Operations Management and TQM

Module Content || Week 11

Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
Management

Let’s activate your prior knowledge!

Greetings everyone!

Module Learning Objectives:

1. Define Operations Scheduling and Sequencing Project Management.

2. Determine the key fundamentals on operations scheduling and sequencing project management.

3. Discern and apply how operations scheduling and sequencing project management are calculated
and scheduled.

Start with the dip activity and watch the video titled, Operations Processes: Sequencing
and Scheduling via youtube link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o418t7kcOb8.

Now, let’s acquire new knowledge!

OPERATIONS PLANNING AND SCHEDULING SYSTEMS - PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS

MANAGEMENT

Scheduling is the process of arranging, controlling and optimizing work and workloads in a
production process or manufacturing process. Scheduling is used to allocate plant and machinery
resources, plan human resources, plan production processes and purchase materials.

It is an important tool for manufacturing and engineering, where it 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, by telling a production facility when to make, with which staff, and on which
equipment. But it's an academic purpose. From a business point of view, the first priority purpose is
to keep the customer's due date. Most major factories ask for scheduling to smooth flow production,
level the production, keep safety stock, keep cycle time, or keep assigning jobs to auto-machines or
lines as the next priority.

In some situations, scheduling can involve random attributes, such as random processing times,
random due dates, random weights, and stochastic machine breakdowns. In this case, the scheduling
problems are referred to as Stochastic scheduling.

Scheduling is the process of arranging, controlling and optimizing work and workloads in a production
process. Companies 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 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 required.
The benefits of production scheduling include:
• Process change-over reduction
• Inventory reduction, leveling

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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• Reduced scheduling effort

• Increased production efficiency
• Labor load leveling
• Accurate delivery date quotes
• Real time information

Production scheduling tools greatly outperform older manual scheduling methods. These provide the
production scheduler with powerful graphical interfaces which can 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 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.

Components of Operations Planning and Scheduling System

1. THE BUSINESS PLAN

The business plan is a statement of the organization’s overall level of business activity for the
coming six to eighteen months, usually expressed in terms of outputs (in volume of sales) for its
various product groups, a set of individual products that share or consume common blocks of
capacity in the manufacturing process. It also specifies the overall inventory and backlog levels
that will be maintained during the planning period. The business plan is an agreement between all
functional areas finance, production, marketing, engineering, R & D about the level of activity and
the products they are committed to support. The business plan is not concerned with all the
details and specific timing of the actions for executing the plan. Instead, it determines a feasible
general posture for competing to achieve its major goals. The resulting plan guides the lower-
level, more details decisions.

2. AGGREGATE PRODUCTION OUTPUT PLANNING

The process of determining output levels of product groups over the coming six to eighteen
months on a weekly or monthly basis. It identifies the overall level of outputs in support of the
business plan. The plan recognizes the division’s existing fixed capacity and the company’s overall
policies for maintaining inventories and backlogs, employment stability and subcontracting.

3. AGGREGATE CAPACITY PLANNING

It is the process of testing the feasibility of aggregate output plans and evaluating overall capacity
utilization. A statement of desired output is useful only if it is feasible. Thus, it addresses the
supply side of the firm’s ability to meet the demand. As for aggregate output plans, each plant,
facility, or division requires its own aggregate capacity plan. Capacity and output must be in
balance, as indicated by the arrow between them in Fig. 5.3. A capacity plan translates an output
plan into input terms, approximating how much of the division’s capacity will be consumed.
Although these basic capacities are fixed, management can manipulate the short-term capacities
by the ways they deploy their work force, by subcontracting, or by using multiple work shifts to
adjust the timing of overall outputs. As a result, the aggregate planning process balances output
levels, capacity constraints, and temporary capacity adjustments to meet demand and utilize
capacity at desired levels during the coming months. The resulting plan sets limits on the master
production schedule.

