Production Schedules Overview

Production schedules allow you to authorize and release production in a simplified manner. A production schedule functions as a blanket job order. Production schedules are sometimes also referred to as work-orderless production.

You create production schedules for an entire plant, planner, family of items, or specific customer for a selected time period. You can set up a production schedule for an item with releases for each month of the year; you don't have to create a separate job order each month or each time the item is manufactured.

A typical usage is the creation of a monthly production schedule with daily releases. You add subsequent releases to an existing production schedule or create an entirely new production schedule.

Production schedules are characterized by:

• Items manufactured using production schedules must be set up for Standard costing on the Items form. The Items setting dictates that, if you also manufacture this item through a job, the job also uses Standard costing.
• Items are identified with a production type that represents the most frequently used manufacturing method: job, production schedule, or JIT production. You use this information for MRP, APS, and MPS firming.
• A routing and bill of material is associated with each item on a production schedule.
• You can easily modify production schedules in response to production performance.
• To facilitate the development and maintenance of production schedules, the system includes utilities that:
  • Use Generate Production Schedules (Rate Based) to create production schedules for a date range
  • Use Delete Production Schedule Releases to delete a range of production schedule releases
  • Use Copy Production Schedules to copy a selected production schedule and its releases.
• The Scheduler recognizes the load that production schedules with Released status create. You can specify whether to include released production schedules in the schedule by selecting the Schedule Released Production Schedules parameter on the Shop Floor Control Parameters form. The Scheduler does not schedule production schedules with a status of Planned.
• MRP Planning and APS Planning explodes production schedules for their component items. Receipts defined by a released production schedule appear on the Planning Detail and Planning Summary Displays and are pegged to the appropriate production schedule. MRP and APS view a production schedule as a regular demand for items with a due date. Thus, a daily production schedule for 10 items per day is planned as five daily orders for 10 items.

• You can create production schedules during the firming process of MRP or APS for either planned orders or MPS orders.
• Production schedules backflush those items that you specify.
• A report tracks the cumulative production for an item in time buckets you choose (daily, weekly, or monthly).