Click Process Planning in the top navigation to open the planning view. Process Planning is where you validate your process design, identify constraints, and understand how your value stream is balanced — organized around Groups that define the scope of each analysis. Once a group is configured, enter planned values in the data table for Map process nodes assigned to that Group. Threaded then calculates and displays process plan metrics as a summary bar, a line balancing chart, and the detailed data table.
#Groups
Process Planning is organized around Groups. A Group is a named collection of Map process nodes that defines the scope of a line balance or planning analysis. Groups let you analyze specific production lines, cells, or value streams independently within the same organization.
The Groups tree in the left panel is where you create and manage your groups. Click Add Group in the left panel header to create a top-level group. To add a child group inside an existing group, hover over or right-click a group in the tree and select Create child group. Groups can be nested to reflect your facility structure — a factory group containing line groups, each containing cell groups, for example.
Once a group is created, assign Map process nodes to it by dragging them from the tree into the group. Groups can be renamed by clicking on their name inline, and reordered by drag-and-drop. To remove a group, right-click it and select Delete.
#Plan Summary
When a group is selected, a Plan Summary bar at the top of the page shows the key metrics for that group’s process plan:
- Process Nodes — the number of groups and process nodes in scope
- Potential Units/hr — theoretical throughput based on the constraint cycle time
- Effective Unit C/T — the governing effective cycle time for the group
- RTY — Rolled Throughput Yield across all operations in scope
- OEE — Overall Equipment Effectiveness across all operations in scope
These update automatically as the group composition or underlying plan data changes.
#Line Balancing Chart
The line balancing chart visualizes cycle time for each operation in the selected group as a bar chart. Two values are shown side by side for each process node:
- Planned Unit C/T — the planned cycle time for the operation
- Planned Effective Unit C/T — planned cycle time adjusted for yield, uptime, and lot size
Primary and secondary constraints are identified automatically and labeled in the chart legend. The operation with the highest effective cycle time is the primary constraint; the next highest is the secondary. Constraint bars are highlighted with gold outlines — solid for the primary, dashed for the secondary. Constraints recalculate automatically as plan data is updated.
The chart is scrollable horizontally for large value streams. Use the expansion depth control at the top right of the chart to collapse nested groups and see aggregate cycle times at a higher level, or expand to see individual operations.
#Planning Data Table
Below the chart, a data table shows plan metrics row by row for every group and process node in the selected scope. Groups roll up from their child groups and process nodes, giving you both the operation-level detail and the aggregate view at any level of your hierarchy.
Column values are color-coded by type:
- White — values you enter directly (Operator C/T, Machine C/T, Lot Size, Operators, Yield, Uptime)
- Gray — values Threaded calculates from your inputs, or fields that are not applicable at that level of the hierarchy
Use the column selector in the toolbar to show or hide individual columns or entire column groups. The time unit toggle in the toolbar lets you display all time values in seconds, minutes, or hours — use whatever unit is most natural for your process.
Individual Effective Unit C/T cells for the primary and secondary constraint operations are highlighted with the same gold color scheme as the chart — solid outline for the primary constraint, dashed for the secondary — so the table and chart stay consistent.
To update a plan value, click any white (editable) cell. Changes flow immediately through the rollup calculations, updating the group’s chart and summary bar as you work.