Unit – 1

* Meaning of Production Management:

Production implies the creation of goods & services to satisfy human needs. It involves
conversion of inputs (Raw materials) into Outputs (Products).

It is a process by which raw materials and other inputs are converted in to finished
products.

→ The nature of production management can be understood by viewing manufacturing function

as:

1. Production as a system
2. Production as an organizational function
3. Production as a conversion process
4. Production as a means of creating utility.

→ Functions of Production Management:

The major functions of production management may be categories as under:

(1) Production Techniques:

Equipment design, process design, Plant & Shop layout, design of materials
handling system.
(2) Capacity management:
Forecasting demand, delivery, commitment, facility location and resource
allocation.
(3) Industrial Engineering:
Method study and work measurement.
(4) Production planning & control:
Estimating, Forecasting, Routing, Scheduling and progressing.
(5) Inventory control:
Purchasing, storing & controlling inventory level & material issuing.
(6) Quality control:
Inspection, assurance, reliability & total quality control.
(7) Maintenance:
Servicing, Repairing, Break down / Preventive maintenance, spare parts, inventory
control & equipment replacement.
Role of production function

The production function describes a boundary or frontier representing the limit of output
obtainable from each feasible combination of inputs.

Firms use the production function to determine how much output they should produce given the
price of a good, and what combination of inputs they should use to produce given the price of
capital and labor.
The production function also gives information about increasing or decreasing returns to scale
and the marginal products of labor and capital.

* Objectives of Production management:

Some of the important objectives of production management are:

1. Maximize customer satisfaction through quality, reliability, cost and delivery time.
2. Minimum scrap resulting in better product quality.
3. Minimum possible inventory levels
4. Maximum utilization of all kind of resources needed.
5. Maximum possible production.
6. Higher operating efficiency
7. Minimum production cycle time
8. Consult for protection of environment
9. Maximum possible production

* Responsibility of production manager:

Following are the major responsibilities of production managers:

1. Meeting requirement of quality demanded by customers.

2. Establishing realistic delivery and completion dates.
3. Producing the required volume to meet the demand
4. Selection and application of most economic method & processes.
5. Controlling the cost of inputs and conversion process and so keeping the cost of outputs
within the desired limits.

Production managers are responsible for the amalgamation of five P’s namely: Product,
Plan, Processes, Program and people.

* Types of production system:

As we know production involves creation of goods and services. It involves acquisition of

resources and conversion of these inputs into outputs using one or more suitable transformation
processes. The transformation process involves managerial function such as planning,
coordinating and controlling the element of process including workers, equipments, facilities,
allocation of resources and work methods.

Products and process design are crucial for any organization that wants to remain competitive in
the market place. Production managers take decisions to guide the production system. Some
decisions affect it design of the system and others the operation of the system.

System design involves capacity of production system, location of facilities, arrangement

of departments (plant layout) placement of machines & equipments (Shop layout) within the
building etc…
 System operation involves management of people, production scheduling, inventory planning
& quality assurance.

● A production system receives inputs in the form of material, personnel, capital, utilities
and information, which are then charged in a conversion subsystem into desire product/
service (output). A control subsystem monitors the quality, cost and quantity of outputs.
● Production systems are classified as under:

1. Intermittent production system:

(1) Job- Shop Production system

(2) Batch System
2. Continuous Or Flow shop production:

(1) Mass Production

(2) Assembly line production
(3) Process

Analytical Synthetic

1. Intermittent production system:

Intermittent production systems are those where facilities must be flexible enough
to handle a wide variety of products and sizes.
2. Continuous system:
Continuous systems are those where the facilities are standardized, a standard
set of processes can be adopted. Continuous systems are represented by production and
assembly lines, Large scale office operations & chemical processes.

→ The different process by which goods & services are produced can be categorized on the
basis of following classifications:

(A) Job- Shop production:

In this type of production a wide variety of customized products are made by the
highly skilled workforce using general purpose equipment’s. It is also known as unit
production, custom built or tailor made production. Tool making and printing orders are
some of the example of job shop production.