4. MASTER PRODUCTION SCHEDULING

MPS is a schedule showing week by week how many of each product must be produced according
to customer orders and demand forecasts. Its purpose is to meet the demand for individual

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products in the product group. This more detailed level of planning disaggregates the product
groups into individual products and indicates when they will be produced. The MPS is an important
link between marketing and production. It shows when incoming sales orders can be scheduled
into production, and when each shipment can be scheduled for delivery. It also takes into account
current backlogs so that production and delivery schedules are realistic.
Operations planning and scheduling system

5. RESOURCE REQUIREMENT PLANNING

Resource requirement planning (rough-cut capacity planning) is the process of testing the
feasibility of master production schedule in terms of capacity. This step ensures that a proposed
MPS does not inadvertently overload any key department, work centre, or machine, making the
MPS unworkable.

6. MATERIAL REQUIREMENT PLANNING

Material requirement planning (MRP) is a system of planning and scheduling the time phased
material requirements for releasing materials and receiving materials that enable the master
production schedule to be implemented. Thus, the master production schedule is the driving force
for material requirements planning. MRP provides information such as due dates for components
that are subsequently used for shop floor control. Once this information is available, it enables
managers to estimate the detailed requirements for each work centers.

7. CAPACITY REQUIREMENT PLANNING

Capacity requirement planning (CRP) is an iterative process of modifying the MPS or planned
resources to make capacity consistent with the production schedule. CRP is a companion process
used with MRP to identify in detail the capacity required to execute the material requirement
planning. At this level, more accurate comparisons of available and needed capacity for scheduled
workloads are possible.

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
Management

8. SHOP FLOOR CONTROL

Shop floor control involves the activities that execute and control shop operations namely loading,
sequencing, detailed scheduling and expediting jobs in production. It coordinates the weekly and
daily activities that get jobs done. Individual jobs are assigned to machines and work centers
(loading), the sequence of processing the jobs for priority control is determined, start times and
job assignments for each stage of processing are decided (detailed scheduling ) and materials and
work flows from station to station are monitored and adjusted (expediting).

9. LOADING
Each job (customer order) may have its unique product specification and, hence, it is unique
through various work centers in the facility. As new job orders are released, they are assigned or
allocated among the work centers, thus establishing how much of a load each work centre must
carry during the coming planning period. This assignment is known as loading (sometimes called
shop loading as machine loading).

10. SEQUENCING
This stage establishes the priorities for jobs in the queues (waiting lines) at the work centers.
Priority sequencing specifies the order in which the waiting jobs are processed; it requires the
adoption of a priority sequencing rule.

11. DETAILED SCHEDULING

Detailed scheduling determines start times, finish times and work assignments for all jobs at each
work centre. Calendar times are specified when job orders, employees, and materials (inputs), as
well as job completion (outputs), should occur at each work centre. By estimating how long each
job will take to complete and when it is due, schedulers can establish start and finish dates and
develop the detailed schedule.

12. EXPEDITING
Expediting is a process of tracking a job’s progress and taking special actions to move it through
the facility. In tracking a job’s progress, special action may be needed to keep the job moving
through the facility on time. Manufacturing or service operations disruptions-equipments
breakdowns, unavailable materials, last-minute priority changes, require managers to deviate from
plans and schedules and expedite an important job on a special handling basis.

13. INPUT/OUTPUT CONTROL

Input/output control related to the activities to monitor actual versus planned utilization of a work
centre’s capacity. Output plans and schedules call for certain levels of capacity at a work centre,
but actual utilization may differ from what was planned. Actual versus planned utilization of the
work centre’s capacity can be monitored by using input-output reports and, when discrepancies
exist, adjustments can be made. The important components of operations planning and
scheduling system has been explained in detail in the following paragraphs.

Key concepts in scheduling

A key character of scheduling is the productivity, the relation between quantity of inputs and quantity
of output. Key concepts here are:
• Inputs : Inputs are plant, labor, materials, tooling, energy and a clean environment.
• Outputs : Outputs are the products produced in factories either for other factories or for the
end buyer. The extent to which any one product is produced within any one factory is governed by
transaction cost.

