ABSTRACT

Production scheduling in a standard Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system is typically based on a weekly production schedule where work orders are cut for each part to be produced. These work orders are then sent to the first work center in the sequence to begin producing the parts. The weekly work-order demand was created by the MRP system based on the forecast that was entered into the MRP system. This forecast typically comes from the marketing department, which for the most part is composed of very optimistic people. Therefore, these forecasts are typically not very accurate. Also, customer demand can be fickle, and the need to constantly adjust the work-order quantity or delivery date makes the production schedule very difficult to achieve. Between inaccurate forecasts and constantly varying customer demand, how do you successfully manage the production floor?