(B) Intermittent flow or Batch Production:

In this type of production, mixture of general purpose & special purpose equipment
is used to produce small to large batch of products.
 It is used to produce moderate volumes of similar products. For ex. Ice- cream
manufacturer produce batch of ice-cream of different flavors.

(C) Repetitive flow or mass production:

In this type of production system several standardized products follow a pre-
determined flow through sequentially dependent work sectors. Workers typically are
assigned a narrow range of task & work with highly specialized equipment. Examples are
Auto-mobile & Computer assembly line.

(D) Continuous flow (Process system):

Continuous processing system is employed when highly standardized product or
source is produced or rendered processing of chemicals, oil refineries, sugar & cement
production are some of the examples of continuous flow production.
Industries that use continuous process involving chemicals or metallurgical process
are referred as process industries. Here production processes are usually performed
around the clock to avoid costly shutdowns and starters.

→ Differentiating features of Production system:

Job-Shop Batch Repetitive / Continuous

Assembly

Description of Customized Semi standardized Standardized Highly

Output goods / goods / Services goods / standardized
Services Services goods /
Services

Example of Speciality tools Cookies Auto-mobiles Steel, paper,

goods sugar etc…

Examples of Hair styling Education Car wash Air -

services conditioning

Volume Low Low to moderate High Very high

Output variety Very high Moderate Low Very low

Equipment Very high Moderate Low Very low

flexibility

Advantages Able to handle Flexibility Low per unit Very efficient

wide variety of cost, High & very high
work volumes volumes

Disadvantages Slow, High cost Moderate cost per Low flexibility Very rigid,
 per unit, unit & high cost of Lack of
Complex down line variety, costly
planning to change

→ Plant Layout:

Plant layout or facility layout means planning for location of all machines, equipments,
utilities, work stations, customer service areas, material storage areas, tool servicing areas, rest
rooms, lunch rooms, offices & also planning for the patterns of flow of materials & people around
into & within the buildings.

Layout planning involves decisions about the physical arrangement of economic activity
enters within a facility.

An economic activity enter could be anything that consumer space such as a machine, a
department, a store room & so on.

→ Objectives of good plan layout:

1. Higher utilization of space, equipment and people.

2. Improved flow of materials, information and people,
3. Improved employee morale & safe working condition.
4. Higher flexibility (to change the layout easily)
5. Improved product capacity
6. Reduced material handling cost
7. To reduce congestion.
8. Reduced health hazards or accidents
9. Efficient utilization of labour reduced idle time of labour & equipments to provide ease of
supervision.
10. To provide product flexibility & volume flexibility
11. To facilitate better co-ordination & face to face communication where needed.
12. To allow ease of maintenance
13. To improve productivity

→ Types of Layout:

1. Process layout or fundamental layout or job-shop layout:

It involves a grouping together of similar machines in one department. This is a
layout for batch production.
Example:
Machines performing drilling operation are installing in drilling department and
machine performing turning operation are grouped in the turning department and so on.
In this way there would be different departments were similar machines or
equipments are installed in the plant which follow the process layout. The process
 arrangement is signified by grouping together like machines based upon there operational
characteristics.
A quantity of raw material is issued to a machine which performs the first operation.
This machine may be situated anywhere in the factory. For next operation a different
machine may be required which may be situated in another part of the factory. The material
should be transported to the other machine to the operation. Thus material would move
long distances along crisscrossing path.
Ex. For heat treatment also.
If machines in one department are engaged the partly finished product awaiting
operation may be taken to the store and later reissued for production. Partly finished goods
would be waiting for processing in every department.
Machines in each department attend to any product that is taken to them so these
machines are called general purpose machines. Work has to be allotted to each
department in such a way that no machine in any department is idle. In this type of layout
machines are chosen to do as many jobs as possible. This type of layout is best suited for
intermittent type of production.
While grouping machine the distance between departments needs to be as short as
possible to avoid long distance movement of materials. There should be ease of inspection
and supervision.