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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• Output within the factory : The output of any one work area within the factory is an input to
the next work area in that factory according to the manufacturing process. For example, the output of
cutting is an input to the bending room.
• Output for the next factory : By way of example, the output of a paper mill is an input to a
print factory. The output of a petrochemicals plant is an input to an asphalt plant, a cosmetics factory
and a plastics factory.
• Output for the end buyer : Factory output goes to the consumer via a service business such
as a retailer or an asphalt paving company.
• Resource allocation : Resource allocation is assigning inputs to produce output. The aim is to
maximize output with given inputs or to minimize quantity of inputs to produce required output.

Scheduling in the batch processing environment

A batch process can be described in terms of a recipe which comprises a bill of materials and
operating instructions which describe how to make the product. The ISA S88 batch process control
standard provides a framework for describing a batch process recipe. The standard provides a
procedural hierarchy for a recipe. A recipe may be organized into a series of unit-procedures or major
steps. Unit-procedures are organized into operations, and operations may be further organized into
phases.

The following text-book recipe [8] illustrates the organization.

• Charge and Mix materials A and B in a heated reactor, heat to 80C and react 4 hours to form
C.
• Transfer to blending tank, add solvent D, Blend 1hour. Solid C precipitates.
• Centrifuge for 2 hours to separate C.
• Dry in a tray dryer for 1 hour.

A simplified S88-style procedural organization of the recipe might appear as follows:

 Unit Procedure 1: Reaction

o Operation 1: Charge A & B (0.5 hours)
o Operation 2: Blend / Heat (1 hour)
o Operation 3: Hold at 80C for 4 hours
o Operation 4: Pump solution through cooler to blend tank (0.5 hours)

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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o Operation 5: Clean (1 hour)

 Unit Procedure 2: Blending Precipitation
o Operation 1: Receive solution from reactor
o Operation 2: Add solvent, D (0.5 hours)
o Operation 3: Blend for 2 hours
o Operation 4: Pump to centrifuge for 2 hours
o Operation 5: Clean up (1 hour)
 Unit Procedure 3: Centrifugation
o Operation 1: Centrifuge solution for 2 hours
o Operation 2: Clean
 Unit Procedure 4: Tote
o Operation 1: Receive material from centrifuge
o Operation 2: Load dryer (15 min)
 Unit Procedure 5: Dry
o Operation 1: Load
o Operation 2: Dry (1 hour)

Note that the organization here is intended to capture the entire process for scheduling. A recipe for
process-control purposes may have a narrower scope.

Most of the constraints and restrictions described by Pinedo are applicable in batch processing. The
various operations in a recipe are subject to timing or precedence constraints that describe when they
start and or end with respect to each other. Furthermore, because materials may be perishable or
unstable, waiting between successive operations may be limited or impossible. Operation durations
may be fixed or they may depend on the durations of other operations

In addition to process equipment, batch process activities may require labor, materials, utilities and
extra equipment.

Cycle-time analysis

In some simple cases, an analysis of the recipe can reveal the maximum production rate and the rate
limiting unit. In the process example above if a number of batches or lots of Product C are to be
produced, it is useful to calculate the minimum time between consecutive batch starts (cycle-time). If
a batch is allowed to start before the end of the prior batch the minimum cycle-time is given by the
following relationship:
Where CT is the shortest possible cycle time for a process with M unit-procedures and τ j is the total
duration for the jth unit-procedure. The unit-procedure with the maximum duration is sometimes
referred to as the bottleneck. This relationship applies when each unit-procedure has a single
dedicated equipment unit.

If redundant equipment units are available for at least one unit-procedure, the minimum cycle-time
becomes:
Where Nj is the number of redundant equipment for unit procedure j.
If equipment is reused within a process, the minimum cycle-time becomes more dependent on
particular process details. For example, if the drying procedure in the current example is replaced
with another reaction in the reactor, the minimum cycle time depends on the operating policy and on
the relative durations of other procedures. In the cases below, an increase in the hold time in the tote

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Module Content || Week 11
Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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can decrease the average minimum cycle time.

Visualization

Various charts are used to help schedulers visually manage schedules and constraints. The Gantt
chart is a display that shows activities on a horizontal bar graph in which the bars represent the time
of the activity. Below is an example of a Gantt chart for the process in the example described above.

