Integrations / ERP / Senior ERP
Does Senior ERP Have Finite Capacity Scheduling? Gestão de PCP Explained
Senior ERP by Senior Sistemas plans production in Gestão Industrial > Gestão de PCP. MRP creates production orders (OPs), which Senior itself describes as planning at infinite capacity. The planner then sequences OP stages in Programação de produção and adjusts them on a Gantt chart built for manual sequencing. Plants that need every machine, person, tool and material scheduled finitely, with changeovers between products, run SkyPlanner APS beside Senior ERP.
This article covers Gestão Empresarial | ERP XT with the Senior X manual set. Senior also sells other ERP lines, such as Senior Mega and GO UP, with their own documentation.
How Senior ERP plans production, step by step
1. SKU engineering: routings and resources
Production starts in Gestão de Engenharia. Each SKU has its product structure and a roteiro (routing). Senior defines it as “a logical sequence of all the stages needed in the manufacturing process of a product” (Senior documentation, translated). Each estágio (stage) has a sequence and can depend on the stage before it.
A Recurso (resource) belongs to a Centro de recurso and has a Tipo de recurso. It holds four time fields: Tempo processo, Tempo setup, Tempo carga e descarga and Tempo transferência. Its Fator de carga “represents the percentage of time a resource is effectively available for operation” (Senior documentation, translated).
2. Calendar
The Calendário holds Feriados (non-productive dates). Geração calendário de produção lets you “generate the production calendar by production shift for a given period” (Senior documentation, translated).
3. MRP: infinite by design
Gestão de MRP calculates needs and creates OPs. Senior is direct about how MRP treats capacity: “it works with infinite capacity: that is, it assumes resources are always available”, distributing orders over time “without considering queues, setup constraints or conflicts between simultaneous orders.” (Senior blog, translated)
4. Production order situations
An Ordem de Produção is “the document that authorizes and guides the execution of a production process.” It moves through situations (Senior documentation, translated):
| Situation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Simulada | Created by MRP processing |
| Planejada | Expected to be released, “but can still be modified or deleted by MRP” |
| Firme | Confirmed and “protected from MRP changes” |
| Liberada | Authorized for execution; visible on the shop floor and ready for production reports |
5. Programação de produção
In Programação de produção the planner selects OPs and their stages. “When more than one stage is selected, the Sequence Stages button is enabled.” The planner sets the resource per stage and a start or end date, and the forecast dates follow from it. Errors and alerts are shown for the planner to fix (Senior documentation).
6. The Gantt chart
Programação de produção – Gantt loads stages by filter. Senior describes the screen: “This screen allows manual sequencing and adjustment of the start and end of order stages.” The user can also change the production resource of each stage (Senior documentation, translated).
7. Resource load and shop-floor reporting
The classic manual has Ocupação da Produção (Carga Recursos), a view of load % per resource against a capacity limit, used to spot bottlenecks (Senior documentation). Released OPs receive apontamentos de produção in Senior or through Fábrica ao Vivo, Senior’s shop-floor reporting product.
8. APS in Senior’s portfolio
Senior lists APS on its industry page, and in 2017 it announced a partnership with Linter Sistemas for Drummer, described as “a set of modules and functions aimed at advanced production planning and scheduling” (Senior, translated). Senior’s 2026 blog says its ecosystem returns the APS schedule to the ERP, which then releases the orders to the floor.
What stays with the planner
- MRP ignores capacity. Every MRP run plans as if resources are always free (quoted above).
- Sequencing is manual. Programação de produção and the Gantt chart let the planner sequence stages and move their start and end, and Senior calls the Gantt “manual sequencing”.
- Load is a view, not a plan. Carga Recursos shows load % per resource. Resolving the overload is the planner’s work.
- Availability is a percentage. Fator de carga sets how much of a resource’s time counts as available for operation.
- Setup is a resource field. The Recurso record holds one Tempo setup next to its process, load and transfer times, and Senior writes that MRP plans without considering setup constraints.
When Senior ERP’s native planning is enough
Gestão de PCP does the job when:
- One planner sequences a few critical resources and knows the shop well.
- MRP order dates plus manual stage sequencing meet your delivery promises.
- Changeovers are short, or do not depend on the product that ran before.
- Operators, shared tools and material arrival rarely decide the order of work.
- The plan changes once a week, not several times a day.
