What three activities are typically involved in the production planning process?

Production planning and control is concerned with directing production along the lines set by the planning department. Production planning and control may be defined as the planning, direction, and coordination of the firm’s material and physical facilities towards the attainment of predetermined production objectives in the most economical manner.

Production planning and control is a pre-determined process which includes the use of human resource, raw materials, machines etc. PPC is the technique to plan each and every step in a long series of separate operation. It helps to take the right decision at the right time and at the right place to achieve maximum efficiency.

Stages in Production Planning and Control(PPC)

1. Planning
2. Operations
3. Control

Scope or Classification of Production Planning and Control Functions

1. Materials
2. Methods
3. Machines and Equipment
4. Routing
5. Estimating
6. Loading and Scheduling
7. Dispatching
8. Progressing
9. Inspection
10. Evaluating or controlling
11. Cost Control

Production Planning

Preparation of a proper production plan is key within production planning and control. Orchestrating a plan allows production to have a schedule to follow, which can further improve the entire the process.

A production plan can determine:

• What is Going to be Produced
• Where it is Going to be Produced
• How it is Going to be Produced
• By Who it is Going to be Produced
• It involves the organisation of an overall manufacturing system to produce a product.
• The objective of production planning is to provide a physical system together with a set of operating guidelines for efficient conversion of raw materials, human skills, and other inputs into finished products.

The production plan is conducted through information about quantity and quality of raw materials, customer orders, and the overall budget. This is how the plan is able to generate multiple schedules and quickly translate them into labour requirements for machines, workers, or any materials. Overall, the production plan is the foundation for the entire manufacturing process and production planning and control software makes it much simpler.

Factors determining the production planning procedure

1. Volume of production
2. Nature of production processes
3. Nature of Operations

Production Control

Importance of Control Function

1. Provide for the production of parts, assemblies, and products of required quality and quantity at the required time.
2. Provide for optimum utilisation of all resources.
3. Co-ordinate, monitor and feedback to manufacturing management.
4. Achieve the broad objectives of low-cost production and reliable customer service.

Benefits of Production Control

1. Improvements in profits through the reduction in indirect costs, set up costs, reduction in scrap, inventory costs.
2. Competitive advantage reliable delivery to customers, lower production costs and greater pricing flexibility.

Elements of Production Control

1. Control of Planning
2. Control of Materials
3. Control of Tooling
4. Control of Manufacturing Capacity
5. Control of Activities
6. Control of quantity
7. Control of Material handling
8. Control of Information

Factors determining Production Control Procedures

1. Nature of production
2. Complexity of Operations
3. Magnitude of Operations

Objectives of Production Planning and Control

1.  To ensure safe and economical production process
2. To deliver quality goods in required quantities
3. To ensure production of quality products
4. To maximize efficiency by proper coordination in production process
5. To ensure maximum utilisation of all resources
6. To place the right man for the right job, at right time for right wages.
7. To maintain optimum inventory levels.
8. To maintain flexibility in manufacturing operations
9. To ensure effective cost reduction and cost control
10. To plan for plant capacities for future requirements.
11.  To effectively utilise plant to maximize productivity
12. To minimise labour turnover
13. To reduce the waiting time
14. To ensure proper delivery of goods

Main elements of Production Planning and Control

The following are main elements of Production Planning and Control:

1. Routing
2. Loading
3. Scheduling
4. Dispatching
5. Follow up
6. Inspection
7. Corrective

1. Routing: Once production plans are generated and ready to be executed, routing comes into play. It is about selection of path or route through which raw materials pass in order to make it into a finished product. The points to be noted while routing process are – full capacity of machines, economical and short route and availability of alternate routing. Setting up time for the process for each stage of route is to be fixed. Once overall sequence are fixed, then the standard time of operations are noted using work measurement technique.

2. Loading and scheduling: The next step within production planning and control is scheduling. Loading and Scheduling are concerned with preparation of workloads and fixing of starting and completing date of each operation. On the basis of the performance of each machine, loading and scheduling tasks are completed. This is when the production plan is almost completed and ready to be enacted. Scheduling differs from planning by diving into the details of the production process.

