Manufacturing Process Management

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor that are used to make things for use or sale. This term can refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are then transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such finished goods may also be used for manufacturing other, more complex products, such as household appliances or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers, who then sell them the consumers.

Manufacturing is known to take turns under all types of economic systems. In a free market economy, manufacturing will usually be directed toward the mass production of products for sale to consumers at a profit. In a collectivist economy, manufacturing is more frequently directed by the state in order to supply a centrally planned economy. In free market economies, manufacturing occurs while under some degree of government regulation.

Modern manufacturing now includes all intermediate processes that are required for the production and integration of a product's components. It is important to note that some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers use the term fabrication instead.

In the United State the manufacturing sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial design. Examples of major manufacturers include but are not limited to: General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Boeing, Gates Rubber Company and Pfizer. Examples of manufacturing in Europe include: Airbus, Daimler, BMW, Fiat, and Michelin Tyre.

Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) is a collection of technology and methods that are used in the manufacturing and defines when it is to be made. Manufacturing Process Management also defines how it will be made. A cornerstone of MPM is the central repository for the integration of all these tools and activities.MPM aids in the exploration of alternative production line scenarios; making assembly lines more efficient with the aim of reduced lead time to product launch, shorter product times and reduced work in progress inventories as well as allowing rapid response to product production or product changes.

Scheduling is an important tool for manufacturing and engineering and is an integral part of Manufacturing Process Management.Scheduling can have a major impact on the productivity of a process. In manufacturing, the purpose of scheduling is to minimize the production time and costs.This is done by telling a production facility what to make, when, with which staff, and on which equipment. Production scheduling aims to maximize the efficiency of the operation and reduce the costs.

Today's production scheduling tools greatly outperform older manual scheduling methods. These can provide the production scheduler with powerful graphical interfaces which can now be used to visually optimize real-time work loads in various stages of production, and pattern recognition allows the software to automatically create scheduling opportunities which might not be apparent without this view into the data. For example, an airline might wish to minimize the number of airport gates that are required for its aircraft, in order to reduce costs, and scheduling software can allow the planners to see how this can be done, by analyzing time tables, aircraft usage, or the flow of passengers. Companies can also use backward and forward scheduling to allocate plant and machinery resources, plan human resources, plan production processes and purchase materials.

Forward scheduling is planning the tasks from the date resources become available to determine the final shipping date or the due date. Backward scheduling is planning the tasks from the due date or required-by date to determine the start date and/or any changes in capacity that will be required.

The benefits of production scheduling can include:

• Process change-over reduction


• Inventory reduction, leveling


• Reduced scheduling effort


• Increased production efficiency


• Labor load leveling


• Accurate delivery date quotes


• Real time information