What is Production Activity Control?
Introduction
Production activity control can be defined as the process which involves the co – ordination of the manufacturing resources – scheduled and controlled. Production activity control includes the various activities related to the scheduling, releasing and the tracking production orders and schedules and then reporting the materials and the resources used and the results of the production process. Production Activity Control involves the various plans associated with the action, reporting the results achieved and reviving the plans etc.
So it can be said that the Production Activity Control is responsible for the conversion of the plans into the actions by providing a much needed proper guidance.
With the help of the Production Activity Control, one can easily meet the timely completion of the various orders by starting the various operations in time as per the plan. Effective Production Activity Control is also responsible for meeting the delivery commitments. Production Activity Control acts as the modules of the MRP/ERP systems, and involves mainly four procedures – releasing, scheduling, monitoring, updating.
According to McMahon, a simple Production Activity Control architecture consists of the following five building blocks –
1. Scheduler
2. Dispatcher
3. Monitor
4. Mover
5. Producer
Functions of the Production Activity Control
1. Helps in the planning.
2. Helps in the execution of the plan.
3. Ensures availability of the resources.
4. Releases the shop orders.
5. Schedules start and completion dates of the jobs.
6. Collects required information for the shop order.
7. Helps in controlling the operations.
8. Establishes order priority.
9. Maintains order priority.
10. Checks actual performance.
11. Monitors and controls WIP, lead times.
12. Reports work center performance.
Role of the Production Activity Control
1. Manages the shop floor production task.
2. Controls the production work flow.
3. Aims achievement of the production plans.
4. Prepares the schedules.
The Production Activity Control cycle
Tasks of the Production Activity Control are cyclic in the nature as the Production Activity Control involves the execution of the work authorized by the release of the documents like the shop order to the shop. Here the planning is compared with the actual production. Production Activity Control helps in the scheduling jobs.
| S.No | Information that is required | Sources of the information |
| 1. | Which products to make | MRP system |
| 2. | How many of the products to make | MRP system |
| 3. | Which are the various operations needed to produce the part | Routing |
| 4. | Time standards | Routing |
| 5. | Capacity of the work centers | Work center data |
| 6. | Requirement of the parts/parts list | Bill of material |
| 7. | No of the jobs in progress | Work orders/shop orders |
Scheduling and the loading techniques
1. Finite loading –
a. Involves the capacity constraint.
b. Assumes capacity to be finite at any work centre.
c. This type of loading is very realistic in the nature.
d. Planner can know in advance the jobs which can be completed and the jobs which cannot be accommodated.
2. Infinite loading –
a. Assumes the capacity to be finite at any work centre.
b. Capacity constraints are not taken into consideration.
c. Jobs are loaded on the work center without considering the adequacy of the capacity.
3. Forward scheduling –
a. Jobs are scheduled as soon as an order is received.
b. The completion date is evolved by the scheduling of the jobs at the work centers.
c. Due date is ignored while scheduling.
d. Release date is 1st.
4. Backward Scheduling –
a. Jobs are scheduled from end to start.
b. Last operation is scheduled first from the due date.
c. Scheduling continued to be done in the sequence of the operations till all the activities of the jobs are scheduled.
d. Release date is 2nd.