Production planning is the function of establishing an overall level of output, called the production plan.

The process also includes any other activities needed to satisfy current planned levels of sales, while meeting the firm's general objectives regarding profit, productivity, lead times, and customer satisfaction, as expressed in the overall business plan. The managerial objective of production planning is to develop an integrated game plan where the operations portion is the production plan. This production plan, then, should link the firm's strategic goals to operations (the production function) as well as coordinating operations with sales objectives, resource availability, and financial budgets. The production-planning process requires the comparison of sales requirements and production capabilities and the inclusion of budgets, pro forma financial statements, and supporting plans for materials and workforce requirements, as well as the production plan itself. A primary purpose of the production plan is to establish production rates that will achieve management's objective of satisfying customer demand. Demand satisfaction could be accomplished through the maintaining, raising, or lowering of inventories or backlogs, while keeping the workforce relatively stable. If the firm has implemented a just-in-time philosophy, the firm would utilize a chase strategy, which would mean satisfying customer demand while keeping inventories at a minimum level. The term production planning is really too limiting since the intent is not to purely produce a plan for the operations function. Because the plan affects many firm functions, it is normally prepared with information from marketing and coordinated with the functions of manufacturing, engineering, finance, materials, and so on. Another term, sales and operations planning, has recently come into use, more accurately representing the concern with coordinating several critical activities within the firm. Production planning establishes the basic objectives for work in each of the major functions. It should be based on the best tradeoffs for the firm as a whole, weighing sales and marketing objectives, manufacturing's cost, scheduling and inventory objectives, and the firm's financial objectives. All these must be integrated with the strategic view of where the company wants to go.

The production-planning process typically begins with an updated sales forecast covering the next 6 to 18 months. Any desired increase or decrease in inventory or backlog levels can be added or subtracted, resulting in the production plan. However, the production plan is not a forecast of demand. It is planned production, stated on an aggregate basis. An effective production-planning process will typically utilize explicit time fences for when the aggregate plan can be changed (increased or decreased). Also, there may be constraints on the degree of change (amount of increase or decrease).
The production plan also provides direct communication and consistent dialogue between the operations function and upper management, as well as between operations and the firm's other functions. As such, the production plan must necessarily be stated in terms that are meaningful to all within the firm, not just the operations executive. Some firms state the production plan as the dollar value of total input (monthly, quarterly, etc.). Other firms may break the total output down by individual factories or major product lines. Still other firms state the plan in terms of total units for each product line. The key here is that the plan be stated in some homogeneous unit, commonly understood by all, that is also consistent with that used in other plans.

Line of Balance

The Line Of Balance (LOB) process is employed when a repetitive process exists within the contract's work scope. The manufacturing of parts and the assembly of units in the factory are two candidates for the use of LOB. Exhibit 1 Line Of Balance (LOB) is a management control process for collecting, measuring and presenting facts relating to time, cost and accomplishment - all measured against a specific plan. It shows the process, status, background, timing and phasing of the project activities, thus providing management with measuring tools that help: 1. Comparing actual progress with a formal objective plan.

2. Examining only the deviations from established plans, and gauging their degree of severity with respect to the remainder of the project.