● Advantages:
1. Reduced investment of machines because of general purpose machine.
2. Better and more efficient supervision possible through specialization.
3. It is easier to handle breakdown of materials by transferring one to other departments.
4. There is greater scope for expansion as the capacities of different lines can be easily
increased.
● Disadvantages
1. There is difficulty in the movement of materials.
2. This type of layout requires more floor space.
3. There is difficulty in production control.
4. Production time is more because work in progress has to travel form place to place in
such machines.
5. There is accumulation of work in progress at different place.
2. Product layout
It is also called the straight line layout or layout for serialized manufacturing. Product
layout involves the arrangement of machines in one line, depending upon the sequence of
operations. Material are fed into the first machines and finished product come out of the last
machine. In between, partly finished goods move form machine to machine. The output of
one machine becoming the input for the next.
It is a feast for the eyes to watch the way sugar cane, fed at one and of the mill comes
out as sugar on the other end.
In product layout if there are more than one line of production, there are as many lines
of machines. The emphasis here, therefore, is on special purpose machine in contrast to
general purpose machines. So investment is higher in product layout as compared to
process layout.
The grouping of machine should be done on product line keeping in mind the following
principles:
(i) All the machine tools or other type of equipment must be placed at the point
demanded by the sequence of operations.
(ii) There should be no points where one line crosses another line.
(iii) Materials may be fed where they are required for assembly but not necessarily all at
one point.
(iv) All the operations including assembly, testing and packing should be included in the
line.
 The product layout is followed in plants manufacturing standardized products on a mass
scale such as chemical, sugar, rubber, refineries and cement industries.

● Advantages:
1. There is mechanization of materials handling and consequently reduction in material
handling cost.
2. This type of lay-out avoids production bottle necks.
3. There is economy in manufacturing time.
4. This type of lay-out facilitates better production control.
5. This type of lay-out requires less floor area per unit of production.
6. Work-in-progress is reduced and investment thereon is minimized.

● Disadvantages
1. Product lay-out is known for its inflexibility.
2. This type of lay-out is expensive.
3. Expansion is also difficult.
4. Any breakdown of equipment along a production line can disrupt the whole system.
 3. Fixed Position Layout (Static Layout):

As the term itself implies, the fixed position layout involves the movement of man and
machines to the product which remains stationary. In this type of layout, the material or
major component remains in a fixed location, and tools, machinery and men as well as
other pieces of material are brought to this location. The movement of man and machines
to the product is advisable because the cost of moving them would be less than the cost of
moving the product which is very bulky.

● It is also called the Static Layout, this type of layout is followed in the manufacturing of
bulky and heavy products such as locomotives, ships, boilers, aircrafts, generators, etc.
● The construction of a building requires a fixed position layout. This is equally true for brick
kiln.
● Advantages:
1. Men and machines can be used for a wide variety of operations producing different
products.
2. The investment on layout is very small.
3. The worker identifies himself with the product and takes pride in it when the work is
completed.
4. The high cost of, and difficulty in transporting a bulky product are avoided.

4. Cellular Manufacturing Layout

In Cellular Manufacturing machines are grouped into cells and the cells function somewhat like
a product layout within a larger shop or process layout.

Each cell in the Cellular Manufacturing Layout is formed to produce a single parts family, a few
parts, all with common characteristics which usually means that they require the same machines
and have similar machine settings.
The flow of parts within cells, as shown in the diagram can take many forms. For example in
cells I & II, the parts in the part family flow through the same machines in a products focused,
line flow fashion. But in cells III & IV, parts take different routes through the cells because of the
differences between the designs of the two parts.

● Advantages:
1. Lower work in process inventories,
2. Reduced material handling cost.
3. Shorter flow times in production.
4. Simplified production planning (materials and labour).
5. Increased operator responsibilities.
6. Improved visual control.
7. Fewer tooling changes therefore facilitating quicker set ups.
● Disadvantages:
1. Reduced manufacturing flexibility and potentially increased machine down time
(since machines are contained to cells and may not be used all the time).
2. Finally duplicate pieces of equipment may be needed as the parts need not be
transported between cells.

