A reappraisal on advanced planning and scheduling systems

Abstract

Purpose -This paper sets out to present a reappraisal on advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems in industrial settings and propose an effective approach for APS implementation. Design/methodology/approach -A case study approach is adopted, and a research framework comprising human-, technological-, and organizational-dimensions is developed to analyze the evidence database which includes business flows, system design documents, archival records, post-system assessment, participant-observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings -The findings indicate that real-world production planning problems are ill-defined, complex and dynamic. A post-implementation evaluation reveals major pitfalls in the technology-dominant approach, whose negative ramifications are usually overlooked. Besides, these APS implementation pitfalls are found to be attributable to the real-world context, human factors and organizational aspects. Research limitations/implications -Despite advances in information technology (IT) and computer modeling techniques, humans still play critical roles in the production-planning processesespecially in a complex and dynamic manufacturing environment where incomplete, ambiguous, inconsistent and untimely data make automatic planning unrealistic. A rational human-computer collaboration scheme under an effective organizational structure would be in a better position to take advantage of the IT. Originality/value -This paper presents a humans-technology-organization-framework of real planning systems, which is employed to analyze a case of APS implementation. Practical insights are extracted as a result of this field research, and a realist approach is proposed to cope with the problems and pitfalls of APS implementation in industrial settings.

Shop floor characteristics influencing the use of advanced planning and scheduling systems

“…These findings correspond with Wiers (2009) that concludes that implementing an APS system in a socio-technical shop is indeed a challenging task. It is usually presumed that a high quality of input data is a must if making more advanced scheduling tools successful (Lin et al 2007). However, the case analysis in this article shows that the level of data quality depends on how the APS system is used.…”

“…Considerations should also be taken regarding what freedom the personnel have to set priorities and to choose the sequence. In general, when an APS system is implemented, planning and scheduling decisions are transferred from the shop floor to the APS system (Lin et al 2007). As a result, there may be disagreements between the scheduler and the shop floor about the autonomy permitted to the shop floor post-implementation (Wiers 2009 …”

“…Nevertheless, there are several ways to ensure that orders on the shop floor are executed efficiently. Over the years, a large number of sophisticated scheduling algorithms have been developed to enhance production activity and control 1 (PAC) (Wiers 2002, Lin et al 2007, i.e. the set activities required to concert orders released by the manufacturing system to the shop floor into completed orders (Melnyk et al 1985).…”

Levantamento das práticas de programação detalhada da produção: um survey na indústria paulista

“…Vários artigos discutem sua aplicação e implantação em diferentes ambientes produtivos (GRAVES, 1981;WIERS, 2002;METAXIOTIS;PSARRAS;ERGAZAKIS, 2003;DUMOND, 2005;JONSSON;KJELLSDOTTER;RUDBERG, 2007;LIN;HWANG;WANG, 2007).…”

Advanced Supply Chain Planning Systems (APS) Today and Tomorrow

“…Other gaps exist between APS theory and practice (e.g. see Lin et al, 2007). However an interesting way to improve simulation and collaboration capabilities of APS systems and contribute to overcoming all these discussed limitations is the concept of d-APS (distributed APS) systems.…”