3. Dispatching: Dispatching is the step in which all of the work on paper is then turned into production. Dispatching is the routine of setting productive activities in motion through the release of orders and instructions, in accordance with previously planned time and sequence, embodied in route sheet and schedule charts. It is here that the orders are released.

Dispatching requires coordination among all the departments concerned. This is obtained through varied degrees of centralised control. Under centralised control, dispatch clerks, centrally located, release all orders including the movement of materials and tools necessary for the operations.

4. Expediting / Follow-up: Once dispatching is applied, expediting is the final step within the production control process. It is a control tool which brings an idea on breaking up, delay, rectifying error etc., during the progress of work. This feature conducts analysis on production and keeps track of any inefficiencies and waste that is created and attempts to locate ways to further improve the process. As this process is completed, the entire cycle restarts and production comes closer and closer to reaching maximum efficiency.

5. Inspection: Inspection is done to find out the quality of executed work processes.

6. Corrective: At evaluation process, a thorough analysis is done and corrective measures are taken in the weaker spots. Corrective action is needed to make effective system of production planning and control. By resorting to corrective measures, the production manager maintains full control over the production activities. For instance, routing may be defective and the schedules may be unrealistic and rigid. The production manager should try to rectify the routes and lay down realistic and flexible schedules.

Workload of machines and workers should also be determined scientifically. If schedules are not being met, the causes should be fully investigated.

Stages of Production Planning & Control

Production Planning & Control is done in three stages namely;

1. Pre-planning
2. Planning
3. Control.

Stage 1: Pre-Planning

Under this phase of production planning, basic ground work on the product design, layout design and work flow are prepared. The operations relating to the availability scope and capacity of men, money materials, machines, time are estimated.

Stage 2: Planning

This is a phase where a complete analysis on routing, estimating and scheduling is done. It also tries to find out the areas of concern for short time and long time so that prominent planning can be prepared.

Stage 3: Control

Under this phase, the functions included are dispatching, follow up, inspection and evaluation. It tries to analyse the expedition of work in progress. This is one of the important phases of the Production Planning and Control.

The Production/Operations Management Cycle

Functions of Production Planning & Control department

Limitations of Production Planning Control(PPC)

1. Based on assumptions
2. Employees may resist changes
3. Time-consuming process
4. Difficult due to change in environmental factors

Production Planning and Control(PPC) in different production systems

PPC in Job Production

It involves the manufacture of products to meet specific customer requirements of special orders. The quantity order is usually small.

Examples are:- Credit and debit cards, Smart cards, boilers, steam engines, processing equipment, material handling equipments etc.

Types of Job production

1. A small number of products produced only once
2. A small number of products produced intermittently when the need arises
3. A small number of products produced periodically at known interval of time.

PPC is difficult in job production due to following reasons:

1. Every job order is of a different nature
2. Specific job orders are assigned to different workstations
3. Scheduling is dependent on the assessment of production times and estimating is based on judgments.

PPC in Batch Production

Batch production is the manufacture of a number of identical articles either to meet a specific order or to satisfy continuous demand.

Types of Batch Production

1. A batch produced only once
2. A batch produced repeatedly at irregular intervals when the need arises.
3. A batch produced periodically at known intervals, to satisfy continuous demand.

PPC in Continuous Production

Continuous production is normally associated with large quantities of production and with a high rate of demand.

Types of Continuous Production

1. Mass production
2. Flow production

PPC in Process Industry

The main task of PPC in the process industry is to maintain a continuous and uniform flow of work at the predetermined rate in order to utilise the plant and equipments fully and to complete the production in time.

Requirements of effective PPC System

1. Sound organisation structure
2. Information feedback system
3. Standardisation of materials, tools, equipments, labour, quality, workmanship etc.
4. Trained personnel
5. Flexibility
6. Appropriate management policies
7. Accurate assessment of manufacturing lead time and procurements lead time.
8. Plant capacity should be adequate to meet the demand.

Production planning and control is a costly device as its implementation requires separate persons to perform the functions of planning, dispatching, executing, etc. Small firms cannot afford to use the services of specialists for the effective performance of these functions

Production planning and control offers capabilities that can aid your manufacturing facility by improving overall production efficiency while also minimising waste, ultimately allowing your facility to utilize resources to its fullest. The process of production planning and control is a continuous one since control starts where planning ends and planning starts where control ends.

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