5. Combined Layout (Hybrid Layout):

The application of the principles of product layout, process layout or fixed location layout in
their strict meanings is difficult to come across.

A combination the product and the process layout, with an emphasis on either, is noticed in
most industrial establishments. Plants are never laid out in either pure form.

In plants involving the fabrication of parts and assembly, fabrication tends to employ the
process layout, while the assembly areas often employ the product layout.
IMPORTANCE OF LAYOUT

An ideally laid out plant reduces manufacturing cost through reduced material handling, reduced
personnel and equipment requirements and reduced in-process inventory.

Some of the advantages are:

1. Economies in handling.
2. Effective use of available area.
3. Minimization of production delays.
4. Improved quality control.
5. Minimum equipment investment.
6. Avoidance of bottlenecks.
7. Better production control.
8. Improved utilization of labour.
9. Improved employee morale.
10. Avoidance of unnecessary and costly changes.
11. Better supervision.

Materials flow pattern

Meaning of Flow Pattern:

“Flow Pattern” means the system to be adopted, for the movement of raw materials, from the
beginning and up to the end of manufacturing. The overall-objective of the ‘Flow Pattern’ is to
plan for the economical movement of the raw materials throughout the plant.

The Flow Pattern affects the following:

(i).Materials handling cost.

(ii).Amount of work-in-process.

(iii) Capital and space tied up by work-in-process.

(iv) Length of total production time.

(v) The rate of the performance and coordination of operations.

(vi) Amount of physical and mental strain on the operators.

(vii) Supervision and control mechanisms.

Quite often a plant layout design starts with the flow system around which services and other
facilities are added and building design are modified accordingly but sometimes the flow must
be adopted to suit existing building.
Factors Governing Flow Pattern:

(i) External transport facilities.

(ii) Number of products to be handled.

(iii) Number of operations on each product.

(iv) Number of units to be processed.

(v) Number of sub-assemblies made up ahead of assembly line.

(vi) Size and shape of available land.

(vii) Necessary flow between work are areas.

Types of Flow Pattern:

The flow patterns can be classified into horizontal and vertical. The horizontal flow system is
adopted on a shop floor while vertical flow is adopted where material has to move in a multi -
storey building.

1. Horizontal Flow Lines:

(i) I-Flow or Line Flow:

It is the simplest form of flow. In this, materials are fed at one end and components leave the
line at the other end. This type is economical in space and convenient in I-shaped buildings. I-
Flow is preferred for building automobile Industries.

(ii) L-Flow:

It is similar to the I-Flow and is used where I-line cannot be accommodated in the available
space (Fig. 32.3).
(iii) U-Flow:

In this, both feeding and output take place at the same end i.e., it allows both receiving and
despatching of goods to be done on one side. In comparison to I or L-Flow, this method is
easier for supervision. This type of flow can be adopted in the manufacture of Electric Motor
Industry etc. (Fig. 32.4).

(iv) S-Flow:

If the production line is so long that zig-zagging on the plant floor is necessary, than S-Flow is
adopted. This type provides efficient utilization of space and is compact enough to allow
effective supervision [Fig. 32.5 (a) and (b)].

(v) O-Flow:
 This type is used where processes or operations are performed on a rotary table or a rotary
handling system. The components are moved from one working station to the other and when
they leave the O-line, a complete set of processes or operations have been performed.

The components are inspected before they are moved on to a second line for an additional
series of processes or operations or to an assembly line. O-Flow can be adopted by industries
manufacturing electric bulbs (Fig. 32.6).

2. Vertical Flow Lines:

This type of flow is for multi-storey buildings. In order to have the materials handling systems
and control mechanisms to operate effectively, following six basic aspects of vertical flow
systems are in use (Fig. 32.10).
Safety considerations

Safety is a very important aspect of manufacturing plants and operations and needs to be
taken seriously by all plant builders and owners. Keeping in mind the several types of plants or
lines which have controllers of different makes, this article explores the crucial topic of functional
safety and its various dimensions in extensive detail, providing a guideline on safety
considerations for all plant managers.

