Production Planning and Scheduling Training Course

This course examines the basic concepts of what to produce, when to produce, how much to produce, etc. to create finished products.  

Your three-day class presents the industry recommended fundamentals of production planning and scheduling.

Manufacturers are under intense pressure to reduce lead times and deliver just-in-time by converting from make-to-stock to make-to-order.

In module one we take a look at the big picture. The class begins with an analysis of the business environment that influences manufacturing processes like order qualifiers and order winners. We examine how customers influence our business and why they choose us over our competitors. You are then taught how to create a process map to help enable you to identify problems with a particular production line. We then thoroughly examine how technology and new software are changing manufacturing to include Industry 4.0, the smart factory, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, blockchain, predictive analytics, virtual reality, 3-D printing, advanced materials, nanotechnology, and cloud computing.

In Module Two you will learn about forecasting principles. The class will take an extensive look at forecasting to provide you with an understanding of industry recommended procedures for reliable prediction. 

In Module Three you will learn about sales and operations planning (S&OP). Your company’s mission statement is management’s vision for what the company needs to accomplish. The S&OP is management’s guidance on how to accomplish the mission. In other words, the mission statement tells you what to do, and the S&OP tells you how to do it.

In Module Four you will learn about the master schedule. The master schedule is the tool used to guide production in a make-to-stock environment. It also plays a supporting role in a make-to-order environment.

In Module Five you will learn about inventory management to help you understand this vital part of the manufacturing operation.

In Module six we look at Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

In Module seven you will learn about capacity management.

In Module Eight we discuss Production Activity Control (PAC), the most important module in the course! You will learn how to plan production in the most efficient manner to reduce quality problems such as high defect rates, high return rates and poor quality; output problems like long lead times, unreasonable production schedules, high inventory rates, and supply chain interruptions; and cost problems such as low efficiency and idle people or machines.

In Module Nine you will learn lean production principles and just-in-time (JIT).

In Module Ten, another important module, you will learn the about the Theory of Constraints (ToC) and Drum-Buffer-Rope.

In Module Eleven you will learn partnering activities to promote good relations with purchasing and distribution.

And finally, in Module Twelve we will discuss system integration and implementation.

Throughout the course, we will discuss the capabilities of your ERP and/or MRP system(s) as it applies to production planning and scheduling. It is our experience most companies seriously underutilize these systems.