Production Planning Fundamentals

Vocabulary terms and definitions related to the four key aspects of production planning: planning, routing, loading, and scheduling.

Production Planning

The process of planning every aspect of the overall production flow, including factory layout to optimize material flow and decisions regarding purchasing resources and staffing.

Planning (1.2.1)

The aspect of production involving factory layout design, material flow optimization, and the calculation of budgets, machinery, and worker requirements for expected output.

Routing

The process of planning the sequence and actual route production operations and materials follow to find the most cost-effective and time-saving path.

Routing Determinations

The specific elements established during routing, including raw material quality, manufacturing sequences, product specifications, and total process cost analysis.

Loading

The allocation of specific tasks to individual people or machines and the calculation of machine operating hours needed per day.

Loading Capacity Monitoring

A function of loading that identifies underutilized machines and prevents the overloading of employees or equipment relative to required output.

Scheduling

The timing of the production process, which involves prioritizing jobs, calculating the time for each activity, and establishing start and end times for the entire process.

Scheduling Factors

Elements that affect the production timeline, including business size and capacity, as well as the availability of materials, staff, and machinery.

Material Flow Optimization

A goal of production planning where the factory layout is designed to ensure the most efficient movement of materials through the production system.

Sequence of Production

The specific order of operations determined during the routing stage to ensure the manufacturing process is logical and efficient.