Safety is an aspect of a plant or of a machine that becomes prominent when it is absent.

It is subject matter of several standards, defined by various regulatory bodies, who define terms
in a legally accurate manner. A discussion on this topic can be referred to in the ‘Machinery
Directive 2006/42/EC’ of the European Union or an equivalent from other bodies. This is key
because for actual implementation issues, the legal definitions refer to the standards documents
published by the authorities.

The objective of functional safety is achieving freedom from unacceptable risks of physical injury
or of damage to the health of people either directly or indirectly through damage to property or to
the environment by the proper implementation of one or more automatic protection functions,
often called safety functions. These aforementioned statements contain several terms, which
have a standard meaning and also a specialised meaning in the context of Functional Safety
(FS), which will be further investigated.

Environmental aspects:

The efficient and effective usage of energy and resources is of rising importance in
manufacturing companies. This paper argues that manufacturing system simulation is a
promising way to realistically cope with those issues and simultaneously consider them with
traditional target dimensions. Against this background, the paper analyses whether commercial
simulation tools are already capable to address those aspects. It turns out that environmentally
related aspects are currently not sufficiently considered as standard functions. Therefore, based
on the analysis of on-going research work, different directions for further development are
presented and discusse

UNIT 2.

Production planning and controlling

As we know production consists of a sequence of operations that transform materials into

a product. The highest efficiency in production is obtained by manufacturing the required
quantity of product of the required quality, at the required time by the least and cheapest
method. To achieve this objective production management employs production planning and
control function which is a management tools that co-ordinates all manufacturing activities.

So, Production planning and control may be defined as the planning, direction & co-
ordination of the firms material and physical facilities towards the attainment of predetermined
production objectives in the most economical manner.

It involves the organization and control of overall manufacturing system to produce the
product.
→ Objectives of Production planning and control:

1. To deliver quality goods in required quantities to the customer in the required delivery
schedule to achieve maximum customer satisfaction and minimum possible cost.

2. To ensure maximum utilization of all resources.

3. To ensure production of quality products.

4. To minimize production cycle time

5. To maintain optimum inventory levels.

6. To maintain flexibility in manufacturing operations.

7. To co-ordinate between labour and machines to various supporting departments.

8. To plan for plant capacities for future requirements.

9. To remove bottlenecks (hurdle) at all stages of production and solves problems related to
production.

10. To ensure effective cost reduction & cost control.

11. To prepare production schedules and ensure that promised delivery date are met.

12. To produce effective result for least total cost.

13. To establish routes and schedule for work that will ensure optimum utilization of
materials, labour, equipment and machines to provide the means for ensuring the operation of
plant according to plan.

14. The ultimate objective is to contribute to the profit of the organization.

Objectives of production planning and control meaning

The main objectives of PPC may be summarized as followings:-

a) It is used to establish target and check the deviations by comparing on some

performance measures.

b) Decides the nature and magnitude of different input factors to produce the output.

c) Coordinates different resources of production system in the most effective and

economic manner and to coordinate among different departments.

d) Elimination of bottleneck

e) Utilization of inventory in the optimal way

f) Smooth flow of material

g) To produce in right quantity and quality at right time

h) Scheduling production activities to meet delivery schedule

i) Expediting the system under production

j) To ensure flexibility in production system to accommodate changes and uncertainty

k) Optimizes the use of resources for minimum overall production cost

l) To ensure the production of right product at right time in right quantity with

specification rightly suited to customers

m) Stable production system, with least chaos, confusion and undue hurry.

This chapter deals in detail with the concept of production planning and control. This will help
the students to understand the PPC to be used for the different types of production systems
along with their merits and demerits. This will also make them familiar with various constraints in
PPC.

Scope of Production planning and control:

Production planning and control encompasses (includes) the following areas:

1. Materials:

Planning for raw-material components and spairparts in the right quantity and specification at
the right time from the right source at the right price. Purchasing, Storage, inventory control,
standardization, variety reduction, value analysis and inspection are the other activities
associated with materials.

2. Methods:

Choosing the best method of processing form several alternatives. It includes determining the
best sequence of operations and planning for tooling, jigs and fixtures etc…

3. Machines and Equipments:

Manufacturing methods are related to production facilities available in the production system. It
involves facilities planning, allocation and utilization of plants and Equipments and machines. It
also involves equipment replacement policy, maintenance policy and maintenance schedules,
tools manufacture and maintenance of tools.

4. Manpower:

Planning for manpower (labour, supervisory and managerial levels) having appropriate skills
and expertise.
5. Routing:

Determining the flow of work, material handling in the plant and sequence of operations or
processing steps. This is related to considerations of appropriate shop layout and plant layout,
temporary storage locations for raw-materials, components and semi-finished goods, and of
material handling systems.

6. Estimating:

Establishing operation times leading to fixation of performance standards, both for workers and
machines.

7. Loading and Scheduling:

Machine loading is allocation of jobs to machines in conjunction with routing and with due
consideration for capacity of machines and priority for jobs in order to utilize the machines to the
maximum possible extent.

Scheduling ensures that parts, sub-assemblies and finished products are completed as
per required delivery dates. It ensures balanced load on all work centers and ensures even flow
of work through manufacturing facilities.

8. Dispatching:

This is concerned with the execution of planning functions. It gives necessary authority to start a
particular work which has already been planned under routing and scheduling functions.
Dispatching is release of orders and instructions for the starting of production in accordance with
the route sheets and schedule charts.

9. Expediting (Follow-up):

Means chasing, follow up or progressing which is done after dispatching functions. It keeps a
close liaison with scheduling in order to provide an efficient feed back and prompt review of
targets and schedules.

10. Inspection:

This function is related to maintenance of quality in production and of evaluating the efficiency of
the processes, methods and labour so that improvements can be made to achieve the quality
standards set by product design.

11. Evaluation:

The objective of evaluation is to improve performance. Performance of machines, processes

and labour is evaluated to improve the same.

12. Cost Control:

Manufacturing cost is controlled by wastage reduction, value analysis, inventory control and
efficient utilization of all resources.

Importance or Benefits of Production planning and control:

1. To provide for the production of parts, assemblies, and products of required quality and
quantity of the required time.

2. To Co-ordinate, monitor and feed-back to manufacturing management- the results of

production activities, analyzing & interpreting their significance and taking correcting action if
necessary.

3. To provide for optimum utilization of all resources.

4. Achieve the broad objectives of low cost production and reliable customer service.

5. To improve profits through maintaining balanced inventory of materials, parts, semi-

finished goods and finished goods. Maximum utilization of equipment, tools, labour and space,
minimum investment in inventory and reduction in set up cost, reduction in scrap and rework.

6. Competitive advantages through reliable delivery to the customer, shortened delivery

schedules, lower production cost, greater pricing flexibility and making & marketing of new &
improved products.

Procedure of Production Planning and Control

The PPC is entirely based on the pre-design format. It attempts to execute and implement all
activities/operations according to the set plan. All operations should be executed in a proper
manner with a close vigil on all facts ensuring that the time period and the stipulated costs
should not go beyond the reach and it should be done under the excepted/agreed policies.
These costs are including the cost of assets, capital cost of the facility, and labour. The PPC
consists of the following steps.

a) Forecasting the demands of the customers for the products and services.

b) In advance preparing the production budget.

c) Design the facility layout.

d) Specify the types of machines and equipment.

e) Appropriate production requirements of the raw materials, labour, and machinery.

f) Drawing the apt schedule of the production.

g) Confirming the shortage or any excess of the end product.

h) Future plans are drawn for any sudden surge in the demand for the product.
i) The rate and scale of production is setup. Which needs to be broken into realistic

time periods and scheduling. The specified job needs to be done in the amount of time provided
so that the production can move to next step.

PPC essentially consists of three Stages:

a) Planning stage

b) Action stage

c) Monitoring stage

All these three stages are very important from the point of view to production because without
planning no production work can take off at all. The foremost thing which is required for any
production is a proper planning.

Production planning function:

1. Estimating:

Involves deciding the quantity of products to be produced and cost involved in it on the basis of
sales forecast.Estimating manpower, machine capacity and materials required to meet the

planned production targets are the key activities before budgeting for resources. (e.g.,
Production budget is the basis for materials budget, capital equipment budget and
manpower budget).

2. Routing:

Routing is the process of determining the sequence of operations to be performed in

production process. Routing determines what work must be done, where and how?
Routing information is provided by product or process engineering function and it is
useful to prepare machine loading charts and schedules.

Route Sheet: A route sheet is a document providing information and instruction for
converting the raw materials into finished parts or products. It defines each step of the
production operation and lays down the precise path or route through which the product
will flow during the conversion process.

• Benefits of Routing:

(a) Efficient use of available resources

(b) Reduction in manufacturing cost

(c) Improvement in quality and quantity of output

(d) Providing the output bases for scheduling and loading.

3. Scheduling:

Scheduling may be defined as the assignment of work to the facility with the
specification of times (When to start and when to complete). It involves the preparation of
a time table. We should indicate the total time needed for manufacturing a part, sub
assembly and a finished product. It also indicates the time required for each operation
for manufacturing a product.

Scheduling includes elements of scheduling:

(a) Demand forecast: It may be a long term forecast or short term forecast.

(b) Aggregate scheduling: It is a tentative schedule based on quarterly or monthly

demand.

(c) Production plant: It shows the output levels, plant resources required, capacity
limitation and inventory levels.

(d) Master Production Schedule (MPS): It specifies in detail exactly what products are
to be produced during the short term planning horizon. ( a quarter or a year)The MPS
indicates the desired quantities of each type of product to be produced on a daily or
weekly or monthly or quarterly base to fulfill customers’ firm order or forecasted
demand.

(e) Priority planning:

MPS is exploded into components, parts & sub- unit that are required to be produced to
complete the production as per the MPS. Material requirement planning and time placed
order point systems are two systems of Priority planning.

(f) Capacity planning: This helps to verify whether there exists enough capacity in
terms of machine hours and labour hours required to meet the requirement of MPS. It
helps to regulate loading of specific jobs to specific machines or work centers for
specific period of time.

(g) Facility loading or Machine loading: I loading machines or work centers after
deciding which job can be assigned to which machine or work center. It involves actual
assignment of jobs to machines taking into consideration priority sequencing and
machine utilization.

(h) Evaluation of work load: To balance the work load on various machines or work
centers when resources are limited. Excess work load on one work center or machine
may be transferred to other work center or machine having spare capacity.
(i) Sequencing: Priority sequencing of jobs done to maximize work flow through
workcentres or machines will minimize delay or waiting and hence, the manufacturing
cost.

Generally resource constraint, absenteeism, lack of correct information about lead time,
production time, lot size, type of production system etc.. create problems in preparing
schedule.

→ Dispatching:

Dispatching may be defined as setting production activities in motion through

release of production orders, shop orders and instructions to the manufacturing shops
and assembly lines in accordance with previously planned time schedules and process
routings. While routing and scheduling are production planning functions, Dispatching is
the implementation function which is concerned with getting the work started on the
shop floors. It ensures that schedules and machine loading charts are properly
implemented as planned.

The following functions are carried out by dispatching section….

(a) Issuing shop orders or job cards to the production department authorizing the
production department to start the work as per schedule.

(b) Collecting tools, jigs and fixtures from tool stores and raw materials from raw
material stores and issuing the same to the user department or workcenter.

(c) Issuing the drawings, specifications, route cards, process plans and time tickets to
the user department or work center.

(d) Obtaining inspection schedule and issuing them to inspection department.

(e) Internal material handling and movement of materials to the inspection area after
the completion of operations, moving the inspected items to the next operation center
and movement of completed items to holding stores.

(f) Returning the tools, jigs and fixtures to the tool stores after use.

(g) Recording the beginning time and competing time for the operation for each job.

(h) Recording and reporting the idle time of each machine and labour.

The dispatching section is the representative of PPC department in the production

shops. The dispatching section keeps record of start and finish dates for each operation
for every job and this will facilitate the progressing section to know the status of
progress of any customer order on the shop floors.
→ Follow up (Progressing or Expediting)

Progressing is a production control function which ensures that the work is carried out
as per the plan and the completion dates for each operation for each job are met and the
delivery dates for the finished products can be realized. The objective of progressing
function is to control variation or deviations from the plans for execution of the work.
Some form of continuous recording of the status of progress in work and follow up
procedure is created to monitor the progress of work to chase or expedite the work
centers falling behind schedule.

Need for Progressing arises due to following reasons:

1. Delay in supply of raw materials to the production shops.

2. Excessive absenteeism of workers causing idling of machines and upsetting the

production schedules.

3. Changes in design specifications and route cards or process plans.

4. Changes in delivery schedule demanded by customers.

5. Breakdown of machine tools and equipment.

6. Breakdown of tools, jigs and fixtures.

7. Errors in design drawings and process plans.

The duties/functions of progressing people are as follows:

1. To keep record of the status of completion of operations and to prepare progress

reports.

2. To determine the causes of variations or deviations from the program or planned

performance levels and control the same.

3. Following up and monitoring the progress of work through all stages of production
till the parts, sub units and finished products are completed.

4. To prepare list of materials, components and parts which are in short supply.

5. To attend to problems at bottleneck centers and to solve the problems which

cause delay or hold up in production.

6. To coordinate with purchase, stores, tool room and maintenance departments and
to solve problems which hinder progress of production as per schedules.

7. To modify the production plans or re-plan if necessary.

Factors affecting Production Control:

1. Nature of Production: The manufacturing firms are classified as intermittent,
continuous or composite production firms, depending on the length of processing time
without set up changes.

Production control procedure is comparatively simpler in continuous flow process

operation than in intermittent, multi-operation production.

In case of continuous flow process operation for eg. In petrochemical, soap and
synthetic fiber industries etc. Routing is standardized, quality control is highly developed
and planning for raw material, finished goods inventory levels and market is extremely
important.

The production control function in such industries is generally embodied in the process
equipment itself.

Where as in case of intermittent, multi operation production, product consists of large

number of parts and sub-assemblies, the production control procedure becomes
complex.

2. Complexity of Operation: Generally the complexity of production planning and

control function increased with the increase in the variety of operations. It depends on

number of ultimate parts in each product, number of different operations on each part,
variations in productions rates of machine used in the process etc.

3. Magnitude of Operation: The size of operation (that is time taken to complete an

operation) and the distance travelled by the parts from operation to operation are important in
establishing proper production control procedures. Generally the need is greater for centralized
production control organization and for formal procedures as the size of operation increases and
the dependent operations are more physically separated.Factors affecting Production Control:

1. Nature of Production: The manufacturing firms are classified as intermittent, continuous

or composite production firms, depending on the length of processing time without set up
changes.

Production control procedure is comparatively simpler in continuous flow process operation than
in intermittent, multi-operation production.

In case of continuous flow process operation for eg. In petrochemical, soap and synthetic fiber
industries etc. Routing is standardized, quality control is highly developed and planning for raw
material, finished goods inventory levels and market is extremely important.
The production control function in such industries is generally embodied in the process
equipment itself.

Where as in case of intermittent, multi operation production, product consists of large number of
parts and sub-assemblies, the production control procedure becomes complex.

2. Complexity of Operation: Generally the complexity of production planning and control

function increased with the increase in the variety of operations. It depends on number of
ultimate parts in each product, number of different operations on each part, variations in
productions rates of machine used in the process etc.

3. Magnitude of Operation: The size of operation (that is time taken to complete an

operation) and the distance travelled by the parts from operation to operation are important in
establishing proper production control procedures. Generally the need is greater for centralized
production control organization and for formal procedures as the size of operation increases and
the dependent operations are more physically separated.