Detailed Report on Manufacturing Planning and Scheduling - Unit 9

This report delves into the core concepts of manufacturing planning and scheduling, examining various methodologies and strategies to optimize production processes. It begins by exploring the Critical Path Method (CPM), Materials Requirement Planning (MRP), and Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in managing complex projects and manufacturing operations. The report then transitions to a discussion of capacity strategies, including lead, lag, and match capacity approaches, providing insights into how companies can effectively manage their production capacity in response to market demand. Furthermore, it includes a process plan and production schedule for a thermoset wood plastic composite, offering a practical application of the concepts discussed. The report also includes the principles of lean manufacturing, focusing on waste reduction and value enhancement. The report concludes with references to relevant literature. The document is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib. Desklib is a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

UNIT 9 MANUFACTURING PLANNING AND SCHEDULING A/601/1480
Name
Date

Task One
LO1: 1.1
1
i. Critical Path Method (CPM): CPM was first put to action in 1957 and has since grown to
become an important tool for overseeing large undertakings, such as major construction
projects. It enhances efficiency through dividing efforts that are complicated into a series of
smaller tasks with the resources and costs associated with each task. This enables managers
to see areas that can experience potential breakdowns (Jack, 2013).
Strengths of CPM: It makes it easy for project managers to build teams and create human
networks for efficient handling projects with multiple tasks. It also binds the entire team
together, helps projects be completed efficiently, and accurate project duration estimation
and costing (Constantinou, 2013)
Weaknesses of CPM: It can become very complicated in big projects, it cannot create and
control schedules of people working in a project. For big projects, the critical path is not
always clear, and CPM can be time consuming (Constantinou, 2013)
ii. Materials Requirement Planning (MRP): MRP is a system for managing manufacturing
processes. Initially, MRP was created in 1964 to support the Polaris program as a response
to the Toyota Manufacturing Program. Black & Decker was its first user and had been
implemented in 700 firms by 1975. It was developed in MRP II in 1983 by Oliver Wight to
bring together rough cut capacity planning, master scheduling, and planning for capacity
requirements. The MRP II software formed a third of all software sold in the US software
sector by 1989 (Ptak, 2013).
Strengths of MRP: Ensure materials needed for production are availed on time, results in
little or no excess inventory, leads to timely deliveries of finished products, and uses
manufacturing resources optimally. (Ptak, 2013).
Weaknesses of MRP: Requires precise data to be entered and clean records to be kept, it
also just provides a framework that has be used effectively, and if data is not accurate, a lot
of problems can be experienced( Ptak, 2013).
iii. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT): It is a scheduling tool used
commonly in project management, Was first used in the late 1950s in the US Navy in the
Polaris missile project and uses a system of numbering events in sequences of tens or
hundreds (Koontz and Weihrich, 2010)
Strengths of PERT: Allows for analyses of activities, improves coordination n departments
by improving planning and decision making, and enables analysis of what-if situations

Weaknesses of PERT: It is a subjective analysis tool that requires new project activities to
be identified and then arranged in sequence. Its basically a method focused on time and is
resource intensive (Koontz and Weihrich, 2010)
Task Two
Lo1: 1.3
1
i. Critical path Analysis: First, it requires activities to be identified, the activities sequence
determined, and a network of the activities created. The completion time for all identified
activities are then entered and the longest possible path (the critical path) to complete all the
activities is then identified. The progress of the CPM should be updated regularly
(Rodriguez, 2017)
ii. Optimized Production Technology Philosophy: This is a proprietary computer software
system of scheduling. OPT starts with performance measurement, planning projects, and
identifying the software and hardware requirements. This is followed by plant analysis
where manufacturing processes and their management are analyzed. Bottlenecks are then
analyzed and computer modeling of the system done, followed by definition of data (data to
be fed into system). Th outputs are then defined to create the MPS (master production
schedule): this is achieved by planning for constraint capacity. The OPT is then operated
through the OPT software to control complex manufacturing processes (Burcher, 2015).
Task Three
LO1: 1.2
1) Lead capacity strategy: in this strategy, capacity is added in expectation of demand. This is
usually done by medium to large companies and is associated with large investments. This is
a high capital intensive strategy
Lag capacity strategy: This a capacity strategy where capacity is only added after the
materialization of demand. This entails adding capacity only when existing capacity is
exhausted or exceeded and is a more conservative strategy used by small to medium
organizations. The investment in this case is small to medium
Match capacity strategy: A strategy for capacity in which a balance between lag and lead
capacity strategies is struck by avoiding periods of high over- or under- utilization. This is a
moderate strategy with very low to low-medium investment implications and is used, or is
suitable for very small organizations to medium firms, or even startups (Ross, 2015)
2) Process list

A thermoset wood plastic composite is assumed: The process entails air drying the wood particles
until all moisture is removed. Plastic, usually polypropylene in fine powder form is then mixed after
weighing ) with plastic and then mixed together. Forming is then done in a stainless steel mold and
Pre-heated, then heated in a hot press. They are then placed in the cold press (DeGarmo, Black and
Kohser, 2008)
This is a secondary manufacturing process that involves getting edges of the cooled panel trimmed
to the desired shape. Drills are then used to make holes where screws will be drilled to make
drawers (Rauner, 2012).
3) Capacity Assessment
i. Laminate composite material
The laminated composite (wood plastic) is produced as follows:
Laminate composite production takes 2160 seconds, forming.
ii. Drilling takes 420 seconds. Assembly and inspection take 1020 seconds. Total time (CPM)
is 3600 seconds (60 minutes) for a drawer set with five drawers. At 14 hours per day for 6
days, the capacity using a single line is 84 drawers as shown in the image below

