Factors affecting Production Planning and Control : The factors that affect the application of production planning and

control to manufacturing are given as follows: 1) Type of Product : Again, it is the complexity of the product that is important, not what the product is, except as this may in turn relate to the market being served. Production control procedures are much more complex and involve many more records in the manufacture of large steam turbine generator sets or locomotives to customer orders then in the production of large quantities of a standard product involving only a few component parts, such as electric blankets, steam irons, or similar small appliances. 2) Type of Manufacturing : This is probably the most influential factor in the control situation. routing was included in the planning of the plant layout. or a large continuous

manufacturing plant producing a standard product, we have already indicated that the

Production planning and control in operations has got great scope and significance due to interactive role and interdependency with practically all the sections of the production department. This is very clearly evident from ig. !".#.

Production planning and control gets the inputs from the design and development department for both product and process and PP$ gives not only the whole planning to manufacturing and assembly section, but also monitors and controls at each and every step of work process. PP$ has to interact with all other departments such as %ales and &istribution, Procurement and 'nventory, (epair and )aintenance, *uality $ontrol and 'ndustrial +ngineering and ,ork %tudy in both directions, which shows the interdependency of PP$ with other sections of the production department. 1) Procurement And Inventory Management: Planning for procurement of raw materials, components and spare parts in the right quantities and specifications at the right time, from the right source and at the right price .Purchasing, storage, inventory control, standardi-ation, variety reduction, value analysis and inspection are the other activities associated with materials. 2) Manufacturing And Assembly:

Production planning and control involve generally the organi-ation and planning of manufacturing process. +specially, it consists of the planning of routing, scheduling,

dispatching inspection, and coordination, control of materials, methods machines, tools and operating times. The ultimate ob.ective is the organi-ation of the supply and movement of materials and labour, machine utili-ation and related activities, in order to bring about the desired manufacturing results in terms of quality, quantity, time and place.

) Mar!et Forecast The market forecast is value to production planning and control is that it will indicate future trends in demand for manufactured product. ,ork shift policies, plans for an increase or decrease in manufacturing activity, or possible plant expansions may often be based upon the market forecasts and in turn affect the planning of the production planning and control group.

") #ngineering $pecifications

/lueprints and bills of materials are used by production planning and control when they become a component part of the packaged instructions issued to the shop through the control office. 0ne good planning procedure is to accumulate all necessary data for a shop order in a single package1 the standard process sheet, the blueprint, the bill of material 2if an assembly operation is involved3, the route sheet, and possibly the schedule for the production of the order.

%) &uality Control' A good PP$ will provide for adherence to the quality standards so that quality of output is ensured. PP$ is of immense value to the entrepreneur in capacity utili-ation and inventory control. )ore importantly it improves his response time and quality. As such effective PP$ contributes to time, quality and cost parameters of business success.

(tility and )enefits of PPC Functions: The implementation of production planning and control system yields various advantages to any organi-ation for various functional activities, which include the following: 1) *ast +our ,us- is Avoided: Production is well planned and controlled as per the given time schedules. Therefore, production control reduces the number of emergency orders and overtime works on plant and thus reduces the overheads. 2) Problem Areas of )ottlenec!s get reduced: The incomplete work or work1in1transit does not get piled up because production control balances the line and flow of work. ) Cost ,eduction: An appropriate production control increases the men1machine utili-ation, which maintains in process inventories at a satisfactory level, leads to a better control of raw materials inventory, reduces costs of storage and materials handling, helps in maintaining quality and limits re.ection and thus ultimately reduces the unit cost of production. ") .ptimum (tili/ation of ,esources: 't reduces the time loss of the workers waiting for materials and makes most effective use of equipment. %) )etter Coordination of Plant Activities: PP$ coordinates the activities of the plant that leads to concerted effort by workforce. 0) )enefits to 1or!ers: PP$ results into better efficiency and productivity, which leads to adequate wages, stable employment, .ob security, improved working conditions, increased .ob satisfaction and ultimately high morale. 2) Improved $ervices to Customers:

PP$ leads to better services to the customers as it ensures production in accordance with the time schedules and, therefore, deliveries are made as per the committed schedules.

$04%T(A'4T% 0 PP$ The PP$ department has to work with the following constraints and limitations: 5 PP$ is a time taking activity, particularly for the complex product mix as well as for the products having a large number of components and parts because of difficulty in carrying out routing, scheduling and loading functions. 5 PP$ generally works on certain given conditions and assumptions as well as depends on uncertain demand forecast. %o, working becomes inaccurate many a time. 5 Production capacity, quality of materials, availability of materials and power, skill level of manpower managing PP$ are the main constraints for effective functions of PP$. 5 Plans, checks and controls provided by PP$ are generally resisted by the workers and even supervisors of all other departments. 5 /usiness environment makes very difficult situations for the working of PP$, particularly when changes in technology, customers demand and taste, government policy, etc. are very frequent and of dynamic nature. The above constraints are to be overcome for effective PP$ and optimi-ing the ob.ective functions of operations, i.e. minimi-ing costs and maximi-ing profits.

orecast accuracy measures for interval forecasts or predictive distributions have not been much studied. 'n principle, given a loss function 62 . A3 for specific values and actual demand respectively, a loss measure for a predictive and A of forecast

$ales Force #stimates %ometimes the best information about future demand comes from the people closest to the external customer. %ales force estimates are forecasts compiled from estimates mad periodically by members of a company7s sales force. This approach has several advantages. a) The sales force is the group most likely to know which services or products customer will be buying in the near future and in what quantities, b) %ales territories often are divided by district or region. 'nformation broken down in this manner can be useful for inventory management, distribution, and sales force staffing purposes. c) The forecasts of individual sales force members can be combined easily to get regional or national sales. 't also has several disadvantages. d) 'ndividual biases of the salespeople may taint the forecast8 moreover. some people are naturally optimistic, whereas others are more cautious. e) %alespeople may not always be able to detect the difference between what a customer 7wants9 2a wish list3 and what a customer 7needs9 2a necessary purchase3. f) 'f the firm uses individual sales as a performance measure, salespeople may underestimate their forecasts so that their performance will look good when they exceed their pro.ections, or they may work hard only until they reach their required minimum sales

#3ecutive opinion ,hen a new service or product is contemplated, the sales force may not be able to make accurate demand estimates. +xecutive opinion is a forecasting method in which the opinions, experience, and technical knowledge of one or more managers are summari-ed to arrive at a single forecast. As we discuss later, executive opinion can be used to modify an existing sales forecast to account for unusual circumstances, such as a new sales promotion or unexpected international events. +xecutive opinion can also be used for technological forecasting. The quick

pace of technological change makes keeping abreast of the latest advances difficult. The key to effective use of executive opinion is to ensure that the forecast reflects not a series of independent modifications but consensus among executives on a single forecast.

Point of %ales 2P&%3 &ata %ystems Advances 'n information technology have enabled organi-ation to capture data at the point of sale using P0% systems. :sing this technology, as a customer buys a unit of an organisation7s product at a retail counter8 the information is captured and instantaneously transferred to a common database. /y developing systems to periodically analyse these databases, organisations could dramatically improve their planning inventory management and fulfillment systems. These translate into efficient consumer response and better supply chain management; 'n the :%, the success of giant retail chains such as ,al1)art is attributed to the use of these P0% systems.