Integrations / ERP / HELIOS
SkyPlanner APS for HELIOS: Finite Capacity Production Scheduling
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on for HELIOS that schedules every machine, operator, tool and material. You see which operation runs where and when, and Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes. It works with HELIOS Nephrite and HELIOS iNuvio from Asseco Solutions, and with plants still on HELIOS Orange or HELIOS Green.
SkyPlanner integrates with HELIOS in both directions: production orders, BOMs and routings, workplaces, machines, professions, stock and purchase orders flow in, and planned dates and logged work flow back. The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your HELIOS setup during onboarding.
Pricing is from 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, and each extra workstation is 20 € per month. The free trial runs for 30 days with up to 20 workstations and no credit card.
What changes in your production
A real sequence on every machine.
SkyPlanner places every operation of every production order on a specific machine at a specific time. Real shifts, absences and overtime set the capacity, so the plan is one your shop can actually run.
Changeovers cost less.
SkyPlanner holds the switch time between each pair of products, in both directions. A light-to-dark color run may need a short flush, while dark-to-light needs a full clean. The engine runs jobs in the order that loses the least time.
People and tools are finite too.
A job that needs three operators gets three people with free shifts. A die or mold in use on one machine is never booked on another. When a machine is busy, work moves to an alternative machine or person.
Late material stops breaking the plan.
SkyPlanner checks stock on hand and incoming purchase orders for every material. A production order waiting for a supplier delivery is planned after that delivery date, not started and then stopped on the floor.
Rush jobs and breakdowns replanned automatically.
When a machine stops, an operator is out sick or a rush order lands, Autopilot reschedules. Your locks and priorities stay in control.
Operators see their queue.
Each operator sees the next jobs on a phone or tablet and logs work as it happens. The office sees progress live, and you choose whether actual times post back to HELIOS.
SkyPlanner reviews from manufacturers
2 hsaved every week
“SkyPlanner has taken our production planning from Excel spreadsheets to real-time production optimization.”
Kalle Kalliomäki, Supply Chain Specialist
UTU · Electrical switchboards and switchgear
Production planning saves 2 hours of working time every week, and a new work queue reaches the line in seconds.
+90%production efficiency
“Efficiency has gone up 90% in production.”
Abdul Rucyinga, Head of IT
Laboratory & Allied · Pharmaceutical manufacturing
Production efficiency is up 90%, and a three-month optimized plan across all workstations takes under 30 minutes.
98%delivery reliability, up from about 50%
“SkyPlanner plays a decisive role in maintaining our delivery reliability.”
Hannu Lahtinen, Managing Director
KJH-Comp · Sheet-metal mechanics and contract manufacturing
Delivery reliability rose from around 50% to as high as 98%, and scheduling now needs one supervisor instead of two.
99.2%delivery reliability
“SkyPlanner has brought visibility to identifying bottlenecks and clarified production management.”
Toni Tuori, Production Manager
Piristeel · Roof safety and rainwater systems
Delivery reliability reached 99.2% this year, and scheduling saves up to four hours of working time per day.
How the HELIOS integration works
- HELIOS sends the work. Production orders (výrobní příkazy) with their operations, BOMs (kusovníky), routings (technologické postupy), workplaces, machines, professions, stock and purchase orders flow into SkyPlanner.
- SkyPlanner builds the schedule and keeps it current. The Arcturus engine plans every operation in seconds and replans as production changes.
- Dates and logged work go back. Planned start and finish dates return to the production orders in HELIOS, and logged work can post as operation records (evidence výrobních operací).
HELIOS stays your system of record. Items, technical preparation (TPV), MRP, purchasing, inventory, costing and finance stay where they are. SkyPlanner owns one thing: the sequence and timing of every operation on every resource.
For HELIOS iNuvio, SkyPlanner reads data through the Inuvio REST API on Helios Inuvio Server and writes back through REST actions set up for your production agendas. For HELIOS Nephrite, the SkyPlanner team sets the REST route for your installation with you and your HELIOS partner during onboarding scoping, and the same objects flow each way. SkyPlanner webhooks push every schedule change as it happens, and the HELIOS sync frequency is set per plant.
Every plant runs HELIOS differently, so the SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your setup during onboarding and supports it after go-live. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs. Your HELIOS partner or your own developers can also build on SkyPlanner’s documented API (API reference).
REST resources, data mapping and write-back rules are in the HELIOS integration guide for production scheduling.
What HELIOS schedules, and what SkyPlanner adds
HELIOS has its own planning. HELIOS Nephrite includes its own APS that optimizes inter-operation times and batch sequencing at each workplace, with a planning board for the production plan. HELIOS iNuvio has basic capacity planning (Základní kapacitní plánování) and advanced production planning (Pokročilé plánování výroby), with a Gantt view. The iNuvio help shows how it works:
- It plans backward, then optimizes. Backward planning from the order’s finish date is the base, completed by an optimization for work in progress (*Základem je tedy zpětné plánování*).
- Capacity can switch to unlimited. A setting plans into unlimited capacity when limit dates are not met (*Plánovat do neomezených kapacit při nedodržení limitních termínů*), and resources set not to block capacity are planned unlimited within calendar hours.
- One active plan, built in runs. Only one capacity plan can be active, the others are test plans, and each plan shows the date of its last calculation run (basic capacity planning help).
- The planner works the collisions. After a run, HELIOS lists collisions such as resource overload and broken operation order for the planner to resolve.