Another time chart which is also sometimes called a Gantt chart [11] shows the time during which key
resources, e.g. equipment, are occupied. The previous figures show this occupancy-style Gantt chart.
Resources that are consumed on a rate basis, e.g. electrical power, steam or labor, are generally
displayed as consumption rate vs time plots.

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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Algorithmic methods

When scheduling situations become more complicated, for example when two or more processes
share resources, it may be difficult to find the best schedule. A number of common scheduling
problems, including variations on the example described above, fall into a class of problems that
become very difficult to solve as their size (number of procedures and operations) grows.
A wide variety of algorithms and approaches have been applied to batch process scheduling. Early
methods, which were implemented in some MRP systems assumed infinite capacity and depended
only on the batch time. Such methods did not account for any resources, and would produce
infeasible schedules.
Mathematical programming methods involve formulating the scheduling problem as an optimization
problem where some objective, e.g. total duration, must be minimized (or maximized) subject to a
series of constraints which are generally stated as a set of inequalities and equalities. The objective
and constraints may involve zero-or-one (integer) variables as well as nonlinear relationships. An
appropriate solver is applied for the resulting mixed-integer linear or nonlinear programming
(MILP/MINLP) problem. The approach is theoretically guaranteed to find an optimal solution if one
exists. The disadvantage is that the solver algorithm may take an unreasonable amount of time.
Practitioners may use problem-specific simplifications in the formulation to get faster solutions
without eliminating critical components of the scheduling model.
Constraint programming is a similar approach except that the problem is formulated only as a set of
constraints and the goal is to arrive at a feasible solution rapidly. Multiple solutions are possible with
this method.
Agent-based modeling describes the batch process and constructs a feasible schedule under various
constraints. By combining with mixed-integer programming or simulated-based optimization methods,
this approach could achieve a good balance between the solution efficiency and the schedule
performance.

Demystifying the 5 Phases of Project Management

When discussing project management phases, the mention of project life cycle is inevitable. So what’s
the difference? The project phases make up a project life cycle, and as such, the phases are tailored
to fit a project’s needs. According to the PMBOK® Guide, the elements of a project life cycle should
define:

 What work must be accomplished

 What deliverables must be
generated and reviewed
 Who must be involved
 How to control and approve each
phase

Determining these elements will take a

project from start to finish. It provides a
systematic, timely, and controlled process
that benefits a project’s stakeholders. This
helps PMs define what needs to be
accomplished before moving onto the
next phase of a project.

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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 Phase 1: Project Initiation

This is the start of the project, and the goal of this phase is to define the project at a broad level.
This phase usually begins with a business case. This is when you will research whether the project is
feasible and if it should be undertaken. If feasibility testing needs to be done, this is the stage of the
project in which that will be completed.

Important stakeholders will do their due diligence to help decide if the project is a “go.” If it is given
the green light, you will need to create a project charter or a project initiation document (PID) that
outlines the purpose and requirements of the project. It should include business needs, stakeholders,
and the business case. 

S.M.A.R.T. Goals – This method helps ensure that the goals have been thoroughly vetted. It also
provides a way to clearly understand the implications of the goal-setting process.

Specific – To set specific goals, answer the following questions: who, what, where, when, which, and
why.
Measurable – Create criteria that you can use to measure the success of a goal.
Attainable – Identify the most important goals and what it will take to achieve them.
Realistic – You should be willing and able to work toward a particular goal.
Timely – Create a timeframe to achieve the goal.

C.L.E.A.R. Goals – A newer method for setting goals that takes into consideration the environment
of today’s fast-paced businesses.

Collaborative – The goal should encourage employees to work together.

Limited – They should be limited in scope and time to keep it manageable.
Emotional – Goals should tap into the passion of employees and be something they can form an
emotional connection to. This can optimize the quality of work.
Appreciable – Break larger goals into smaller tasks that can be quickly achieved.
Refinable – As new situations arise, be flexible and refine goals as needed.

