Production Planning and Control Systems and their Factory Implementation

Competitive production in today's dynamic environments can only be achieved through efficient management of information throughout an enterprise. Deficiencies of current systems (e.g. MRP) in dealing with the information processing requirements are reviewed. The paper further presents concepts and implementation experiences of integrated shop floor control systems. They form a vital part of the information management system of the company since they link the actual shop floor to higher-level systems such as MRP. To improve the management of the factor time, the shop floor control system provides detailed planning of the production process by optimising the MRP order requirements under consideration of the current production status. Implementation experiences in suppliers for the automotive industry clearly show the advantages of an integrated shop floor control systan to daily operations