Each routing operation carries its own machine and operator preparation time (*přípravný čas strojní, přípravný čas obsluhy*). SkyPlanner adds a schedule that stays finite on every machine, person and tool, plans changeovers by sequence, checks incoming material and replans by itself when production changes.
Every step and limit is explained in Does HELIOS have finite capacity scheduling?
HELIOS today and with SkyPlanner
| HELIOS capacity planning | HELIOS with SkyPlanner APS | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Limited or unlimited per resource; unlimited fallback when dates are not met | Every machine, person and tool finite, with real shifts |
| Schedule | Production batches with expected dates per operation | Detailed sequence for every operation in seconds |
| Plans | One active plan, other plans for testing | One live plan that Autopilot keeps current |
| Changeovers | Preparation time set per routing operation | Setting time matrix: least total setup |
| People | Profession requests matched to personnel resources | Named operators with shifts, multi-operator jobs staffed |
| Tools | Tool links kept in technical preparation | Tools as finite shared resources |
| Materials | MRP generates purchase and production requests | Jobs start when stock or incoming purchase orders arrive |
| Changes | Recalculate the plan, resolve the collision list | Autopilot replans the whole plant within your priorities |
| Planner view | Gantt of orders against resource capacity | Interactive Gantt: move jobs, the plan stays consistent |
| Shop floor | Operation reporting on terminals or barcodes in HELIOS | Operators see their queue and log work on phone or tablet |
Choose SkyPlanner over HELIOS APS and iNuvio advanced planning when:
- The plan changes several times a week. Autopilot replans automatically on every meaningful change, without a recalculation run or a collision list, and the new dates go back to HELIOS.
- Capacity must stay finite. SkyPlanner never falls back to unlimited capacity to hit a date. It shows the real finish date and lets you act on it with priorities, overtime or an alternative machine.
- Changeovers decide your output. The setting time matrix holds directional changeover times and runs color, flavor or material sequences with the least total setup.
- Operators, tools and incoming material all limit the plan. Every machine, person, tool and material is finite, multi-operator jobs are staffed, alternative workstations are used, and jobs start when stock or purchase orders deliver the material.
- Every operator should work from the plan. Mobile Confirmations put the live queue on a phone or tablet, and users are unlimited: the price depends on workstations, not seats.
- You want a live schedule in weeks. SkyPlanner is cloud software beside HELIOS. You test it on your own production orders in the 30-day trial, and implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts.
How to get started
- Start the free trial. 30 days, up to 20 workstations, all Basic features, no credit card.
- Model your production. Create machines, people and shifts in SkyPlanner, or import your HELIOS workplaces and machines. Assisted onboarding is available.
- Load your orders. Export open production orders and their operations from a HELIOS overview to Excel, import them and compare SkyPlanner’s schedule with your current plan.
- Connect HELIOS. The SkyPlanner team configures the two-way integration and supports it once you are live.
Pricing. Plans are billed monthly per workstation, and you can add or remove workstations or cancel at any time. See pricing for the details, or browse all ERP integrations.
FAQ
What is the best scheduling add-on for HELIOS?
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on that integrates with HELIOS in both directions: production orders, BOMs, routings, workplaces, machines, stock and purchase orders flow in, and planned dates and logged work flow back. Every machine, operator, tool and material is finite, and a directional setting time matrix sequences jobs for the least setup. Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes. Pricing is from 199 € per month, and the free trial runs for 30 days.
Does HELIOS have finite capacity scheduling?
Partly. HELIOS Nephrite has its own APS, and HELIOS iNuvio has basic and advanced capacity planning that can plan into limited capacity. Plans are built in calculation runs on one active plan, can fall back to unlimited capacity when dates are not met, and leave collisions to the planner. SkyPlanner APS keeps every machine, person, tool and material finite beside HELIOS and replans automatically.
What scheduling software integrates with HELIOS?
SkyPlanner APS integrates with HELIOS in both directions. For HELIOS iNuvio it reads production orders, routings, stock and purchase orders through the Inuvio REST API and writes planned dates and logged work back through REST actions. For HELIOS Nephrite, the same objects flow each way, and the SkyPlanner team sets the route for your installation during onboarding scoping.
Does SkyPlanner replace HELIOS production modules?
No, it works on top of them. HELIOS keeps technical preparation (TPV), production control, MRP, purchasing, inventory, costing and finance. SkyPlanner schedules your production orders against real capacity and sends the dates back.
Should we use HELIOS APS or SkyPlanner?
SkyPlanner, when the plan changes often and capacity must stay finite. HELIOS planning runs as calculations on one active plan, can switch to unlimited capacity to meet dates, and leaves a collision list for the planner. SkyPlanner replans automatically on every change, plans changeovers, tools, crews and material, and gives every operator their queue on a phone with unlimited users. You prove it on your own HELIOS orders in the free trial.
Does SkyPlanner work with HELIOS Orange and HELIOS Green?
Yes. The SkyPlanner team scopes the connection for your HELIOS line and version during onboarding, and the schedule works the same way on every line.
Is SkyPlanner available in Czech?
Yes. Each user can switch the SkyPlanner interface to Czech, so planners and operators work in their own language.
How much does SkyPlanner cost for a HELIOS plant?
From 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, plus 20 € per month per extra workstation. A workstation is a production resource with its own scheduled work queue. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan, so you see the full cost before you start.
Can we test SkyPlanner before integrating with HELIOS?
Yes. The 30-day trial runs on an Excel export of your open HELIOS production orders. You see a finite capacity schedule of your own production before any integration work starts.