During this phase, the scope of the project is defined and a project management plan is developed. It
involves identifying the cost, quality, available resources, and a realistic timetable. The project plans
also includes establishing baselines or performance measures. These are generated using the scope,
schedule and cost of a project. A baseline is essential to determine if a project is on track.
 
At this time, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, so everyone involved knows what they are
accountable for. Here are some of the documents a PM will create during this phase to ensure the
project will stay on track:

 Scope Statement – A document that clearly defines the business need, benefits of the
project, objectives, deliverables, and key milestones. A scope statement may change during
the project, but it shouldn’t be done without the approval of the project manager and the
sponsor.

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Module Content || Week 11
Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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 Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) –This is a visual representation that breaks down the
scope of the project into manageable sections for the team.
 Milestones – Identify high-level goals that need to be met throughout the project and
include them in the Gantt chart.

 Gantt Chart – A visual timeline that you can use to plan out tasks and visualize your project
timeline.
 Communication Plan – This is of particular importance if your project involves outside
stakeholders. Develop the proper messaging around the project and create a schedule of
when to communicate with team members based on deliverables and milestones.
 Risk Management Plan – Identify all foreseeable risks. Common risks include unrealistic
time and cost estimates, customer review cycle, budget cuts, changing requirements, and
lack of committed resources.

Phase 3: Project Execution

This is the phase where deliverables are developed and completed. This often feels like the meat of
the project since a lot is happening during this time, like status reports and meetings, development
updates, and performance reports. A “kick-off” meeting usually marks the start of the Project
Execution phase where the teams involved are informed of their responsibilities.

Tasks completed during the Execution Phase include:

 Develop team
 Assign resources
 Execute project management plans
 Procurement management if needed
 PM directs and manages project execution
 Set up tracking systems
 Task assignments are executed
 Status meetings
 Update project schedule
 Modify project plans as needed

 While the project monitoring phase has a different set of requirements, these two phases often occur
simultaneously.

Phase 4: Project Performance/Monitoring

This is all about measuring project progression and performance and ensuring that everything
happening aligns with the project management plan. Project managers will use key performance
indicators (KPIs) to determine if the project is on track. A PM will typically pick two to five of these
KPIs to measure project performance:

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Lesson: Operations Scheduling and Sequencing and Project
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 Project Objectives: Measuring if a project is on schedule and budget is an indication if the

project will meet stakeholder objectives.
 Quality Deliverables: This determines if specific task deliverables are being met.
 Effort and Cost Tracking: PMs will account for the effort and cost of resources to see if the
budget is on track. This type of tracking informs if a project will meet its completion date
based on current performance.
 Project Performance: This monitors changes in the project. It takes into consideration the
amount and types of issues that arise and how quickly they are addressed. These can occur
from unforeseen hurdles and scope changes.

Phase 5: Project Closure

 This phase represents the completed project. Contractors hired to work specifically on the
project are terminated at this time. Valuable team members are recognized. Some PMs even
organize small work events for people who participated in the project to thank them for their
efforts. Once a project is complete, a PM will often hold a meeting – sometimes referred to as
a “post mortem” – to evaluate what went well in a project and identify project failures. This is
especially helpful to understand lessons learned so that improvements can be made for future
projects.

Look, you’re almost done, let’s do the assessment!

A B
This determines if specific task deliverables are A. Gannt Chart
being met.
______1.
It is the process of arranging, controlling and B. Project Initiation
optimizing work and workloads in a production
______2. process or manufacturing process.
A visual timeline that you can use to plan out C. Business Plan
tasks and visualize your project timeline.
______3.
This is the start of the project, and the goal of D. Quality Deliverables:
this phase is to define the project at a broad
______4. level. This phase usually begins with a business
case. This is when you will research whether
the project is feasible and if it should be
undertaken.
It is a statement of the organization’s overall E. Scheduling
______5. level of business activity for the coming six to
eighteen months, usually expressed in terms of
outputs (in volume of sales) for its various
product groups, a set of individual products that
share or consume common blocks of capacity in
the manufacturing process.
F. Monitoring
Matching Type: Match column A with column B and write the letter of your answer on the space
provided before the number.

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