Unit 2: Manufacturing Support System
🛠Manufacturing Support System
These are systems that support and manage the production activities in a manufacturing plant. They help in planning, scheduling, monitoring, and controlling the production process to improve efficiency and reduce waste.
Process Planning
Process planning is the act of deciding how to manufacture a product, including which operations, tools, and machinery will be used.
🔹 Key Activities
- Selecting materials
- Choosing the manufacturing methods
- Determining operation sequences
- Estimating time and cost
🔹 Example: For making a metal part, process planning would decide:
- Material = aluminum
- Operations = cutting, drilling, polishing
- Tools = lathe, drill machine
Computer-Aided Process Planning (CAPP)
CAPP is a computer-based system that helps automate the process planning. It reduces manual work and errors by using databases and software.
🔹 Benefits:
- Faster and accurate planning
- Standardization of processes
- Easy modification of plans
- Reduces cost and time
🔹 Types of CAPP:
🔹 Example: An aerospace company using CAPP to quickly generate process plans for different engine parts.
Production Planning and Control (PPC) System
PPC is the system that plans the production schedule, allocates resources,
monitors progress, and ensures products are made on time and efficiently.
🔹 Functions of PPC
🔹 Example: In a mobile phone factory:
- Routing: Decides steps like circuit installation → screen fixing → packaging.
- Scheduling: Assigns timing for each step.
- Follow-up: Checks if packaging is completed on time.
Summary Table
Aggregate Planning
Aggregate planning is the process of determining the overall production
levels, inventory, and workforce required to meet demand over a
medium-term period (3 to 18 months).
Objectives:
- Balance demand and supply
- Optimize resources (labor, machinery, inventory)
- Minimize costs
✅ Strategies:
Example: A clothing company plans production and workforce for the next 6 months, considering seasonal demand.
Master Production Schedule (MPS)
MPS is a detailed plan that specifies what product, how many, and when it
should be produced.
✅ Purpose:
- Breaks down the aggregate plan into individual items
- Guides production and purchasing decisions
- Helps in inventory control
✅ Example: If aggregate planning says 10,000 smartphones in a
month, MPS will specify:
- Week 1: 2500 units
- Week 2: 2500 units
- Week 3: 3000 units
- Week 4: 2000 units
Material Requirement Planning (MRP)
MRP is a system that calculates the materials and components needed to
manufacture a product and when they are needed.
✅ Inputs Required
Benefits
- Ensures materials are available
- Reduces excess inventory
- Improves production efficiency
✅ Example: To produce 100 laptops, MRP calculates:
- 100 processors
- 100 screens
- 100 keyboards
- Order lead time = 2 weeks → schedule orders accordingly
Capacity Planning
Capacity planning is the process of determining whether the available
production capacity can meet the demand in the future.
Types of Capacity:
Steps in Capacity Planning:
- Forecast demand
- Analyze current capacity
- Identify gaps
- Plan for capacity adjustment (add machines, shifts, etc.)
✅ Example: If demand is 5,000 units per week and current
capacity is 4,000 units → need to add a new shift or buy more machines.
Summary Table
Shop Floor Control (SFC)
Shop Floor Control refers to the system used to monitor, track, and
control the progress of production activities on the shop floor (the
physical area in a factory where production takes place).
✅ Objectives of SFC:
- Track work-in-progress (WIP)
- Monitor equipment usage
- Measure productivity
- Identify and solve bottlenecks
- Improve delivery schedules
✅ Functions of Shop Floor Control:
Overview of Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC)
AIDC refers to technologies that automatically identify objects,
collect data, and enter it into a computer system without manual
entry.
✅ Purpose:
- Reduces human error
- Speeds up data collection
- Improves inventory and production control
✅ AIDC Technologies Include:
- Bar codes
- RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)
- Biometric systems
- Magnetic stripes
- Smart cards
📊 Bar Code Technology
A bar code is a series of lines and spaces that represent data which
can be read by a scanner.
✅ Components:
- Bar code labels
- Bar code scanner
- Computer software for processing
✅ Advantages:
- Low cost
- Easy to use
- Reliable and accurate
- Fast scanning of products or parts
✅ Applications:
- Tracking raw materials and components
- Monitoring WIP
- Labeling finished goods
✅ Example: In a factory, each product is tagged with a
bar code that is scanned to track its movement and update inventory in
real time.
📡 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID uses radio waves to automatically identify and track tags
attached to objects.
✅ Components:
- RFID tag (transponder) – stores data
- RFID reader (interrogator) – reads the tag
- Antenna – transmits signals
✅ Types of RFID Tags:
Advantages:
- Can read multiple tags at once
- No line-of-sight needed
- Greater range than bar codes
- Durable in harsh environments
✅ Applications:
- Asset tracking
- Real-time production monitoring
- Automatic inventory control
- Tracking finished goods during shipment
✅ Example: In an automotive plant, RFID tags on car frames
update the system about each car's location and progress in real time.
✅ Summary Table:
