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It helps
organizations with the regular and timely delivery of their goods. Furthermore, it
allows manufacturing businesses to increase their plant’s efficiency and reduce production costs
Numerous software and tools for production scheduling and planning are available on the market,
including Visual Planning, Max Scheduler, and MRP easy, which assist manufacturing organizations in
planning, scheduling, and controlling their production.
According to KBV Research, the manufacturing operations management software market is anticipated
to reach $14.6 billion by 2025 globally, expanding at a market growth of 10.2 percent CAGR during the
forecast period.
So, what exactly is production planning and control?
Production planning is an administrative process within a manufacturing business. It ensures that
sufficient raw materials, personnel, and other necessary items are procured and prepared to produce
finished products according to the specified schedule.
Scheduling, dispatch, inspection, quality control, inventory management, supply chain management,
and equipment management require production planning. Production control makes sure that the
production team meets the required production targets, maximizes resource utilization, manages quality,
and saves money.
“Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing
principles and perfecting the engineering, as well as final assembly.”– James Dyson
In oversize factories, production planning and control are frequently managed by a production planning
department, which comprises production controllers and a production control manager. More significant
operations are commonly monitored and controlled from a central location, such as a control room,
operations room, or operations control center.
An efficient production process that meets the needs of both customers and the organization can only be
achieved through careful planning in the early stages of production. In addition, it streamlines both
cycle time.
A well-designed delivery and production plan minimizes lead time, the period between placing an order
and its completion and delivery. The definition of lead time varies slightly according to the company
and the type of production planning required. For example, in supply chain management, lead time
Routing
The first stage of production planning determines the path that raw materials will take from
their source to the finished product. You will use this section to determine the equipment,
resources, materials, and sequencing used.
Scheduling
It is necessary to determine when operations will occur during the second stage of production
planning. In this case, the objectives may be to increase throughput, reduce lead time, or
increase profits, among other things. Numerous strategies can be employed to create the most
efficient schedule.
Dispatching
The third and final production control stage begins when the manufacturing process is initiated.
When the scheduling plan is implemented, materials and work orders are released, and work is
flowing down the production line, the production line is considered to be running smoothly.
Follow-Up
The fourth stage of manufacturing control ascertains whether the process has any bottlenecks
or inefficiencies. You can use this stage to compare the predicted run hours and quantities with
the actual values reported to see if any improvements can be made to the processes.
Production Planning Example
Though production planning is classified into several categories, including flow, mass
production, process, job, and batch, we will look at a batch production planning example here.
Manufacturing products in batches is known as "batch production planning." This method
allows for close monitoring at each stage of the process, and quick correction since an error
discovered in one batch can be corrected in the next batch. However, batch manufacturing can
lead to bottlenecks or delays if some equipment can handle more than others, so it's critical to
consider capacity at every stage.
Example
Consider the following example of batch production planning:
Jackson's Baked Goods is in the process of developing a production plan for their new
cinnamon bread. To begin with, the head baker determines the batch production time required
by the recipe
He then adjusts the bakery's weekly ingredient orders to include the necessary supplies and
schedules the weekly cinnamon bread bake during staff downtime.
Finally, he creates a list of standards for the bakery staff to check at each production stage,
allowing them to quickly identify any substandard materials or other batch errors without
wasting processing time on subpar cinnamon bread.
Final Words
Production planning and scheduling are remarkably similar. But, it is critical to note that
planning determines what operations need to be done and scheduling determines when and
who will do the operations.
A product or service's production planning is the process of creating a guide for the design and
manufacture of a given product or service. Production planning aims to help organizations
make their manufacturing processes as productive as possible.
