENT
01 Problem
High-mix job shops schedule on whiteboards and spreadsheets because the scheduling tools sold to them ignore their real constraints. Sequence-dependent setups, tooling that exists only once and operators certified for some machines and not others make hand scheduling a daily fight.
The cost is missed due dates, panicked expediting and setup hours that did not need to happen.
02 Specification
This is the specification we are building toward. The status column shows what exists today.
- Finite-capacity scheduling modelPROTOTYPE
Machines, operators and tooling are modeled as the finite resources they are, so the schedule never assumes capacity that does not exist.
PROTOTYPE - Sequence-dependent setup modelingIN PROGRESS
Setup times depend on what ran before, and the optimizer orders jobs to keep changeover hours down.
IN PROGRESS - Skill and certification constraintsPLANNED
Jobs are assigned only to operators who hold the skills and certifications the work requires.
PLANNED - Due-date and priority optimizationPLANNED
The optimizer weighs due dates, priorities and lateness costs across the whole book of work at once.
PLANNED - Explainable schedulesIN PROGRESS
Every job placement carries a plain statement of why it sits where it does, so schedulers can defend the plan.
IN PROGRESS - Live replan in secondsPLANNED
When a machine goes down or a job runs long, the schedule replans in seconds instead of overnight.
PLANNED - What-if simulationPLANNED
Schedulers can test a rush order or an overtime shift against the model before committing to either.
PLANNED - Spreadsheet and ERP importPLANNED
Jobs, routings and calendars import from the spreadsheets and ERP exports shops already maintain.
PLANNED - Live machine-state inputPLANNED
GhostState feeds live machine state so every plan starts from the actual condition of the floor.
PLANNED - Multi-plant supportPLANNED
Work can be scheduled across more than one plant when routings allow it.
PLANNED
Updated as capabilities ship. BUILT means working and validated; nothing gets that label early.
03 System
- 01Jobs, machines, tooling, skills
- 02Constraint model
- 03Optimizer
- 04Executable schedule with explanation
- 05Live replan loop
04 Engineering
Constraint core
SequenceAnvil is built on the ALIA Constraint Engine, our shared platform for optimization products. Machines, operators, tooling and setup matrices are expressed as a declarative constraint model, and the solver strategy is a portfolio: fast heuristics produce a usable schedule immediately while exact methods improve it as time allows.
Explanation and replan
Explanations come from the solver itself, not from text written after the fact: every placement records the constraints that bound it. The replan path reuses the standing model, so a disruption triggers an incremental re-solve instead of a full restart. The design target is a defensible schedule in seconds at realistic shop sizes.
Integration surface
The system meets shops where their data already lives. Jobs, routings and calendars import from spreadsheets and ERP exports, live machine state arrives from GhostState, and schedules export back into the formats the shop already uses, with an on-prem option where a shop requires it.
05 Why this is hard
The genuine problem is solution quality and speed on realistic sequence-dependent job-shop instances, which sit among the hardest scheduling problems known, while keeping every decision explainable. Fast heuristics that cannot explain themselves get overridden and abandoned, and exact methods that take hours get ignored. The engineering work is a solver architecture that is good, fast and articulate at the same time.
06 Design constraints
- Replans in seconds, not overnight
- Every placement carries its reason
- Imports the spreadsheets shops already keep
- Never assumes capacity that does not exist
- Usable without a consultant on site
07 Design partner program
Design partner program.
We are looking for a small number of design and pilot partners. A partner gets the problem solved for their operation first, direct influence on the specification above, and pilot pricing. In exchange we get reality: real constraints, real data, real operators. No external partner is engaged on this product yet.