Custom equipment planning software for test setups
Appfront builds software for testing laboratories, R&D departments and inspection bodies that operate expensive test setups: climate chambers, vibration tables, tensile testers, EMC chambers and test rigs, scheduled per day or per part-day, together with the operator who is allowed to run them, the changeover time between two tests, and the calibration and maintenance schedule of the equipment. So that a setup does not sit idle because of a double booking, and no test is run on equipment whose calibration has lapsed.
What is equipment planning software for test setups?
A test setup is expensive, and every day it stands idle costs money or delays a project. Yet it is often planned in a shared calendar where everyone blocks out a slot. Equipment planning software schedules not only the setup but also what is needed to use it: the operator who may run it, the configuration for this test, the changeover time before and after, and a valid calibration.
Without that kind of planning, a project lead finds out on Monday that the climate chamber is already taken by a test that overran, a vibration table sits idle for two days because the only qualified operator is on holiday, and a test is run on a setup whose calibration lapsed last week, so the results are unusable. And nobody can tell the client when their test is really due to start.
We build custom software because the scheduling has to fit your lab: which setups you have and which configurations they support, how long changeovers take, who is authorised to run each setup, where the calibration and maintenance schedule lives, and how requests come in from departments or clients. A calendar knows about time and space; your setup also needs an operator, a configuration and a calibration date.
Setup and operator together
A booking is only complete once there is both a setup and a qualified operator. The software looks for time slots in which both are available.
Changeover and configuration
For each setup, the configurations and the changeover time between them. Scheduling two tests with the same configuration back to back saves a changeover.
Calibration monitored
The calibration and maintenance schedule acts as a block in the planning, with a warning if a test is scheduled after the date on which calibration expires.
How we build your equipment scheduling software for test setups
We start with utilisation: which setups are often idle, which are always full, and how often a test was delayed by scheduling, operator availability or calibration.
Which setups you have, their configurations and changeover times, who may operate them, where the calibration schedule lives and how requests come in.
The model of your setups in the software, the operators with their authorisations, and the calibration and maintenance dates as blocks.
Test requests with the required setup and configuration, scheduling setup and operator together, and rescheduling when a test overruns.
Recording actual usage, reporting on utilisation and lead times, integration with calibration and project administration, and ongoing management afterwards.
What equipment scheduling software for test setups actually does
The components below come up at almost every lab with test setups. Which ones you need depends on how many setups you share and with whom.
Setup register
For each setup, its capacity, configurations, changeover time between configurations and location, as the basis for every booking.
Test request
A request covering the test, the required setup and configuration, the desired period and the project or client, from a department or an external client.
Scheduling with operators
Setup and qualified operator reserved together, including changeover before and after, with an overview per setup and per operator.
Calibration and maintenance
Calibration and maintenance dates as blocks, with a warning if a test is scheduled after calibration has expired.
Overruns and rescheduling
A test that overruns pushes the next one back with a notification to the requester, so nobody arrives on Monday to find a room occupied.
Utilisation and turnaround time
Utilisation per setup, downtime with reasons, turnaround time from request to result, and use per project or client for cost recharging.
Who we build equipment scheduling software for test setups
The software is intended for organisations with shared test setups where scheduling currently lives in a calendar that knows nothing else.
Testing laboratories
Setups that run for clients, with accreditation requirements. Calibration monitoring and client-facing scheduling are the core.
R&D departments in manufacturing
Setups shared by product teams with fixed deadlines. Requests per project and overruns matter most.
Inspection and certification bodies
Tests run to standards on fixed setups. Operator qualifications and calibration are what's needed.
Knowledge institutions and universities
Expensive equipment shared by research groups and external parties. Scheduling and charging per user are at the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about planning test setups. For the calibration of measuring equipment itself, see our page on calibration software; for samples and analyses, our page on laboratory software; and for booking rooms and resources in general, our page on booking software. You can read about our way of working at getting software built.
Why choose Appfront for your test setup scheduling equipment software?
An idle setup costs money; a test run on an expired calibration wastes the test. We build on that: setup, operator and calibration in one schedule.
Less downtime
Changeover and configuration are part of the schedule. Tests with the same configuration run back to back, and any gap in the schedule is visible to those waiting.
No tests on an expired calibration
The calibration date is a boundary in the schedule. Anyone booking beyond it receives a warning instead of unusable results.
An honest date for the requester
Requesters see when their test is due, with the run-out of the preceding test factored in.
Security and privacy in test setup scheduling equipment software
The software holds project data, client details and test requests, some of them confidential. Access is set by role: the requester sees their own requests, the operator their own schedule, the lab manager the whole. External clients see only their own tests. Every change to the schedule is logged with name and time.
The software runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage and daily back-ups. Integrations with calibration and project administration use dedicated keys that can be revoked.
Frequently asked questions about test setup scheduling equipment software
Questions laboratory managers ask before getting started.
It schedules test setups together with the qualified operator, accounts for configurations and changeover times, treats calibration and maintenance as blocks in the schedule, processes test requests from departments or clients, and reports on utilisation, downtime and turnaround time.
A calendar knows time and a name. The schedule also knows the operator authorised to run the setup, the configuration and changeover, and the calibration date. A booking that doesn't meet these conditions isn't simply accepted.
Calibration and maintenance data come from your calibration records or are kept in the software. A test scheduled after a calibration has expired receives a warning, and the calibration itself appears as a block in the schedule.
Yes. For each operator you record which setups and configurations they may run. The schedule finds time slots when a qualified operator is available, and shows where the team is vulnerable because only one person can run a setup.
The operator extends the booking, and the software reschedules the following tests with a notification to the requesters. This way everyone sees the new date, rather than standing at the old date for a rig that is already occupied.
Yes, if you wish. Clients submit a request through a portal, see the status and the planned date, and receive a message whenever something changes. The lab manager reviews and schedules.
Check that first. A LIMS often schedules samples and analyses, and sometimes instruments, and that is enough if your equipment is mainly used per sample. Custom makes sense if setups are occupied for days at a time, if changeover and configuration determine the schedule, or if operators and calibration need to be scheduled together.
No double bookings and no test run on an expired calibration?
Tell us which rigs you have, who operates them and how requests currently come in. We will show you what the scheduling, the permissions and the calibration monitoring would look like.