Whether you are creating a product or service, planning and scheduling are essential to ensure reliability and effectiveness. Planning and scheduling go hand in hand in every system.
If you don’t have a proper plan, you won’t be able to schedule the task to meet your objectives. Similarly, without proper scheduling, you cannot execute your plan efficiently.
Why Planning and Scheduling Are Vital in Industrial Maintenance
When handling any kind of industrial project, you should have a good grip on planning and scheduling. Industrial equipment is meant to run for extended sessions without any stoppage. At the end of the day, it’s the performance of the equipment that determines the revenue of the company.
So, for a maintenance manager or engineer, it’s vital to plan and schedule the maintenance without impacting the organization’s productivity. While planning and scheduling equipment maintenance are different, they both hold importance.
Where one offers guidelines to perform the task, the other focuses on utilizing all the resources at the right time to get the job done.
Steps in Planning and Scheduling
Planning and scheduling are based on a few key steps, which are:
Production Planning
Product planning is essential to ensure that the material, machinery, and labor are enough to produce the required product.
The planning team sources data from different departments of the business. Including people from different departments is essential to get accurate information in production planning.
Routing
In this process, the planners determine the path every department or employee has to follow due to the manufacturing process. Therefore, it helps ensure a smooth process without labor, material, and technology shortage.
It determines a path from raw material to the final product. Going through a proper channel keeps the process easier and more efficient.
Scheduling
The next step is scheduling each part of the process. It ensures timely progress and completion of the process. It focuses on when a part of the process is supposed to happen.
Most businesses like to complete their task before the due date to save time and money. Proper scheduling allows the business to use the full potential of the production plant.
Execution
Next is the proper execution of the plan according to schedule. Execution ensures the physical production of a product or service that keeps the business running.
When you have clear instructions in planning and scheduling, the execution becomes much easier. It includes manufacturing the product, marketing it, and dispatching it to the customers.
Follow Up
Lastly, a follow-up with the customers is part of the plan. This step includes taking suggestions and feedback from your customers. It helps you improve your products and make your business more prominent in the market.
What Is Planning in Industrial Management
When an industry needs to make new products to fulfill a customer’s requirement, they need a proper production plan. It includes issuing raw materials, supplies, and techniques to develop that product.
Planning ensures maximum efficiency of the industrial process by having a clear picture of every material and manpower required to get the job done.
Types of Planning
The main types of planning are:
Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
This type of production planning determines the basic requirements of a product’s manufacturing process. In this planning, the materials are calculated and required to create a product.
The main steps of this planning are identifying what materials are already available in the inventory and what additional raw material is required to facilitate the production.
Master Production Schedule (MPS)
This type of production planning is for products meant to be developed one piece at a time. It determines the specific time and amount of product to be manufactured based on the market demand.
It includes a plan for inventory, resources, and staff required for the production period.
Workflow Planning
Workflow planning is focused on the specific tasks that each employee or a team of employees will conduct. It is used to plan a proper workflow during the production process to meet the customer’s requirements.
From hiring the required talent and assigning them tasks to providing them with the necessary equipment for the job, this planning includes everything in detail.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Enterprise Resource Planning combines all small tasks and operations in a business with the help of software. This software gives you a single source for all the sources, processes, and materials.
It also helps with the company’s expanding demands without manual labor. It also provides more flexibility and agility to the production process.
Capacity Planning
This plan includes the process of identifying if the company has enough resources to fulfill the rising market demands. It determines the company’s capacity to complete a certain task within a given deadline and meet the market’s changing demands.
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
A step of planning helps ensure the amount of production is equal to the market demand. It helps companies automate minor tasks for ideal performance. Finally, it facilitates the supply chain demands to fulfill long-term challenges.
This plan is created by the supply chain leaders in the company. However, it is important to include all the departments in this process to ensure accuracy.
What Is Scheduling in Industrial Management
Project scheduling involves assigning a specific time to each task. It is more than just a weekly agenda. This schedule includes every step required to complete a production process or fulfill the market’s demands.
Types of Scheduling
These are the two basic types of scheduling:
Forward Scheduling
This type of schedule features a fixed date. As a result, it helps the business finish its production quicker, sometimes even before the due date. In addition, it helps utilize the plant to the maximum capacity without exceeding the cost limit.
Backward Scheduling
This type of scheduling focuses on deciding the due date first. The project revolves around the due date and creates the plan backward. The business finishes its project in the least possible time before the due date.
Conclusion
It is important to have a proper industrial management system to ensure smooth workflow. In addition, having a proper plan and schedule will make your company capable of meeting the market’s changing demands.
With proper industrial management, you will have a clear understanding of the company’s capacity, inventory, and workforce to conduct specific tasks. Any industry can benefit from professional scheduling and planning.
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