3. Receiving timely information concerning trouble areas and indicating areas where appropriate corrective action is required. 4. Forecasting future performance. The "Line of Balance" itself is a graphic device that enables a manager to see at a single glance which of many activities comprising a complex operation are "in balance" - i.e., whether those which should have been completed at the time of the review actually are completed and whether any activities scheduled for future completion are lagging behind schedule. The Line of Balance chart comprises only one feature of the whole philosophy which includes numerous danger signal controls for all the various levels of management concerned. History: LOB was devised by the members of a group headed by George E. Fouch. During 1941, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company monitored production with LOB. It was successfully applied to the production planning and scheduling of the huge Navy mobilization program of World War ll. LOB proved to be a valuable tool for expediting production visibility during the Korean hostilities. During this period, defense suppliers used LOB. LOB application has been further expanded, making it suitable now across a whole spectrum of activities ranging from research and development through job shop and process flow operations. Specific forms and reports will be found to differ in detail, but the basic pattern and symbology are quite uniform throughout industry. Standard Symbols: All LOB chart use standard symbols, as shown in the lower right hand corner of Exhibit 1. They identify the "sensors" (milestones), i.e., readily identifiable stages of development or control point in the process designating completion of specific activities or clusters of activities. Application to Production: Exhibit 1 is a simplified example of a LOB Chart for a hypothetical fabrication and assembly operation and demonstrates the original application in monitoring and controlling production. The finished LOB chart displays first, the OBJECTIVE (the required delivery schedule), as shown in the upper left hand portion. Second, there is a clearly defined PLAN for meeting that objective, indicating interrelationships, and how each part of component

fits into the assembly process, as well as the exact point in the cycle when each one is required to be available. This is shown in the graphing of sensors, using standard symbols, in the lower half of the chart. The bottom scale is the number of working periods (in this case, the measure is in days), counting backwards from total completion, when each component shall be finished. Third, there is an appraisal of the progress that has been achieved, given by the vertical bars in the PROGRESS chart in the upper right hand portion. Finally, also in the upper right hand portion, there is the LINE OF BALANCE, (i.e., a measure of the level of progress that shall have been reached if the objective is to be met on schedule, according to the established plan). These four basic elements are vital ingredients of any effective management system. Together they will provide for the continuous exercise of authority and create a balanced and integrated operation out of a large number of individual and uncoordinated transactions. The Objective curve is a plot of schedule cumulative deliveries against calendar dates. In this instance, the curve tells us that a total of ninety units are scheduled for delivery between November 1 and June 30. The dotted curve indicates that actual deliveries have fallen below the required number, reaching only thirty-eight units by May 10, whereas forty-eight had been planned. The Operating (manufacturing) Plan is represented by the series of interconnecting horizontal lines, seen in the lower portion of the Line of Balance Chart. Along these lines are the sensors indicating identifiable stages of development and control points. These control point are numbered consecutively from left to right across the schematic diagram, and from top to bottom wherever two or more points have a common position along the horizontal axis. As will be seen later, each of these control sensors is keyed by a corresponding number to a bar graph in the Progress portion of the LOB chart. The Operation Plan illustrated has an established cycle of twenty-four days per unit. It indicates the manner in which the several types and kinds of parts and components are joined to form the completed product. To restrict the number of sensor points to a minimum (no more than fifty), certain conventions have been introduced. One convention is to develop a separate chart for each of two or more categories of parts (such as, purchased, company made, major components, customer furnished parts, etc.). In any case, there always remains the requirement for summary of the whole to

indicate the overall program state. A Summary Chart generally is made by selecting key control points from each of the supporting charts, and having each such point represent a number of subordinate sensors. A similar device frequently is adopted in the treatment of complex products consisting of a large number of parts. This expedient calls for each sensor to represent an association of parts (for example, a so called "family group" of items on an indented parts list). Under such conditions the symbol should be positioned for the earliest required part. All other related data (such as stock status) should be representative of the least favorable condition obtaining within the particular family group at the time of the survey. The next step in our example is to cause a visual combination of the data displayed in the Objective and the Plan portions of the chart. This will be used to establish a gauge for measuring the performance requirements that will be necessary to meet the prescribed delivery goal under operating conditions established by the Manufacturing Plan. This combination of elements is known as the LINE OF BALANCE, the feature that gives its name to the technique. Deriving the Line Of Balance Referring to Exhibit 1, note that the date of the progress review is May 10. This now becomes the date for all reference purposes. The delivery requirements at any time will be found by erecting a perpendicular at the point corresponding to the date in question, and extending it to intersect the cumulative delivery curve. The value of the ordinate at that point represents the required TOTAL DELIVERIES for that time. In the case illustrated, the curve shows that by May 10 a total of 48 units should have been shipped. In the Line Of Balance, the 48 units relate to sensors 24 and 25, the events that take place at the time of delivery. For CURRENT needs to insure FUTURE deliveries, consider sensors Numbers 1 and 2. These actions indicate initiation of the manufacturing cycle and are slated for accomplishment 24 days prior to delivery of the finished unit. On May 10, we shall have completed not only the 48 end items sets of items 1 and 2 required for delivery on that date, but shall also have completed an additional quantity sufficient to meet the shipping needs 24 working days later. The precise level of this requirement can be found by erecting a perpendicular at the calendar date that is 24 working days after May 10, that is, June 13. The cumulative delivery curve at that point calls for

