Production planning
Plan against real capacity
Work orders are placed on work centres by the hour, against declared capacity and material readiness. Move an order and see the load change before you commit it. The plan updates as the floor logs, so the board you open at 11 is the board the floor is on.
The planning board
Orders on work centres, by the hour
Each work centre declares its capacity per shift. Each routing declares the operations and their rates. The board places work orders against both, shows the load per day, and flags the order that will not start because its material is short.
- Load per work centre, per dayA percentage per column, from the orders placed and their routing times. Over 100 shows before you release the order.
- Material readiness on the orderAn order waiting for parts is marked on the board, with the item and lot that is short.
- Move an order, see the changeDrag an order to another day or work centre and the load recalculates before you save.
- Re-forecast from the floorLogged downtime and slow rates push the finish time forward, so the promise date is checked against what is actually happening.
What gets recorded
What the plan reads
| Event | Who | What is captured | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales order | Sales or planning | Quantity, variant, date, customer terms | Work orders to plan, promise date |
| Work centre capacity | Planning | Hours per shift, shifts per day, holidays | Load percentage per day |
| Routing | Engineering or planning | Operations, work centres, rate per hour, setup time | Order duration on the board |
| Material issue | Stores | Lot and quantity against the order | Ready, short or blocked on the order |
| Count and downtime | Operator | Rate this hour, downtime open | Re-forecast finish time |
| Subcontract dispatch | Stores | Challan, vendor, expected return date | Vendor operation on the board |
What management sees
Material readiness before the line starts
Each order lists what it needs for the next three shifts, what is on hand, what is allocated and what is short. An approved alternate shows next to a blocked item. The shortage names the order it will stop, so purchasing works from the plan, not from a phone call.
See inventory and traceabilityQuestions about production planning
Do we need standard times for every operation?
A rate per hour for each operation on the routing. A rough rate is enough to start. The floor's own counts show the real rate within a week, and you can update the routing from it.
Can the plan handle a rush order?
Yes. Place it on the board and see which orders it pushes. Release it and the affected promise dates are re-forecast on their sales orders.
What about subcontracted operations?
A vendor operation sits on the board like any other, with the expected return date from the challan. A late return shows on the order the same way a slow work centre does.
Does planning see stock?
Yes. Material readiness reads stock by lot, allocations to other orders and open purchase orders. An order is marked short or blocked before it is released.
Also on the platform
Every capability reads the same record
Next step
See your routings on the planning board
Bring two or three routings and your work centres. We build the board on the call and place a real order on it.