Production planning increases your manufacturing efficiency. Adjust your production schedule based on inventory, resource and orders.
Production scheduling is essential for growing manufacturing operations to take their production to the next level.
Has your business grown from a one-man-band to a whole crew? Maybe you're in charge of a bustling workshop and are looking to maximize efficiency on your shop floor. Whatever the reason, you are going to need a way to optimize your production scheduling and planning.
WHAT IS PRODUCTION SCHEDULING?
Production Scheduling is the allocation of raw materials, resources, and processes to produce products for customers.
The purpose of production scheduling is to make your manufacturing process flow with maximum efficiency, by balancing your production needs with your available resources in the most cost-effective manner.
It is making sure your orders are fulfilled in the most efficient way, without interruptions, delay, or stress.
Does that seem like a pipe dream?
Maybe your production flow just needs a few weeks. Either way, proper production planning, and scheduling are absolutely necessary.
It's a fact - production scheduling in manufacturing is especially challenging. It is not helped by the wide range of resources and processes to manage.
Right now you might be wondering: "How is optimal production efficiency possible for scaling manufacturers?" The answer is simple: find the right tools.
It takes solid management with the right production planning and scheduling software. Do this well and watch as every part of your order fulfillment process work together, as it should.
Without a solid plan to manage and schedule production, even the simplest business can get turned around.
There are many production planning tools available on the market. The problem is that most of these tools are geared towards large manufacturing businesses. This makes them too complex for a business' needs. On the other side of the scale, there is off-the-shelf software like Excel. This is not robust enough for effective production planning and leaves you few chances to analyze and optimize your processes.
FOUR STAGES OF PRODUCTION SCHEDULING
The four stages of production scheduling are:
1. PRODUCTION PLANNING
Production planning is the process in manufacturing that ensures you have sufficient raw materials, labor, and resources in order to product finished products to schedule. It is a crucial step in production management and scheduling.
Complete production planning involves the accurate tracking of:
Raw materials
Team members
Workstations
Processes
Supplies
Knowing measurements and figures is not enough. You need to understand how each part of your manufacturing process interacts and works together optimally.
2. ROUTING
Routing manufacturing is the route or path, to be followed during each step of the manufacturing process. The manufacturing route defines the path from raw materials through to the production of a finished product. If done correctly you'll know at what stage your item is at and which machine, tool, or work center it needs to travel to next.
3. SCHEDULING
Production scheduling is the management of these processes to make sure they are completed in a timely and economical fashion.
When an unusually large order comes in, you don't have to estimate or guess, as you have "the knowledge: - the recipe for everything your business produces - at your disposal.
This recipe is part of your bill of materials (BOM) and is a cornerstone of your Master Production Schedule (MPS).
4. EXECUTION
Execution related to the process of undertaking your production plan. Having already established your production planning, routing, and scheduling, the execution stage is when you issue supporting orders or instructions in order to enable production.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHEDULING PRODUCTION PROCESSES
Neglecting your order fulfillment process leads to problems arising sooner or later.
Small inefficiencies may not be noticeable at first. But allow them to continue, then it will grow into a big one. This leads to bottlenecks in your production process. Bottlenecks are slow spots in your production line. They can cause significant issues in your production flow.
These issues affect your whole business:
Customers will get frustrated with delated orders
Crew members will get stressed and demoralized while struggling to keep up
It takes an effective production manager to diagnose and address the causes of bottlenecks. This takes time and resources which could be spent elsewhere. Afterward, measures need to be in place that prevents something similar from occurring.
Using production planning software helps you break this process down into manageable pieces. It saves operation managers time when findings ways to optimize the production flow. It allows you to stay on top of your floor-level management.
Some may think that you can rush over management or sweep strategy under the rug.
Make no mistake:
Production scheduling in manufacturing is one of the hardest but most important things to get right.
If any part of your production is off, then delays happen. Manufacturing process optimization means making sure dead stock and disappointed customers are non-existent.
In general, good production planning involves:
Producing goods in the most logical and straightforward way possible.
Thinking ahead - anticipating situations like high demand, shortfall, and bottlenecks
Identifying inefficient spots in the production chain.
KEY FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN PRODUCTION SCHEDULING
Production planning is vital for any manufacturing business. Even basic products need a clear and defined flow to turn them from raw materials into quality goods.
If this is not followed, your products are sure to drop in quality. Without a proper process, your standardized practices are sure to be forgotten.
Crew Management
Use your team well. Your people are a valuable asset to your business. They play a key part in manufacturing process optimization. Make it your business to know your people, including their strengths and weaknesses.
This way, you can assign each team member to the most tasks and machines. If someone is sick or goes on holiday, you have the additional capacity to make up for the temporary loss.
Effective production planning allows you to get the most out of your people and machines. every team member knows the tasks assigned to them, and what their expected output is.
Keeping tabs on how this process lets you compensate for shortfalls and keep up with high demand.
Running at Capacity
Is your plant constantly running at 100% of its output? It only takes a minor bump to bring things to a grinding halt.
A good rule of thumb is to always make sure your maximum output is a little higher than what you are doing now by calculating your capacity planning. If you do receive an unusually large order or two, you will be glad you prepared. The same goes for your team as they have enough resources to do their job on time.
Raw Materials
Frequent stalls in production planning mean paying team members and machines to stand-by waiting.
Manufacturing process planning software can integrate MRP. This means you can have the required raw materials available at all times. You never have to push back production because of supply order delays. Priority deadlines do not have to be set back due to undersupply.
There's no need to be always stepping over excess raw materials on your shop floor.
If done right, warehousing and transport costs won't skyrocket due to oversupply. As a bonus, every team member always has something to do as they work with the materials that you do have available.
Logistics
The logistical flow of each part of your manufacturing process also requires consideration.
This may not seem so important, but you would be surprised.
Many production line has come grinding to a halt as one weak link has been placed on the wrong stage.
Pushing machines an people to unsuitable locations can harm efficiency. Sometimes, what seems like common sense could be deleterious to your flow. It takes careful analysis to figure out how materials, resources, people, and supplies travel around your plant.
It may be that a more efficient layout or order exists for your business. Sometimes making a small change can make a world of difference to your production schedule.
Problem Solving
Trial-and-error problem solving costs your business money through each failed attempt. Over ordering or overproducing is a band-aid solution, as this leads to extra costs or staff burnout.
In order to get to the root of a problem, you need effective software to track your flow and find production scheduling issues.
Know Your Manufacturing Processes
Understanding production scheduling principles allows you to methodically oversee your manufacturing. Track and manage everything effectively and everything should work like clockwork. Effective production scheduling makes it easier to do everything by the book - it is set out clearly for your whole team and is available 24/7.