Chapter 10:
Planning and control
What is planning and control?
Planning and control is concerned with the activities that attempt to reconcile the
demands of the market and the ability of the operation’s resources to deliver.
Planning is a formalisation Control is the process of
of what is intended to coping with these types of
happen at some time in the change.
future.
It may mean that plans need
A plan does not guarantee to be redrawn in the short
that an event will actually term.
happen.
It may also mean that an
Rather it is a statement of ‘intervention’ will need to be
intention. made in the operation to
bring it back ‘on track’.
Long-, medium- and short-term planning and control
Long-term planning Medium-term Short-term planning
and control planning and and control
control
● Concern what they ● Many of the
intend to do, what ●Process is more resources will have
resources they detailed been set and it will
need, and what be difficult to make
objectives they ●It looks ahead to large changes.
hope to achieve. assess the overall
demand, which the ● However, short-term
● The emphasis is on operation must meet interventions are
planning rather in a partially possible if things are
than control, disaggregated not going to plan.
because there is manner.
little to control as
such.
Long-, medium-
and short-term
planning and
control
Factors of supply and demand affecting planning and control
Uncertainty in Supply and Dependent and independent
Demand demand
● Supply of inputs may be ● Dependent demand
uncertain (component assemblies)
○ Example: seasonal fruits ○ Example: custom made
dresses
● Demand may be
unpredictable ● Independent demand
(finished products)
○ Example: fast food
restaurants ○ Example: computers,
bicycles etc.
How operations respond to
demands
The activities of planning and control
Planning and control
requires the reconciliation
of supply and demand in
terms of volumes, timing
and quality.
There are four overlapping
activities:
● loading,
● sequencing,
● scheduling,
● monitoring and control
What is ‘loading’?
How much to do?
Loading is the amount of
work that is allocated to a
work centre.
● the valuable operating
time available for
productive working, even
in the best operations, can
be significantly below the
maximum time available
Finite and infinite loading
Finite loading is an approach that only allocates work to a work centre (a person,
a machine, or perhaps a group) up to a set limit.
Finite loading is particularly relevant for operations where:
● it is possible to limit the load – for example, it is possible to run an appointment
system for a general medical practice or a hairdresser;
● it is necessary to limit the load – for example, for safety reasons only a finite
number of people and weight of luggage are allowed on aircraft;
● the cost of limiting the load is not prohibitive – for example, the cost of
maintaining a finite order book at a specialist sports car manufacturer does not
adversely affect demand, and may even enhance it.
Finite and infinite loading
Infinite loading is an approach to loading work that does not limit accepting work,
but instead tries to cope with it.
Infinite loading is particularly relevant for operations where:
● it is not possible to limit the load – for example, an accident and emergency
department in a hospital should not turn away arrivals needing attention;
● it is not necessary to limit the load – for example, fast-food outlets are
designed to flex capacity up and down to cope with varying arrival rates of
customers. During busy periods, customers accept that they must queue for
some time before being served. Unless this is extreme, the customers might
not go elsewhere;
● the cost of limiting the load is prohibitive – for example, if a retail bank turned
away customers at the door because a set number were inside, customers
would feel less than happy with the service.
Finite and infinite loading
What is ‘sequencing’ ?
In what order to do Physical constraints Customer priority
things?
● The physical nature of the ● Allows an important
Sequencing is inputs being processed customer, or item, to be
defined as whether may determine the priority ‘processed’ prior to others,
the approach to of work irrespective of the order of
loading is finite or arrival of the customer or
infinite, when work ● Jobs that fit together item
arrives, decisions physically may be
must be taken on the scheduled together to ● Used by operations whose
order in which the reduce waste customer base containing
work will be tackled. a mass of small customers
and a few large, very
important customers
What is ‘sequencing’ ?
In what order to do Due Date (DD) Last in, first out (LIFO)
things?
● Prioritising by due date ● Last in, first out (LIFO)
Sequencing is means that work is is a method of
defined as whether sequenced according to sequencing usually
the approach to when it is ‘due’ for selected for practical
loading is finite or delivery, irrespective of reasons.
infinite, when work the size of each job or the
arrives, decisions importance of each
must be taken on the customer.
order in which the
work will be tackled. ● It may not provide
optimal productivity, as a
more efficient sequencing
of work may reduce total
costs.
What is ‘sequencing’ ?
In what order to do First in, first out (FIFO) Longest operation time
things? (LOT)
● Sometimes called ‘first
Sequencing is come, first served’ (FCFS) ● Sequence the longest jobs
defined as whether first, called longest
the approach to ● Some operations serve operation time
loading is finite or customers in exactly the sequencing.
infinite, when work sequence they arrive in
arrives, decisions ● This has the advantage of
must be taken on the occupying work centres for
order in which the long periods.
work will be tackled.
What is ‘sequencing’ ?
In what order to do Shortest operation time Judging sequencing rules
things? first (SOT)
● Dependability: meeting
Sequencing is ● The sequencing rules may ‘due date’ promised to
defined as whether be adjusted to tackle short customer
the approach to jobs first
loading is finite or ● Speed: minimising the
● Cash constrained operations time the job spends in the
infinite, when work
arrives, decisions process, also known as
must be taken on the ‘flow time’
order in which the
● An element of cost:
work will be tackled.
minimising work-in-
progress inventory
● Another element of
cost: minimising idle time
What is ‘scheduling’ ?
When to do things?
● Forward scheduling involves starting work as soon
Schedules are familiar as it arrives
statements of volume
● Backward scheduling involves starting jobs at the
and timing in many
last possible moment to prevent them from being late
consumer environments
Some operations require
a detailed timetable
showing at what time or
date jobs should start
and when they should
end
Gantt charts
Scheduling work patterns
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
● It focuses scheduling effort on the
bottleneck parts of the operation.
● By identifying the location of
constraints, working to remove
them, and then looking for the next
constraint
● An operation is always focusing on
the part that critically determines
the pace of output
Push and Pull Control
Drum, buffer and rope
The drum, buffer, rope concept comes from the theory of constraints (TOC).
Drum Buffer Rope
The bottleneck in the work Keep a buffer of inventory Communication between
flowing process should be in front of it to make sure the bottleneck and the
the control point of the that it always has input to the process is
whole process. something to work on needed to make sure that
activities before the
bottleneck do not
overproduce
Monitoring control model
Operational control is
relatively straight-
forward: objectives are
unambiguous, the effects
of interventions are
known, and activities are
repetitive.
Types of control
Expert Control Trial and Error Control
If objectives are unambiguous, yet the If strategic objectives are relatively
effects of interventions relatively well unambiguous, but effects of interventions
understood, but the activity is not not known, yet the activity is repetitive,
repetitive control can be delegated to an the operation can gain knowledge of how
‘expert’. to control successfully through its own
failures.
Intuitive Control Negotiated Control
If objectives are relatively unambiguous The most difficult circumstance for
but effects of control interventions not strategic control is when objectives are
known, and nor are they repetitive, ambiguous. This type of control involves
control must be based on the reducing ambiguity in some way by
management team using its intuition to making objectives less uncertain.
make control decision/