78 finished units, showing that a total of 78 end item sets of items 1 and 2 should have been completed (or have been available for use on May 10). The Line of Balance is drawn at this level in the Progress Chart. Similarly, sensor 3, which is slated for 23 days prior to the delivery date, shall provide for requirements for June 12, namely, 76 units, which is its Line of Balance. Now, consider sensors numbers 4, 5, and 6, all of which are required 21 working days in advance of shipment. The May 10 level of requirements for these items is represented by the value of the ordinate at the point corresponding to June 10, 72 units. For sensor number 7, scheduled for accomplishment 18 working days in advance of shipment, a requirement for 66 end item sets is shown by the Objective curve value for June 5. By following the same principle of construction, requirement levels for all other elements are established, culminating in a 48 unit delivery schedule by May 10, the date of the study, and providing for planned future deliveries. The end result is the characteristic step down contour of a Line of Balance. Properly constructed, this invariably will step downward from a high point on the left to the level indicated for cumulative deliveries on the date of the study. By comparing the Line of Balance with the record of completed sensors of each item, management is afforded a graphic portrayal of program status and an accurate forecast of shipping capability. The vertical bars in the Progress chart are typical LOB representation of the progress being made on a program. As was mentioned earlier, each sensor in the Operating Plan is keyed by an identifying number to a bar graph display. The length of this bar represents the number of end item sets that have been completed or are available for use, as read off the vertical scale used for the Objective curve. It will be noted that because of the manner in which the chart was constructed, the bar graphs with the lowest numbers relate to the events that occur earliest. This automatically points out the priority of corrective action. Also, because progress is reported in terms of END ITEM SETS, the inventory count is translated into the capability of delivery of finished units. That is to say, if the end product is a bicycle, the bar graph for wheels will be on a length that is equivalent to the total number of wheels that have been completed (or are available

for use) divided by two. The results show how many finished bicycles can be delivered out of the current stock level of wheels. All the sensor that are behind schedule are indicated by bar graphs that fail to meet the Line of Balance. The first of these is sensor number 8, complete fabrication of part "D". Sensor number 8 is a "make" assembly which is manufactured relatively early in the factory cycle. To the extent that supporting sensors 5 and 6 are on schedule, evidently some problem exists in the fabrication process. The effects of this difficulty have been transmitted throughout subsequent operations as may be seen by the bar graphs for 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25. It may be concluded that the fault for shipping only 38 instead of 48 units lies almost entirely with the failure to complete the required quantity of part "D". The chart also reveals the presence of a problem area in the operation represented by sensor 13 and 15. Even if the troubles with part D were cleared up, the deliveries would be limited to only 51 units as shown by the height of bar graph 15. This rudimentary example serves to illustrate the application of this technique to a simple process of fabrication and assembly. Line of Balance can be applied to all other manufacturing or production operations, whether they are job shop or flow shop. Although more than some fifty years have elapsed since Line of Balance was first introduced, it is still considered to be most effective for control of production. EXAMPLE -Steps in Production Line Balancing

To balance the production line, follow the following 7 steps:

Step 1 Specify the sequential relationships among tasks using a precedence diagram. The diagram consists of circles and arrows. Circles represent individual tasks; arrows indicate the order of task performance. An example of precedence diagram of sewing a T-shirt is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Precedence diagram for sewing a T-shirt

Step 2 Determine the required cycle time (C), using the formula: (1)

Step 3 Determine the theoretical minimum number of workstations (Nt) required to satisfy the cycle time constraint using the formula: (2)

Step 4 Select the following rules as primary and secondary rules to assign the tasks to workstations. Rules 1 : Assign tasks in the order of the largest number of following tasks. Rules 2 : Assign tasks in the order of longest operation time.

Step 5 Assign tasks, one at a time, to the first workstation until the sum of the task times is equal to the cycle time, or no other tasks are feasible because of time or sequence restrictions. Repeat the process for Workstation 2, Workstation 3, and so on, until all tasks are assigned.

Step 6 Evaluate the efficiency of the balance derived using the formula: (3)

Step 7 If efficiency is unsatisfactory, rebalance using a different decision rule. The decision rules can be suggested as follows: 1. Split the task 2. Share the task 3. Use a more skilled worker 4. Work Overtime 5. Redesign the production line and production sequences.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULING
The production schedule is derived from the production plan; it is a plan that authorized the operations function to produce a certain quantity of an item within a specified time frame. In a large firm, the production schedule is drawn in the production planning department, whereas, within a small firm, a production schedule could originate with a lone production scheduler or even a line supervisor. Production scheduling has three primary goals or objectives. The first involves due dates and avoiding late completion of jobs. The second goal involves throughput times; the firm wants to minimize the time a job spends in the system, from the opening of a shop order until it is closed

or completed. The third goal concerns the utilization of work centers. Firms usually want to fully utilize costly equipment and personnel. Often, there is conflict among the three objectives. Excess capacity makes for better due-date performance and reduces throughput time but wreaks havoc on utilization. Releasing extra jobs to the shop can increase the utilization rate and perhaps improve due-date performance but tends to increase throughput time. Quite a few sequencing rules (for determining the sequence in which production orders are to be run in the production schedule) have appeared in research and in practice. Some well-known ones adapted from Vollmann, Berry, Whybark and Jacobs (2005) are presented in Operations Scheduling.

THE

PRODUCTION

PLANNING

AND

PRODUCTION SCHEDULING INTERFACE

There are fundamental differences in production planning and production scheduling. Planning models often utilize aggregate data, cover multiple stages in a medium-range time frame, in an effort to minimize total costs. Scheduling models use detailed information, usually for a single stage or facility over a short term horizon, in an effort to complete jobs in a timely manner. Despite these differences, planning and scheduling often have to be incorporated into a single framework, share information, and interact extensively with one another. They also may interact with other models such as forecasting models or facility location models. It should be noted that a major shift in direction has occurred in recent research on scheduling methods. Much of what was discussed was developed for job shops. As a result of innovations such as computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) and just-in-time (JIT), new processes being established in today's firms are designed to capture the benefits of repetitive manufacturing and continuous flow manufacturing. Therefore, much of the new scheduling research concerns new concepts and techniques for repetitive manufacturing-type operations. In addition, many of today's firms cannot plan and schedule only within the walls of their own factory as most are an entity with an overall supply chain. Supply chain management requires the coordination and

integration of operations in all stages of the chain. If successive stages in a supply belong to the same firm, then these successive stages can be incorporated into a single planning and scheduling model. If not, constant interaction and information sharing are required to optimize the overall supply chain.

Principles of Scheduling
There are basic rules for making any type of schedule. Here is a list of some basic principles that apply to all study schedules. 1. Eliminate Dead Hours. Be sure to make each block of one hour productive. Time between classes can be a valuable time to review notes. 2. Use daylight hours. There is research that shows that each hour used during the day for studying is equal to an hour and a half at night. 3. Study before recitation-type classes. For a course in which you recite and discuss, it is best to study right before the class. The material will be fresh in your mind. 4. Study after lecture-type classes. Retention and understanding are aided by a review of the lecture notes immediately after class. 5. List according to priorities. When you prioritize, you can be sure of getting the most important things done first. 6. Avoid too much detail. Trying to pack too many things into a weekly schedule can waste time. Time used in making a lengthy schedule is time that can be used for studying. Also, a very detailed schedule can be difficult to follow. 7. Know your sleep pattern. Sleep when you are sleepy and study when you are naturally alert. 8. Discover how long to study. Rule of thumb: For every hour in class, study for two hours. Time varies from student to student and subject to subject. Start with two hours and make adjustments later.

9. Plan blocks of time. Optimum efficiency is reached by planning in hour blocks: Study 50 minutes and break for 10 minutes. 10. Allow for sleep. Eight hours a night is proven by medical evidence to be the most beneficial. The quality of your education depends on sufficient sleep. 11. Eat well-balanced meals. Dietary deficiencies result in irritability, fatigue, and lack of pep. 12. Double your time estimates. It is better to overestimate the amount of time needed for a project than to underestimate it. Start long assignments way ahead of time to allow for problems. 13. Don't pack your schedule too tightly. Be precise, but leave room for last minute problems that require time. 14. Make a plan for living, not merely for studying. Life, even in college, is many-sided. All of its many sides must be addressed. Benefits to Scheduling 1. Gets you started. A well-planned schedule can give a needed shove. 2. Prevents avoidance of disliked subjects. It keeps you from avoiding dreaded subjects and spending all of your time on favorite subjects. 3. Monitors "slacking off". By apportioning time properly, you can keep yourself from slacking off as the semester progresses. 4. Eliminates the wrong type of cramming. If cramming right before an exam is to be effective, the original studying and learning must take place day by day. 5. Makes studying enjoyable. It makes it more pleasurable to study without the pressure of time. 6. Promotes cumulative review. Using short review periods is more beneficial and a better way to prepare for an exam. It is more effective to study in chunks than in one massed session. 7. Frees the mind. Putting things to do down on paper frees the mind from forgetting what you want to accomplish. It lessens pressure and confusion.

8. Controls the study breaks. Rewarding yourself with a 10-minute break can minimize watching the clock. Get up, walk around, or just stare out the window. Try to keep the subject in mind so that you do not need a warm-up period when you resume studying. 9. Keeps you from overlooking recreation. Social and physical activities are needed to be a wellrounded individual. However, do not let the extra activities outweigh the academics. 10. Regulates daily living. Without a schedule, assignments and other things are bound to pile up. This causes panic and stress. With a schedule, assignments and activities can be mapped out to relieve stress and worry

PRODUCTION SCHEDULING and PRODUCTION PLANNING PROCESS GIRAFFE SCHEDULING SYSTEM: HOW TO USE
STEP NO: PRODUCTION SCHEDULING PROCESS: GIRAFFE SCHEDULING SYSTEM PROCESS:

1.

Define machine families, Shift hours and manufacturing capacity. Define manufacturing processes, process set up times and production throughput rates. Detail resources and processes involved for each job, materials required and work instructions. Forecast and schedule resource requirements and track vs capacity.

"Machines and Capacity"

2.

"Process Quote Book"

"Master Schedule" "Job Sheet"

3.

4.

"Resources and Processing"

"Master Schedule" "Forecast" "Scheduling Wizard" "Production Schedule"

5.

Re-schedule work and re-allocate resources to meet customer requirements.

6.

Prioritise workload and process jobs.

7.

Carry any jobs not run as scheduled to next shift and ensure all incomplete jobs are on the schedule. Automate clerical tasks and enable timely and relevant production scheduling.

"Resources and Processing" "Scheduling Wizard" "Consignment Note" Production Reporting

8.