If you work with production in Business Central and run operations that produce multiple items at a time, two new fields on the shop floor mobile can make your routings easier to read. The fields are called cycle time and cycle capacity, and they let you specify how long it takes to produce a batch and how many items that batch contains.
The fields do not change the result on the production order. The lead time and the costing stay the same as if you used the standard runtime and lot size fields. What changes is the overview. The runtime shown on each routing line reflects the actual average time per item, which makes it easier to read and add up.
Use the cycle time and cycle capacity fields when you produce a fixed number of items per cycle, for example a machine that handles 10 at a time or an oven that bakes 100 at a time.
The production scenario these fields solve
The fields are built for discrete production where you create a batch of items in each operation. Typical examples are a machine that processes 10 units at a time, or an oven where you bake 100 units in a single run. In these cases, the time it takes to run the operation does not match the time per individual item, and that is what these fields handle.
How standard Business Central handles batch production
Standard Business Central already gives you a way to model this using the runtime field and the lot size field on the routing line.
Say it takes half an hour to produce 10 items, and you produce 10 at a time. You set the runtime to 30 minutes and the lot size to 10. Business Central then produces the correct numbers on the production order, but the lead time becomes one third, meaning three minutes, because you told the system the lot size was 10.
This standard functionality is useful when an operation runs very quickly. For instance, if it takes five seconds to create 100 items, you can enter that and the system uses the number directly. The combination of runtime and lot size works well here.
How cycle time and cycle capacity work
The cycle time and cycle capacity fields give you the same functionality with a clearer overview. You set the cycle time to 30 minutes and the cycle capacity to 10. The system then calculates a runtime of three minutes.
The production order created from this routing ends up with the same lead time and the same costing as the standard runtime and lot size approach. The difference is what you see on the routing line.
Why the overview is easier to read
When you look at a routing line, three minutes is easier to understand than 30 minutes, because three minutes is the expected lead time per item. The 30 minutes figure is the time for the full batch, not what you would expect for a single item.
If you want to add up all the lines to figure out the normal average runtime for an operation, the cycle time and cycle capacity fields give you numbers that reflect the real per-item time. That makes the routing easier to interpret at a glance.
What happens on the production order
The cycle time and cycle capacity values transfer to the production order. When you create a production order and refresh it, the system pulls in the routing.
In an example with a setup time of 10 minutes, the standard approach with a runtime of 30 minutes and a lot size of 10 gives a lead time of 40 minutes. That is correct, because the setup time of 10 is added on top.
The other approach, where the runtime is three minutes and you use cycle time and cycle capacity, produces the same lead time. The difference is that the system understands the runtime to be three minutes, which is the average time per item, even though the batch actually takes 30 minutes to run.
Q&A
What are the cycle time and cycle capacity fields in the shop floor mobile?
They are two fields added to the shop floor mobile to help you work with production where you create multiple items in each operation. Cycle time is how long the batch takes, and cycle capacity is how many items the batch contains.
Do cycle time and cycle capacity change the lead time or cost on a production order?
No. The lead time and the costing on the production order are the same as if you used the standard runtime and lot size fields. Only the overview on the routing line changes.
How do cycle time and cycle capacity differ from runtime and lot size in standard Business Central?
They achieve the same result, but display a clearer number. With cycle time of 30 minutes and cycle capacity of 10, the system calculates a runtime of three minutes, which is the actual average time per item. Standard runtime and lot size would show 30 minutes as the runtime even though the per-item time is three minutes.
When should I use cycle time and cycle capacity?
Use them when you produce a fixed number of items in each operation, for example a machine that handles 10 at a time or an oven that bakes 100 at a time. They give you a routing overview that reflects the real per-item runtime.
Why does the lead time show three minutes instead of 30 minutes?
Three minutes is the expected lead time per item, calculated from a 30 minute cycle that produces 10 items. The 30 minutes is the time for the full batch, so per item it works out to three minutes.