MES: what should you pay attention to when you select it?
A good MES can take the production process to another level. Its implementation in an organisation is one of the simplest ways to effectively manage the company’s resources. As it enables continuous monitoring of production and obtaining specific information about it, it influences the flow of the entire process and ultimately a noticeable increase in company […]
The story of one STANDARD … part 2: Business management and the APS system and XPRIMER
If you have read the previous part of this article, you know that we stopped at the events of the 1990s. At that time, the idea of developing production plans that closely mirror the production environment arose. Not only the technology, but also the organisation of the production process. APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) systems […]
The story of one STANDARD … part 1: The production process in the context of IT systems, MRP II system
Today, I have decided to address the information flow model in the production management process in manufacturing companies. Since we are talking about a model, can it be standardised or normalised? A standard is a document approved for general use. A standard is a description of a certain level, a typicality of actions. I am, […]
Resource management in a manufacturing company: process ineffectiveness and information overload
One of the definitions of Lean Management is to deliver the highest possible value to the customer using the least number of resources. Such a target is secured, for example, by using the talents and ideas of employees at all levels. Therefore, the inefficient use of resources, including human resources, could be worth addressing to […]
Communication in business processes
Effective communication is a key element of the strategy at any company. Moreover, it is a challenge that all businesses in the market have to face nowadays. It does not matter whether it concerns the environment and image, management of change, crisis situation, employer branding or the coordination of current operations in several business processes. […]
Production scheduling and energy consumption
Production scheduling and energy consumption Many of you may be struggling with the high costs of energy and other utilities such as gas, process water or steam. Have you ever wondered how good production scheduling affects the unit costs of energy consumption? Can production planning reduce energy, gas or water consumption costs? In many production […]
Why a production plan is outdated a moment after it is published: how to deal with the dynamics of change
Responding to constant changes is an indispensable part of the work of those in charge of production planning. If these changes have little influence on the shape of the entire plan and schedule, they may even be imperceptible. But it gets worse when, for example, due to a machine failure, the production plan and schedule […]
Production planning as an official order
Many times, I have encountered a situation where workers in production told me what the production schedule should look like on their machine. They argued that the sequence could be planned differently, thus reducing the number of changeovers. They pointed out that such a schedule limits the throughput of their machine. And what did they […]
Is this the end of presentism and the beginning of absenteeism?
We present a new series of articles! We will indicate negative phenomena that may be forgotten due to the changes forced by the lockdown. We will also discuss those that are replaced by new ones, not yet known to us. In the next parts of the series, we will cover, among others, the topic of […]
Technological data in the production management process
Working in various production companies, I often encountered the statement that “the system is malfunctioning”. Usually, it was about a demand for raw materials incorrectly generated, raw materials for release incorrectly prepared, production station overloaded or order costs incorrectly calculated. To explain these and many other similar anomalies, it was rarely necessary to launch an […]
TMC in the Kaizen philosophy
“Continuous improvement of a process is essential for success”: every person involved in the organisation of work in manufacturing companies has come across this statement at least once. The implementation of Kaizen and the resulting positive revolution only confirm the validity of this thought. Let us consider: what might the process of calculating the Total […]
Production planning in maintenance: APS vs. CMMS
An essential part of the work of those involved in production planning and scheduling is the collection of information. It is acquired through various channels, not only from one department. No one needs to be convinced about the necessity of data exchange with procurement, production or technology. It may seem that the maintenance department plays […]