If that fits, keep routings, resource times and the production calendar current, and review Carga Recursos before releasing OPs.
When you need a finite capacity scheduler
You have outgrown the native tools when several of these are true:
- Delivery dates slip although MRP dates looked fine.
- The planner resequences OP stages by hand after every rush order or breakdown.
- Changeover time depends on which product, color or material ran before.
- Operators, shifts and absences limit output as much as machines do.
- Molds, dies or fixtures move between machines.
- Late material decides which OP can start.
What to look for
- Every resource finite at once: machines, people and tools on a real timeline.
- Stage-level sequencing by priorities and due dates, computed by the engine.
- A setting time matrix with sequence-dependent, asymmetric changeover times.
- Tools as finite shared resources and multi-operator jobs.
- Material-aware scheduling that checks stock and incoming purchase orders.
- Automatic rescheduling when production progress or orders change.
- A clean Senior data path. Ask every vendor how it reads OPs and routings, how dates and resources reach the OP stages, and who supports it after go-live.
For the general method, see finite capacity scheduling.
Where SkyPlanner fits
SkyPlanner APS closes each gap listed above. Every workstation, person and tool is finite. The Arcturus AI engine builds a stage-level schedule in seconds, sequenced by job priority, completion date, customer priority, Fast Track and Dynamic Priorities.
Its setting time matrix holds the changeover time between each pair of products in both directions, and the engine picks the order with the least setup. Tools are finite shared resources, several people can work the same job at once, and work moves to alternative machines or personnel when the primary one is unavailable.
Material-driven scheduling simulates future inventory from stock and incoming purchase orders, so a job is planned when its material is there. Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes, and Running Time Lock freezes the next hours of work so the floor is not disrupted. Operators log work on phone or tablet with Mobile Confirmations, Production Timer and Quick Log Mode.
Choose SkyPlanner for Senior ERP when:
- You want the engine to build the sequence. Arcturus optimizes the whole plan in seconds, and the planner reviews it instead of sequencing stages by hand.
- Changeovers decide your output. The setting time matrix replaces one setup time per resource with a time for each product pair.
- Crews, tools and material decide the sequence. Finite tools, multi-operator jobs, alternative workstations and purchase-order arrivals sit in one schedule.
- You want to test before you commit. SkyPlanner publishes its price and runs a 30-day trial on your own OPs.
Start with an Excel or CSV export of open Senior OPs in the 30-day free trial (up to 20 workstations, no credit card). After that, pricing is from 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, billed monthly. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan.
SkyPlanner integrates with Senior ERP in both directions through Senior X Platform APIs, the ERP’s G5 web services and Events Hub webhooks. The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding, and your partner or developers can work on the documented REST API. See the SkyPlanner for Senior ERP page, the Senior ERP integration guide or all ERP integrations.
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.
6 monthsof free capacity visible to sales
“SkyPlanner creates the foundation and reliability for all production planning.”
Anu Järvinen, Production Manager
Fredman Operations · Food-safe packaging papers
Sales sees free capacity six months ahead, and schedule-change requests that took an hour or more are answered in seconds.
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.
FAQ
Does Senior ERP have a scheduling tool?
Yes. Gestão de PCP has Programação de produção and a Gantt chart for sequencing OP stages and setting resources and dates. Senior describes the Gantt as manual sequencing. Senior also lists APS in its industry portfolio.
Is Senior ERP MRP infinite capacity?
Yes. Senior writes that MRP works with infinite capacity and assumes resources are always available, without considering queues, setup constraints or conflicts between orders.
Does Senior ERP handle sequence-dependent setup times?
Senior’s Recurso record holds one Tempo setup per resource, and Senior writes that MRP plans without considering setup constraints. SkyPlanner’s setting time matrix stores changeover times between product pairs in both directions and sequences jobs to minimize them.
Does Senior ERP have an APS?
Senior lists APS in its industry portfolio and announced a partnership with Linter Sistemas for Drummer APS in 2017. Inside Gestão de PCP, sequencing is done by the planner in Programação de produção and the Gantt chart. SkyPlanner APS adds an automatic finite capacity schedule beside Senior ERP, from 199 € per month with a 30-day trial.
Can I test SkyPlanner before integrating it with Senior ERP?
Yes. Import open OPs, routings and resources from Senior as Excel or CSV during the 30-day trial and compare the schedule with your current plan. See pricing, start the trial or talk to sales.