LO4: 4.1
4) Process plan
LO4: 4.2
5) Production schedule
On a monthly basis, the production plant can manufacture 336 units per month, which is 84 per
week and 14 per day based on a 14 hour work day.
6) The unit can manufacture more than 20 per week: 336 units can be made per month using a
single production line with five employees on the single line. The number to be
manufactured per month is limited in number by the capacity of the plant and activities; the
forming and heating as well as cold cold treatment must take a given time. Mixing takes at
Process Plan for Drawer Chest Production
Part Name Wood Plastic Composite manufacture Changes
Materials Wood particles, PET powder Approved
Date
No Operation Workstation Setup Tool Time (s)
1 Air drying wood particles Air drying section Pour-in Air drier 390
2 Mixing wood and PET powder Mixing section Pour-in High speed mixer 330
3 Forming Mixing section Place-in Table 300
4 Pre-heating Heating section Place-in Heating oven 300
5 Hot pressing Heating section Place-in Heating oven 480
6 Cold pressing Pressing section Place-in Cold pressing unit 360
7 Trimming / cutting Trimming section Place-in Cutter 300
8 Drilling Drilling section Set-in place Drill 120
9 Assembly Assembly section Place Screw driver, screw 900
10 Inspection Air drying section Assembly Visual 120

least five minutes, while air drying wood particles take five minutes. Assembling slows the
system most because it takes a lot of time (plus inspection).

7) Activity nodes
8) Floor layout is shown below

9) Power Point (Appendix I)
D3
10) Principles of Lean Manufacture
Lean manufacture is a systematic production method aimed specifically at minimizing waste in a
manufacturing system while maintaining productivity at high levels. Lean takes cognizance of
wastes created via uneven work loads and those created through over burdening (Jones and
Womack, 2014). Lean manufacturing seeks to exalt what adds value while reducing or eliminating
what does not add value. Lean is based on various principles that include identifying value,
mapping the value stream, creating flow, establish pull, and seeking perfection (Earley, 2016): these
are discussed in the following sections
Value: The needs of the customer for a specific product define its value and so it is imperative for
each company to determine what value customers place on products and services. Value dictates the
amount the customer is willing to pay and the result is a top down approach to target costing. Target
costing places focus on what the customer can willingly pay for certain features, products, and
services and based on these, the product costs are determined. The business is then tasked with
reducing costs and eliminating wastes to meet the customer price while also profiting greatly
(Davim, 2016)
The Value Stream: This refers to the entire flow of the life cycle of a product from the raw
materials origin to the cost to the customer in using the product and its ultimate disposal of the
product. Critically studying this stream and identifying its wastes and value-add will help the

company fully understand wastes associated with production and delivery of the product. Based on
this, there should be a stronger partnership between customer and manufacturer in the entire stream
(Crawford, 2016)
Flow: After all wastes have been eliminated from the value stream, it is imperative to ensure the
remaining steps during production flow smoothly bereft of any interruptions, bottlenecks, or delays.
The value chain must keep flowing forward, and this is a critical point in lean manufacturing so the
product and its attendant steps (raw materials, parts, sub- assemblies) never stop during the
production process. There must be full synchronization in each and every aspect of the production
and delivery with all other elements. Carefully designing the flow across the value chain has a
tendency to increase value and minimize waste (Davim, 2016).
Pull: The pull approach ensures that there is no build up in the work in process inventory when
things are made ahead of time. The traditional approach tends to use a process such as ERP where
production is pushed through the manufacturing process based on a schedule and forecast. The pull
approach requires nothing to be made until it is ordered by the customer. This requires a high level
of flexibility and cycle times that re very short to achieve. Each step within the value chain is
informed of requirements every single day based on the needs of the customer (Crawford, 2016).
Perfection: The aim of Lean manufacturing is perfection through total quality management that is
is achieved through the systematic and continuous removal of the root causes for poor quality from
the processes of production. This is so that there is a continuous move towards perfection in the
plant and the products being made in it. An organization aiming for lean manufacturing develops
the attitude of relentless pursuit of perfection (Davim, 2016)

References
Burcher, P. (2015). Optimized Production Technology. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 10(1),
pp.1-2.
Constantinou, M. (2013). Critical Path Analysis. [online] Getrevising.co.uk. Available at:
https://getrevising.co.uk/grids/critical_path_analysis [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].
Crawford, M. (2016). 5 Lean Principles Every Engineer Should Know. [online] Asme.org. Available
at: https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/manufacturing-design/5-lean-principles-every-
should-know [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].
Davim, J. (2016). Research advances in industrial engineering. New York: Springer International
PU, pp.3-6.
DeGarmo, E., Black, J. and Kohser, R. (2008). DeGarmo's materials and processes in engineering.
Chichester: Wiley.
Earley, J. (2016). The lean book of lean. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Jack, H. (2013). Engineering design, planning, and management. Amsterdam: Academic.
Jones, D. and Womack, J. (2014). Lean thinking. 2nd ed. London: Free Press.
Koontz, H. and Weihrich, H. (2010). Essentials of management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill
Education Private Ltd.
Ptak, C., Smith, C. and Orlicky, J. (2013). Orlicky's material requirements planning. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Rauner, F. (2012). Qualification for Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. 1st ed. London: Springer
London, p.161.
Rodriguez, J. (2017). How to Use and Identify the Critical Path Using a CPM Schedule. [online]
The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/critical-path-method-scheduling-844481
[Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].
Ross, D. (2015). Distribution planning and control - managing in the era of supply chain man. 3rd
ed. New York: Springer, p.109.

Appendix I: PowerPoint