Master Production Scheduling Key Terms

There are a myriad of terms used in production scheduling; here are a few

Master production scheduling or MPS is an absolute necessity in a manufacturing environment. It is a plan for inventory management, production and staffing. It quantifies all the elements of manufacturing including resources, parts and processes. The goal of master production scheduling is to anticipate problems, find bottlenecks and to optimize production. The MPS interprets a business plan, which includes a forecast of demand from customers into a plan for production. A good MPS will prevent eleventh hour scheduling, facilitates optimum use of parts and prevents waste of resources.

Enterprise resource planning

A key element of master production scheduling, enterprise resource planning is a software system used to coordinate and manage various functions of a business from a collective database. Usually housed on a local area network, it is comprised of modular software and hardware.

Manufacturing operations management

Manufacturing operations management (MOM) software, another element of master production scheduling, provides information about product shipments, orders, labor, materials and machine status. It is used for analyzing performance or people and equipment as well as a way to evaluate the quality of output in a factory. Recently, lean manufacturing has become another term for manufacturing operations management that results in more efficient outputs.

Electronic data interchange

Electronic data interchange (EDI) refers to the electronic exchange of data or information between organizations usually from one computer to another. Master production scheduling is usually done via EDI.

Business process automation

Business process automation or BPA are the processes organizations streamline by building or implementing software programs so they can save money by eliminating the need for labor. Master production scheduling is considered a key element of BPA.

Open source software

Open source software (OSS) can be defined as a computer software program that is in the public domain. It allows users to improve, use or change the software and is usually developed collaboratively. Master production scheduling is not typically open source software but is proprietary.

Bill of materials

Bill of materials or BOM is a commonly used term for the list of components, parts, raw materials and assemblies needed to manufacture a product. Master production scheduling software usually has a BOM process built in.

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