Production planning: Understanding your machines to optimise better

Effective planning always starts with a clear understanding of your machines.

Here are 4 types of machines you should know and their specificities:

⚙️ NORMAL Machine (Standard)

• One operation at a time

• Duration proportional to the quantity

⚙️ BATCH Machine

• Batch mode works in cycles, handling several operations simultaneously within the same cycle

• Upon receiving the first lot, the machine waits for the other operations to be integrated into the cycle

• Grouping according to parameters (capacity, type of part, etc.)

⚙️ RUN Machine

• Handles one work order at a time

• The duration depends on the machine’s capacity and the quantity to be produced.(The principle is to divide the operation into several lots that do not exceed the machine capacity. Each lot takes a fixed time, even if it is partial. The total duration therefore corresponds to the number of lots required multiplied by the fixed time per lot.)

  Example :

  - Run capacity for the operation = 100

  - Basic operation time = 1 hour

  - Quantity launched = 250

  Total planned duration = 3 hours (2 runs of 100 and 1 run of 50).

⚙️ TANK Machine

• Tank-type machines model industrial manufacturing processes based on recipes

• Unlike batch machines, a tank operation applies to the entire content, making previous operations indistinguishable

• Tanks have minimum and maximum load capacities

• Tank cleaning is modelled

• Rules for filling, draining, and cleaning are managed