Scheduling: Production scheduling

Production scheduling has become a must for manufacturing operations that wish to take their production facility to the next level. Production scheduling is the allocation of resources, events, and processes to create goods and services.

A business can adjust its production scheduling based on the availability of resources and client orders. The goal of a production schedule is to adequately balance customer needs with the resources that are available whilst operating in a cost-effective manner.

4 Components of Production Scheduling 

The four components of production scheduling include the following:

• Planning: The planning component of production scheduling is by far the most important. The planning component pertains to deciding in advance what should be done in the future – which is the most crucial step in production scheduling. Without a plan, production scheduling can not even begin or take place. Preparing a plan through charts, production budgets, or various others visual representations can provide a sound basis for steps down the road pertaining to production.
• Routing: Production routing is the process that pertains to determining the route or path that a product must follow. This route entails the path from raw materials until it transform into a finished product. The main objective of this component is to locate and perform the most economical and enhanced sequence of operations in the production process.
• Scheduling: Scheduling coincides with the time and date that the operation must be completed. Scheduling is an essential and crucial portion of production scheduling and lays the foundation and groundwork for all of the steps within the production process. There are three types of scheduling that an operations utilize, such as master scheduling, manufacturing or operation scheduling, and retail operation scheduling. Overall, scheduling is key for a manufacturing operation to proceed.
• Dispatching: Dispatching relates to the process of initiating production with a preconceived production plan. Dispatching is concerned with giving a practical shape to an overall production plan. This will also include issuing any orders and instructions and other important information pertaining to production.