Manufacturing Planning and Control (MPC) system
A production (or manufacturing) planning and control (MPC) system is concerned with
planning and controlling all aspects of manufacturing, including materials, scheduling
machines and people, and coordinating suppliers and customers. An effective MPC system is
critical to the success of any company. An MPC system’s design is not a one-off undertaking;
it should be adaptive to respond to changes in the competitive arena, customer requirements,
strategy, supply chain and other possible problems (Vollmann )
There are 5 levels in the manufacturing planning and control (MPC) system:
– Strategic business plan,
– Production plan (sales and
operations plan),
– Master production schedule,
– Materiel requirements plan,
– Purchasing and production
activity control.
The development of the SBP is the responsibility of senior management. Each department
produces its own plans to achieve the objectives set by the SBP. These plan will be coordinated
with one another and with the SBP. The level of detail is not high. It is concerned with general
market and production requirements (total market for major product groups) and not sales of
individual items.
Strategic business plans are usually reviewed every six months to 1 year.
– The quantities of each product group that must be produced in each period;
– The desired inventory levels;
– The resources of equipment, labor, and material needed in each period;
– The availability of the resources needed.
The level of detail is not high. The production plan will show major product groups or families.
Production planners must devise a plan to satisfy market demand within the resources available
to the company. For effective planning, there must be a balance between priority and capacity.
Along with the market and financial plans, the PP is concerned with implementing the strategic
business plan. The planning horizon is usually 6 to 18 months and is reviewed each month or
quarter.
Capacity management
At each level in the MPC system, the priority plan must be tested against the available
resources and capacity of the manufacturing system. If the capacity cannot be made available
when needed, then the plans must be changed. There can be no valid, workable PP unless this
is done.
Over several years, machinery, equipment and plants can be added to or taken away from
manufacturing. However, in the time spans involved from PP to PAC, these kind of changes
cannot be made. Some changes, such as changing the number of shifts, working overtime,
subcontracting the work, can be accomplished in these time spans.
Production planning and control are critical components of any manufacturing organization. It
helps organizations with the regular and timely delivery of their goods. Furthermore, it
allows manufacturing businesses to increase their plant’s efficiency and reduce production
costs.
Numerous software and tools for production scheduling and planning are available on the
market, including Visual Planning, MaxScheduler, and MRPeasy, which assist manufacturing
organizations in planning, scheduling, and controlling their production.
“Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing
principles and perfecting the engineering, as well as final assembly.”
– James Dyson
In oversize factories, production planning and control are frequently managed by a production
planning department, which comprises production controllers and a production control
manager. More significant operations are commonly monitored and controlled from a central
location, such as a control room, operations room, or operations control center.
A well-designed production plan minimizes lead time, the period between placing an order and
its completion and delivery. The definition of lead time varies slightly according to the
company and the type of production planning required. For example, in supply chain
management, lead time refers to the time required for parts to be shipped from a supplier.
Steps in Production Planning and Control
Routing
The first stage of production planning determines the path that raw materials will take from
their source to the finished product. You will use this section to determine the equipment,
resources, materials, and sequencing used.
Scheduling
It is necessary to determine when operations will occur during the second stage of production
planning. In this case, the objectives may be to increase throughput, reduce lead time, or
increase profits, among other things. Numerous strategies can be employed to create the most
efficient schedule.
Dispatching
The third and final production control stage begins when the manufacturing process is initiated.
When the scheduling plan is implemented, materials and work orders are released, and work is
flowing down the production line, the production line is considered to be running smoothly.
Follow-Up
The fourth stage of manufacturing control ascertains whether the process has any bottlenecks
or inefficiencies. You can use this stage to compare the predicted run hours and quantities with
the actual values reported to see if any improvements can be made to the processes.
Example
Consider the following example of batch production planning:
Jackson's Baked Goods is in the process of developing a production plan for their new
cinnamon bread. To begin with, the head baker determines the batch production time required
by the recipe.
He then adjusts the bakery's weekly ingredient orders to include the necessary supplies and
schedules the weekly cinnamon bread bake during staff downtime.
Finally, he creates a list of standards for the bakery staff to check at each production stage,
allowing them to quickly identify any substandard materials or other batch errors without
wasting processing time on subpar cinnamon bread.
