What is production scheduling ?
Production planning is a phase that determines the most important function of production like what and how much of materials need to be produced. The scheduling part decides who performs the operations and when. It allocates all the resources with respect to employees, materials and capacity in order to complete the production successfully.
The ERP software helps greatly in automating the schedule, generating work order status, marking changes in demand, and any variations in product or equipment. The employee availability is easily accounted for during scheduling of each task. ERP is strongly capable of providing the necessary flexibility to adjust according to the marketplace.
What are the stages of production scheduling ?
The production schedule is created in the following 5 steps.
1.Planning – Planning is the process that describes the complete production process. It ensures the production is met on time with full efficiency. The required raw materials, machines and other resources are made available to finish the production on a timely basis. There can be two types of planning, static and dynamic. Static refers that no changes are done throughout the process whereas dynamic refers to required changes will be done.
2.Routing – The routing process defines the step by step process or simply the sequential order through which the production of goods must take place. This focuses on finding the most cost effective route to transform the raw materials to finished products.
3.Scheduling – Scheduling is where you define the time and duration for each and every step in the production process to complete the order on time. This involves the master plan and manufacturing schedule to route the raw materials towards finished goods.
4.Dispatching – After completing the scheduling process it is time to distribute the necessary information to the appropriate people in order to initiate the process. This includes product design and tools information. Dispatching helps in shaping the production plan and supports the execution process.
5.Execution – The final step of any process is execution. This is where all those plans, schedules and tasks are being executed in a proper planned manner without any error or compromisation in quality. This also ensures that items are produced correctly and delivered on time to the customers with the right coordination among employees.
How production scheduling with ERP helps in manufacturing ?
Customer experience : With efficient production scheduling on place, the workflow gets optimized and the customer gets quality products delivered on time. Hence you earn good customer experience and more satisfied and loyal consumers in future.
Streamlined processes : When the workflow is inconsistent it leads to defective production or a late delivery. Whereas production scheduling ensures that resources are available in accurate quantities and productions are done as per schedule. The ERP helps in automating the workflow to boost productivity and eliminate errors. This paves way to have more time to focus on important tasks.
Optimized Inventory : With ERP and proper scheduling functions the live data of resources can be tracked easily. The system automatically orders materials when the minimum level reaches. This ensures the inventory is maintained at optimal levels thus reducing costs by last minute purchases by any random suppliers.
Maintenance of Machinery : ERP connects with all the machines in the shop floor to track its performance and follow a regular maintenance schedule. The software notifies you if there are any breakdown scenarios or breakdown. By having the machines in a good condition and ready for the production schedule there won’t be any lag in the production of goods.
Greater efficiency : With all those streamlined processes, less defectiveness, optimized inventory and quality of machines the overall efficiency of the shop floor gets improved. Thus ERP helps in increasing the profitability by reducing costs and downtime.
Quality enhancement : Quality control is one crucial phase maintained by the ERP software. By ensuring quality standards are met throughout the process, the product quality is never compromised in the process. It is possible to identify any quality issues then and there where it occurs and hence rectified on time.
Conclusion : ERP plays a major role in the manufacturing industry in each and every aspect of business improvements. It develops a healthy strategy towards a successful production process and gaining more brand visibility.
