5 Common PPC Mistakes: Discover How to Avoid Them and Increase Your Efficiency

Production Planning, Scheduling, and Control ( PPC ) is a cornerstone of effective operations management for any manufacturing company. It's a complex process that encompasses a range of vital activities, from demand forecasting to real-time production monitoring. However, meswith the increasing sophistication of available tools and technologies, common PPC errors still persist and can significantly harm operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and financial results. In this article, we'll explore some of the most common PPC errors and examine practical strategies to avoid them.
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The PPC only sees the stock present in each sector that will program. Each sector only sees what it has "in stock" to program.
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When each department's scheduling focuses solely on what's available in its immediate inventory, unless the department has a massive inventory (which in itself is a problem), there will certainly be a lack of synchronization between departments, resulting in reduced utilization of manufacturing resources. This occurs because it's impossible to see all future material availability that the department will have, which could generate insights for scheduling that aggregates similar items or reduces waiting times, as departments are better synchronized from a more holistic and integrated perspective. This means that production can be interrupted or delayed because one department fails to recognize the needs of another department and, therefore, fails to place the necessary orders or schedules. Thus, by scheduling solely based on currently available inventory, leadmes (waiting time) for production of items can be significantly higher than necessary, thus generating even more work-in-process (WIP) inventory. Ultimately, this problem can result in delays in product delivery to customers.  
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Calculate Days On Hand Based on the average historical demand instead of looking at how many days covers in future demand
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Calculate the Days on Hand, which refers to the number of days that current stock can cover the demand, calculated based on the average historical demand, rather than considering future demand, can lead to some negatively significant implications. By based only on the average of historical demand, one can risk maintaining inventory levels that do not meet the real needs of the company. This is because demands can float over time due to seasonality, market trends, changes in customer buying standards and other factors that are not reflected in the historical average. In this case, we see companies calculating the days that are covered based on an average, but without considering the existing portfolio or a projection of trend or seasonality. If we have all the evidence that demand will have a certain behavior, or more, we already have a firm request for requests, there is no reason to consider this information by calculating its inventory coverage to have a correct view of the scenario. Consider a clothing store that sells winter and summer clothes. The purchasing manager decides to calculate the Days on Hand for winter coats based on the average historical demand in recent years. This average indicates that the demand for winter coats is usually lower during summer. However, that year, an unexpected cold wave hits the region during the summer, and the demand for winter coats fires. As a result, the store does not have enough stock to meet the unexpected demand. Not taking into account future demand can take to scenarios where inventory is insufficient to meet sudden peaks of demand, resulting in the lack of products in the market and loss of sales.
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Open intermediate product order with the date of the finished
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In many manufacturing processes, a final product is assembled from several intermediate products, which in turn may be composed of other byproducts. The APS or MRP needs to coordinate the production of these different levels, ensuring that the intermediate products are ready by the date required for the final product's assembly. In other words, it is necessary to establish partial deliveries for some semi-finished products, and we still see companies without this distinction, which results in all semi-finished and finished products having their production demanded for the mesperiod. The main objective is to ensure that the final product is completed by the customer's required date. This requires synchronizing all production stages, from component manufacturing to final assembly, to avoid delivery delays.

Look capacity in kg, meters or unit and not hours
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When you measure capacity only in physical units such as kg or meters, you do not take into account the product mix that a factory needs to produce. Some products may be more complex, time consuming and demand more resources than others. Ignoring this variability can lead to problems with resource allocation and compliance with delivery times. In addition, production management should seek to optimize the efficiency of the process, and this often involves effective use of time. Ignoring the temporal dimension can lead to situations in which a machine or labor remains inactive for long periods due to an inadequate allocation of tasks. A broader approach that takes into account both physical capacity and temporal dimension is often necessary for effective production management, balancing efficiency, costs and delivery deadlines. This is often achieved through business resource planning systems (ERP) and proper production programming strategies.
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Charging production per volume produced, operator chooses what is easier to do instead of the most important 
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Charging production based exclusively on the volume produced, without considering other criteria of quality or importance, can lead to a set of problems known as "dilution effect" or "dilution of metrics". This happens when operators are encouraged to choose easier tasks to accomplish to the most important, because it allows them to achieve production goals with less effort. Thus, operators can neglect the quality of work, as their main objective is to increase production. This can result in low quality products or services that do not meet established standards. The five mistakes discussed reveal common traps that organizations may face, from lack of synchronization between sectors to inadequate capacity measurement and exclusive emphasis on the volume produced. Avoiding these errors and adopting more comprehensive and oriented strategies is essential to maintaining efficient production that meets market demands and achieving operational excellence. Did you like the content? Then you will also be interested in our ebook about 6 key elements in production planning .
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