Final Words
Running a smooth and problem-free manufacturing operation relies heavily on a precise
production planner. Many large manufacturing companies already have a strong focus on
streamlining their processes and making the most of every manufacturing operation, but small
manufacturing companies still have work to do in this area. As a result, plan, schedule, and
control a production that will enable you to run your business in order to meet its objectives.
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Production planning
Production control
Determining demand
Monitoring production
Measuring performance
This definition deliberately includes activities that belong to other disciplines such as sales and
marketing, as well as raw material procurement. The reason is that effective production
planning and control doesn't happen in a vacuum, but is part of an integrated approach that
considers all production planning and control responsibilities; it's not just a part of the business.
Determining demand
One of the first steps in production planning and control is determining demand. Usually
performed by sales and marketing, demand planning is crucial in that it determines the required
production capacity and raw material requirements. While erroneous demand forecasts
undermine profitability, it's surprising how many executives still rely on gut feel when deciding
future demand. Perhaps it’s because they don't have the right tools to analyze sales information
and arrive at data-driven decisions.
Demand volume
This information helps determine whether there's sufficient capacity to meet demand. The ideal
is to match capacity to demand, which is relatively simple if demand is steady. Unfortunately,
this is rarely the case, with peak demand occurring during well-defined periods such as over
Christmas or such as planting and reaping times in the case of agricultural equipment
manufacturers. In most instances, management needs to consider demand shaping to optimize
supply and demand.
Besides MRP, other production planning tools for improving production efficiency exist such
as Kanban, Just in Time (JIT), Optimized Production Technology (OPT) and Flexible
Manufacturing Systems (FMS). Each has its strengths and specific objectives. Some, such as
Kanban, are largely manual systems, while others use sophisticated algorithms to manage
production scheduling.
Production management needs support, as they often have to make decisions on the run with
little time to consider alternatives. Unfortunately, conventional planning tools are relatively
inflexible and, as they generally update overnight, can't provide immediate answers. This
means many managers turn to spreadsheets to determine the best solution, a process that can be
cumbersome and prone to errors. Often, the only practical answer appears to be costly
measures such as unplanned overtime to meet production schedules.
While these measures may work, their impact on operating costs is significant. What if
production managers could quickly consider alternative scenarios and discover optimal
solutions that reduce overall costs as well as answer other production planning and control
questions?
As fanciful as this may seem, this is exactly what many large organizations are doing through
leveraging prescriptive analytics to find data-driven answers to production challenges. For
example, Unilever achieved radical savings in capacity planning and production allocation
through using prescriptive analytics for modeling their production lines.
Optimization modeling allows managers to move away from error-prone spreadsheets and
discover the real secrets to boosting production planning. This includes the ability to run
scenarios to find the best way to optimize production while minimizing operating costs.
Optimization modeling allows you to dynamically determine optimal stock levels for any
situation, freeing you from the tyranny of static solutions based on the day's stock as well as the
limitations of ABC stock analysis. It helps you optimize supply chain management and answer
important supply chain management questions.
By modeling the entire organization, it's possible to integrate and optimize supply and demand
planning simultaneously. This holistic view of the organization opens up numerous
possibilities that would never be apparent when functions operate in silos. In this way, changes
in demand are reflected in supply production requirements so that changes made by one
functional manager are immediately apparent throughout.
Production Planning and Control: Meaning, Examples And Need
In large manufacturing operations, production planning and control are vital to maintaining the
highest levels of product quality. The production planning process is the act of developing a
plan for guiding products or services through all the stages of their lifecycle.
Production planning and control is a management system that plans how and when a product
should be produced or a service provided over time so that it meets customer demand while
making the business profits.
Let’s inspect the production planning and control meaning further.
1. Production Planning And Control Meaning
2. Need Of Production Planning And Control
3. Steps For Successful Production Planning
4. Production Planning Approaches
5. Production Planning And Control Example