ABSTRACT
Many activities carried out by staff in production planning, scheduling and control contribute to the formulation and outcome of the shop floor schedule. Each of these contributions may be divided into activities which are formally prescribed by the system of planning and control and those activities which are not prescribed or are informal. Appreciation of the position of these boundaries and the degree to which the formal system is unable to cope with reality is critical to improving the co-ordination of these activities. In the short-term, it may be possible to realise greater improvements in operational performance through co-ordination that is specific to a manufacturing environment than through development of commercial planning software. Commercial planning software is generally considered as part of the formal system and is often seen as inadequate or inadequately implemented.
